Before Old Man Winter rears his ugly head, take time now to learn how to get your lawn ready for the cold weather. This will ensure that you will have a lush, green lawn when it starts growing again this spring. Below are three tips on how you can do this.
Remove Dead Grass and Other Debris
If you look at your lawn you will likely see a layer of thatch covering it. Thatch is simply dead grass built up. This will prevent the soil from draining, and encourage fungus diseases to start growing. This will prevent your grass from growing strong again when the weather warms up.
Use a rake across the lawn to remove any grass over the top layer. Raking will also remove any debris that may be embedded into the grass. Bag up the grass and dispose of it. Remove any leaves that may still be on your lawn from the fall. If you have a large yard, you can attach a leaf catcher to your lawn mower to make it much quicker.
If you have flower gardens on your property, you can use the leaves as mulch in the spring. Simply shred them up with a shredder or your lawnmower, put them in garbage bags, and store them in your garage or a shed for the winter. Leaves break down naturally and they provide your soil with nutrients. They also provide food for earthworms, which is beneficial as earthworms help keep the soil aerated.
Aerate Your Lawn
Aerating your lawn is beneficial as it allows fertilizer, water, and oxygen to reach the grass roots. Fall is a great time to do this as the weather is cooler. You can purchase or rent a lawn aerator at a home improvement store. It is gas powered and as you walk it over the lawn the aerator punches holes in the soil. You will also hear these holes referred to as plugs. The holes are evenly spaced, and they are not large enough to be noticeable by someone driving or walking by your home.
If you do not want to do this yourself, you can hire a landscape contractor to do this work for you.
Keep Mowing and Watering Your Lawn
All during the fall months continue mowing your lawn just as you did throughout the spring and summer. Until the weather dips below freezing the grass will continue to grow. Remember when you get finished to rake the grass off the lawn.
On your last mow, cut the grass down approximately two inches. The grass may also quit growing before this. You will know this is you do not have any lawn clippings after you mow.
If you do not get a lot of rain, provide the lawn with approximately one inch of water once per week. You do not want it to dry out as this will make your grass unhealthy and more susceptible to problems later.
There are other things you should do, such as control weeds and fertilizer your lawn. Contact a landscape company, like Heritage Lawn & Landscape LLC, for help.
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8 August 2017
About a year ago, I realized that part of the reason the plants in my yard kept dying was the fact that they were planted in the wrong places. I didn't pay much attention to which plants needed certain amounts of light, and it was costing them their lives. Several of the plants were really struggling to live, and it was really hard to see. I realized that if I ever wanted to make things right, I would need to create a landscaping plan that would work well for the natural landscape of my yard. This blog is all about understanding landscaping.
