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.
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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)