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Preparing your yard for winter: 5 Tips to Follow

Written by Posted On Wednesday, 26 December 2018 04:23
Preparing your yard for winter Preparing your yard for winter

Winter is just around the corner and November is your last chance to prepare your lawn for the colder, frosty days ahead. While the winter season is a time for joyful Holiday celebrations, it can be a problematic time for your lawn. As it gets colder and often snowy, maintaining bright green grass can be difficult and road salts and chemical deicers can destroy vegetation. You won’t also be able to deal with these problems as they occur. Who would want to stay outdoors and do some yard work when it’s freezing anyway?

Fortunately, you still have about a month to prep your lawn for the winter and prevent the harsh weather from damaging your plants, trees, and shrubs. Check out these five helpful tips:

Start by running your lawn mower

When should you start mowing? That’s the common question of most homeowners. Well, lawn care professionals recommend mowing the grass every 10 to 14 days until all leaves have fallen. This should keep your grass at a healthy length comes the winter. As a rule of thumb, grasses should not go higher than 1.5 inches during the winter in places with warm climates and 0.75 inches in areas with cool climates. Take note that grass varies in types. Do check for the recommended minimum length of the grass you have. Keeping the grass short helps prevent fungus growth when it snows and at the same time, gives you enough time to delay mowing until the warmer months.

Aerate and fertilize

Aeration plays a very important role in keeping your lawn healthy throughout the year. By aerating the soil, you are creating small holes that will allow air and nutrients to pass through easily and nourish the roots of your plants, trees, and grasses. Winter is the best time to alleviate soil compaction. A garden fork is enough to aerate a small or medium-sized lawn. If you have a really huge lawn, then you might need a powered aeration machine. Fertilization is also a must-do. Before the first freeze, fertilize your lawn to replace all the nutrients that were lost during the hot summer months. Use a natural fertilizer to keep your lawn lush until the next season. For better results and to ensure your safety, choose organic fertilizer with 0% phosphates.

Overseed

The cold weather can be tough on your lawn. By applying grass seed over your turf, you can help fill the bare spots and keep your lawn healthy until the winter is over. This is where overseeding comes in. Late fall is the best time to build up your compost pile to have it ready for the next spring. Fallen leaves are a perfect addition to your compost. Spread half-inch layer of aged compost in your lawn, working it in with a leaf rake. Distribute the seed over the compost using a spreader. Again, if you have a big lawn, you can save time by renting a power overseeder.

Control perennial weeds

If you have to track the time you spend in your garden, most of it is probably spent on pulling out a weed. When you allow weed to thrive in your lawn, they will compete with your plants and shrubs for sunlight, water, and nutrients. Fall is a great time to control perennial weeds. You can apply any weed killing compound. This makes the whole process easier and time-saving. However, these products should be applied with caution and care. The last thing you want to happen is getting your crops or plants destroyed together with the weed!

Clean your yard

You can’t be out all the time during the winter to do some yard cleanup. Leaf removal and mulching are the most time-consuming part of winter lawn preparation. When you rake, make sure that you use some tarps to haul bulk of leaves. This will certainly make this laborious task easy to bear. Late fall is a great time to clean your yard because there will be fewer leaves and the weather is much more bearable. Fallen leaves and weeds are the perfect places for pests to settle in for the winter. Don’t forget to trim out-of-place tree branches that could cause troubles in winter and clean out the gutters. Clear any deadwood from trees and woody perennials. Lastly, protect cold-sensitive plants by adding more mulch to their base and wrapping them in cloth barriers.

Winter-proofing Your Lawn

Preparing your lawn for the winter should not be too overwhelming. You still have a couple of weeks to prepare so start planning now. By following these tips, you can ensure a clean, healthy and beautiful lawn in the coming months! Having one less thing to worry will truly make your winter experience more fun and enjoyable.

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Megan Jones

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