How to prepare your lawn for winter
The summer is over and the leaves on your lawn are starting to turn from green to brown. Before you pull out your trusty mower for one last time of the year, there are a few things that need doing first. Read on if you want to know how to prepare your lawn for winter.
One of the most important things you need to do is to dethatch your lawn. This will remove old thatch and stimulate new growth, which will give you a nice lush winter lawn. To carry out the process, simply use a special rake or fork to loosen up the surface of the turf before removing it with a mower set at its highest level. Once all of the thatch has been removed, give your lawn a good feed. You can use an autumn fertilizer which will give you a good head start on those winter weeds and moss!
Now for probably one of the most important steps. Give your lawn some protection from those harsh elements ahead by giving it a protective coating of water-based spray sealant. This will give it a much better chance of standing up to the cold months ahead. You might want to consider the option of laying some turf over certain areas if you have an uneven lawn, as this will provide extra grip during those frosty months. If you are unlucky enough to have pine trees nearby then now is the time to remove their needles. This will prevent them from falling on your lawn and killing it over the winter.
If you are planning to leave your lawn in the harsh winter weather, it is very vital for you to prepare them before leaving them out in the cold. The first thing that you should do is make sure there are no leaves on your lawn. It might be necessary for you to rake up all of these leaves and then use a leaf blower or even a running lawnmower over the entire yard at least two times during this process.
Step to prepare your lawn for winter
Step 1: Aerate your lawn
Next, you should aerate your lawn (pull plugs of soil cores out) using an aerating machine. This process is helpful which helps with preventing clumps and water puddles from forming on top of the soil after rainfall during the winter season. If you don’t aerate your lawn before winter hits, then your lawn may most likely not be able to handle heat generated by sunlight throughout springtime; thus creating an environment that can cause disease and fungus which will lead to dead patches within your yard
Steps 2: Use a winterizing fertilizer
The next thing that you should do is make sure you use a winterizing fertilizer. This type of fertilizer contains higher levels of potassium and lower levels of nitrogen; which promotes more disease, fungus, and weed resistance during the winter months. You should only apply the proper amount required for your lawn size (two cups for every thousand square feet) if you want to save money because too much can cause lawn damage such as burned areas amongst many other problems.
Step 3: No leaves left
After you prepare your lawn for winter, it is almost time for you to put down your rake and wait out the cold weather until springtime comes again. Make sure that there are no leaves left on your yard this time which could quickly decompose into stagnant grounds that will steal water from grass blades at early morning hours when evaporation is at the maximum rate, and this will cause your lawn to be thirsty with yellow or brown leaves.
If you do not rake up all of the leaves within your yard before winter hits, they can become as hard as rock as they begin to freeze and thaw over and over again during different temperature changes throughout the day. Think of it like a cycle that creates a problem for the roots of your grass plants because if their home becomes too compacted from decomposing organic material such as fallen leaves, then chances of water getting into soil will decrease drastically which causes drought stress that includes wilting and then death among many other problems.
Step 3: Maintain a compost pile
A final tip that we recommend you do is make sure to maintain a compost pile in order to create more healthy organic material for your garden. You can use leaves from your yard or even from a local farmer within the area to create compost which is definitely needed if you have a lawn. By doing this, you can help promote new healthy grass growth with no weeds or fungus.
Conclusion
If you follow these simple steps throughout the wintertime, then your lawn will be prepared and restored for next spring when it’s time to mow once again! If you are like millions of other Americans, you are sick and tired of spending endless hours maintaining your lawn. However, all is not lost because there are some easy tips to ensure that your lawn will be ready for next year when you decide to mow it again.
There are dozens of other ways that you can improve the overall appearance of your yard; thus, giving you a much higher resale value when it’s time to sell your home.
