You may not think a lot about your home’s outdoor spaces during the off-season, but in warm weather, your porch, deck, yard and patio are extensions of your living space — and it’s important to maintain these areas to be in tip-top shape.

Here are some helpful tips to get these spaces summer-ready.

Organize

Set yourself up for a season of better gardening, yardwork, tinkering and auto repair by organizing your shed or garage. You’ll be more inclined to do these necessary tasks when you know exactly where your tools are and you don’t have to search around in order to get started.

Do an inventory of your tools. Throw out rusty or broken items that are irreparable. Perform routine maintenance on equipment and tools. Then organize your equipment in a systematic way that makes the most sense for you, making use of vertical storage systems that take the best advantage of the space you have.

Deep Clean

It’s a tough world out there. Things get dirty, messy and stained, and sometimes a garden hose, soap and elbow grease just aren’t enough — especially after months of neglect. Enter the pressure washer, which can aggressively blast things clean with water jets pressurized up to75 times that of a garden hose; or gently spray with lower pressures for delicate cleaning.

Step up your cleaning of patio furniture, sidewalks and fencing with a light-duty pressure washer.  For decks, patios, garage floors, siding and driveways, a medium-duty pressure washer can help save you time and energy on clean-up jobs. Just be sure to wear googles and closed-toed shoes when using a pressure washer, and never operate the machine in an enclosed area.

If you don’t already own a pressure washer and you’re looking to purchase one, be sure to get the right machine for your needs. Factors like how often you plan to use it and the type of projects you will use it for are key elements in the decision making process. Briggs & Stratton, a pressure washer manufacturer known for machines that start easily, run quietly and offer fuel efficiency, makes the selection process easy with a buying guide selector tool available online at www.briggsandstratton.com.

Friendly Spaces

Reduce mosquitos by eliminating standing water from the yard. For more comfortable cookouts, you may also want to add plants to your yard that repel these pests, such as citronella and marigolds.

Plant trees so you can look forward to shady spaces for future seasons. However, for the current season, use awnings or shade arbors to create a place where you can safely and happily spend the sunniest portion of your afternoons.

By performing a few key tasks, you can prime home’s outdoor spaces for a season of gardening, entertaining, relaxing and summer living.

It seems that every rural or “nearly-rural” landowner wants their own farm pond for the kids to fish in, livestock to drink from, and just its natural beauty. Ponds certainly add beauty, function, and value to one’s property.

Keeping ponds healthy and useful is possible through following a good management program. Good management includes controlling weeds, harvesting fish in appropriate numbers and sizes, and keeping ponds stocked at recommended rates.

If fishing is your main concern, stock only with fish from reliable fish hatcheries. This can greatly reduce some of the common problems that can occur naturally. Contact your favorite, local feed store and ask about the schedule and pricing for the fish hatchery that delivers at their store.

Fishing experiences can be enhanced by creating fish attractors, such as shelter, in strategic locations in ponds. The easiest option is to sink a fallen tree. Shelters provide spawning areas and harbor invertebrates and insects that small fish feed on. They also serve as areas where prey fish can hide from predators.

Estimating the number of fish in your pond is a difficult proposition. Unlike counting livestock in the pasture, you can’t see the fish. But a great way to estimate population density is to study the condition of fish caught. Thin, diseased fish or lots of small fish that never reach a desired size are good indicators of overpopulation.

What can you do to remedy an overpopulated pond is simply to go fishing more and, once caught, don’t throw them all back! IF you have seriously over populated pond, your best option may be to harvest so many fish that a fish-fry for your family and neighbors is possible.

Water clarity is very important with many pond owners- – more so to landowners than the fish are concerned.   Having a clear pond may be more visually appearing to the landowner, but fish, especially catfish, can get around just fine in muddy conditions.

To clear up muddy pond water, the simple solution is to add gypsum. The easiest was to do this is to buy 100 to 200 pounds at a time and add to the pond every week. Continue to do so until the water reaches a clear state.

Keep in mind that when you increase water clarity in your pond, you will have more vegetation in the pond as more sunlight reaches the bottom, encouraging the seeds aquatic vegetation to sprout. Weeds are not your enemy. Some aquatic vegetation is beneficial and enhances the pond’s ecosystem. Too much vegetation can be unsightly and cause stress on the fish population.

Lastly, test your pH every few years. East Texas farm ponds can develop acidic water. The minimum pH for maximum fish production should be around 6.5.   While correctable with the addition of ag lime, it is imperative that only ag lime be added so that the water can change slowly over time.

Never use pickling lime, pelletized lime and other quick liming agents will kill fish as they rapidly change water conditions. One way to make sure is to buy it in bulk and stay away from the bagged lime for use in your pond.

The next Homegrown to Homemade Seminar will cover Pond Management with a focus on fish production. This event will be at the Angelina County Extension office Monday on May 18 at 6:30 pm. Cost is $10.   Topics include water quality, fish management and vegetation control.

The featured speaker is Ken Hale, owner of Boatcycle in Henderson, Texas. Ken has been working with commercial fisheries as well as small pond owners for years. He brings a great deal of knowledge on farm ponds.   Call 936.634.6414 for more information.