Winter lawn care tips
1. KEEP TRAFFIC TO A MINIMUM
Even brown and dying grass shouldn’t be walked on. Your lawn is sturdy to many things, but if heavy traffic remains consistent on one area of your lawn, then it’ll have a hard time growing back due to the compaction of the lawn. Another issue that tends to come with compacted ground is crabgrass, prostrate knotweed, and goosegrass. To keep traffic to a minimum, be sure to clean off all sidewalks and walkways to your home.
2. AERATE AND OVERSEED
Your lawn may be compacted during the summer months. Before winter begins, it’s a great idea to aerate your lawn. Aerating your lawn will break up any of this compaction and allow your lawn to breathe well during the winter. After aerating your lawn, water, air, and all good nutrients (from fertilizer) are then able to move throughout the soil without freely. Once this is done, then you fertilize your lawn.
3. PREPARE AHEAD OF TIME
All of these steps listed above are important for keeping your lawn in great shape during the winter. However, if you don’t prepare ahead of time, these steps won’t be beneficial. Prepare for the winter before it reaches your lawn. Have your winter lawn care plan set in place and ready to go the moment you feel that crispness in the air.
4. WATER IT AND KEEP DEBRIS FREE
After laying down the fertilizer and cutting the grass to a nice length, you should then water it. Water your awn evenly and ensure that it doesn’t dry out. You then need to do what you can to keep the lawn clean. All debris and furniture items should be removed from the lawn for the up and coming winter months. Because fall is now near its end, your lawn most likely has dead leaves on it that have fallen from your trees. Be sure to remove these leaves from your lawn (Check out the the article here. SCROLL DOWN AFTER CLICKING). Leaves that are wet and left on your lawn can cause diseases to grow. And dry leaves that are left on your lawn can suffocate it, causing it to die. If the leaves are all dry, you can consider going over them with your mower to break them down into tiny pieces that will then give back nutrients to your lawn.
5. USE MOWING STRATEGIES
There are a few mowing strategies that will help your lawn stay strong during the winter. When summer comes to an end, lower the cutting level of your lawnmower slowly but surely. Each time you mow your lawn from the end of summer until winter, you’ll want to lower your lawnmower another level. This cuts the grass shorter and shorter gradually without causing shock to it by cutting it down all at once. Short grass for the winter is ideal. Otherwise, mice and other pests and rodents will find comfort in your tall grass. HOWEVER, DO NOT CUT YOUR LAWN LOWER THAN 3" UNLESS YOU HAVE BERMUDA GRASS! This IS NOT a must but it won't hurt the lawn either.
6. Use Fertilizer
After you aerate your lawn, its best to go ahead and fertilize it. Fertilizing your lawn should be done carefully by following the instructions on the fertilizer. Late fall and early winter are when you want to fertilize your lawn to keep it healthy during the cooler season. You may also fertilize in the late winter, early spring. I'd say around 55 degrees would be optimal.
When you fertilize your lawn before winter hits, you essentially give it back the nutrients that it lost during the hot summer months. When the snow falls onto the ground, the fertilizer will remain on your lawn. The grass will then feed off of the fertilizer throughout the entire winter season. When winter ends and spring comes around and it’s time to remove snow and ice, your grass will be well fed and nourished. Nitrogen is a major factor for feeding your lawn and keeping it healthy.
