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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2012-10-18, Page 13THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2012. PAGE 13. Prepare your lawn for winter to ensure a green spring MS –Every weekend of the last few months you have spent mowing, weeding, edging and trimming your lawn so that it will look its best. In order to ensure your lawn makes a complete recovery after winter hibernation, you may want to spend the fall taking steps to help your lawn survive the winter monthsahead.Winterizing a lawn varies depending on where you live and how harsh a typical winter is. There are certain key tasks to complete before you can rest for the winter season. • Remove fallen leaves and debris. Leaf cleanup is among the tasks homeowners dread the most. Raking leaves can be arduous, but it is well worth the effort. Fallen leaves can smother the grass and lead to dead spots and decay next season. Wait until the majority of the leaves have fallen from the trees before you begin to rake; otherwise, you could find yourself repeating the process throughout the fall. Mulched leaves can be added in small amounts to garden beds to provide rich organic material for next year’s crop of flowers. Be sure to pick up any twigs and other debris as well. Additional debris can become trapped under snow and hinder grass growth when spring arrives. • Cut your lawn short. Unless the season is unseasonably wet and warm, your lawn shouldn’t grow too much in October and November. Continue to cut your lawn until there is no visible growth for about two weeks. It pays to give it a short cut before frost arrives so that long piles of dead grass will not smother any new growth in the spring. Also, long grass tends to bend down upon itself, trapping moisture that can lead to fungal diseases like snow mold. • Aerate the lawn. Soil can becompacted over time, especially inyards that see heavy foot traffic. You can rent an aerator from a lawn supply store so that water and fertilizer can reach the soil. • Fertilize. Now is the time to give the lawn fresh food to replenish the strength of the root system. All summer long the lawn has been depleting the soil of nutrition, but autumn presents a great opportunity to strengthen those roots. Consider a slow-release formula designed for winterizing that will feed the lawn all winter long. • Edge the garden beds. Take advantage of the cooler weather and slow-growing grass to re-edge around flower beds. Even though the grass above the surface of the soil will stop growing, the roots will remain viable and the lawn will still be sending out rhizomes and tillers to produce new grass blades in thespring. These can easily encroach ongarden beds. Edge now so you will have less work to do in the spring. • Trim hedges and trees. If there are any overhanging tree branches or shrubbery blocking sunlight from reaching the lawn, cut back these areas once the foliage has thinned. Take advantage of your town’s leaf and twig pick-up services. • Seed bare patches. Scour the lawn for bare patches and put down some seed in these areas. The cooler weather will enable the seeds to germinate without having to compete with weed growth. Once you have prepared your lawn for the winter you can bring in any lawn tools that need repair and have them set and packed away for the spring. FREE WOOD-PRO™ KIT WITH THE PURCHASE OF ANY ELIGIBLE STIHL CHAIN SAW * * Limited time offer. Free WOOD-PRO™ Kit offer applies to purchases of new eligible chain saws and is valid until November 30th, 2012, while supplies last. This kit includes: a Woodsman® carrying case, STIHL TIMBERSPORTS® hat, replacement loop of OILOMATIC® chain and a Chain Saw Operation and Maintenance DVD. Prices do not include HST, PST, GST, QST, where applicable. Featured prices are in effect until November 30th, 2012 at participating STIHL Dealers. $599.95 Featured Price $349.95 $399.95 $519.95 (with 16” bar) $299.95 $449.95 $449.95 $749.95 ASK OUR FRIENDLY STAFF FOR MORE PRODUCT INFORMATION OR A FREE DEMONSTRATION LIMITED TIME ONLY MS 170 NOW ONLY FROM (with 16” bar) 16MS 2 E El E 0 0 E ligible E ChhainC Saw Models 3MS 2 5MS 2 -B1 C9MS 2 -B0 C8MS 1 -B0 C5MS 2 09MS 2 EN Y NDLFRIE AFFSTTA R MFOROUR 2.0 5 8. 2 5 Displacement 8 4 2 4 Enngine E PoowerP (cc) (kW))W) .0 4 9. 1 .5 4 3. 2 5 5 8 2 .1 3 5. 1 .5 4 3. 2 5.6 5 0. 3 ORE PRODUCT INF RMNMAFORTIOAMN OR A FREE DEMONSTRA )5a9b96919t9i9w2(2 h9 6.13 / 1. 5 59.99$5 6 We 1 1 8 eight W Feeatured F ( PrriceP (with 16” bar) .06 / 1. 4 59.943$ .06 / 1. 4 599.93$ 32 / 1 6 5 r53 9195$ .2 / 9.4 5)r9..”992w($ .09 / 1. 4 59.944$ 0.39 / 1. 5 59.944$ TIONFREE DEMONSTRA (kg/lb) E 2 -B1 C9MS 2 6MS 3 oincludes: a W ®® r applies to purchases of new eligible chain saws and is v 5 0 .5 5 8. 2 .9 5 4. 3 oodsman carrying case, STIHL TIMBERSPORTS hat, replacem 6 0 .32 / 1. 6 59.195$ .3. 5 59.974$9 / 1 ment loop of valid until No .stihl.cawwww. 79 Clyde St., Bluevale, ON N0G 1G0 519-357-3877 schmidtspower@gmail.com est. 1 9 5 0 t19 est. 1 9 5 0 Leaf Blowers starting at $17995 NEW CONSTRUCTION AGRICULTURAL RENOVATIONS RESIDENTIAL Call 519-527-1538 Tarion Home Warranty Builders Dave Franken CONCRETE FORMING For All Your Concrete Needs! COMMERCIAL RESIDENTIAL • Foundations • Floor Finishing • Circular Tanks • Sandwich Walls FREE ESTIMATES RR#3 Blyth ~ Fax 519-523-9604 519-523-9971 Take care There are plenty of things homeowners can do to ensure their lawn is taken care of over the winter. This process will ensure a green, healthy lawn when spring rolls around once again. The steps can be easy and low-maintenance. (MS photo)