From the Final Fall Cleanup to Setting Up a Healthy Spring
Looking Back at the Growing Season
Many of you may be thinking about all the nurturing, watering, weeding, and hard work you put into your lawn throughout the growing season. Preparing your lawn for winter is one of the final items on the list, and it can also be one of the most rewarding. With a little end of season attention, your lawn should only need one final cleanup before winter arrives.
Clear Leaves and Debris
If fall has come and gone and you still have branches or leaves on the lawn, now is the time to pull out the leaf rake or leaf blower. As the trees go dormant and begin to drop leaves with colder temperatures, your lawn will also start to slow its growth. Even so, the grass remains active while the leaves are falling. Removing the leaves allows the lawn to receive as much sunlight as possible, which helps it prepare and store food for the winter. This is especially important if you had an aeration and seeding service in the fall because the new grass plants are still maturing.
Remove Acorns and Tree Seeds
After the leaves are cleaned up, the next step is removing any acorns or tree seeds that have fallen onto the lawn. These can cause small areas of grass to die back, leaving open spots where winter annuals or weeds can take hold.
Address Brown or Diseased Areas
It is also helpful to look for any patches where the grass has turned brown and may be holding disease spores. Rake up the dead grass and bag the debris. You can compost most yard material, but anything that shows signs of disease should be thrown away rather than added to a compost pile.
Apply a Winter Fertilizer
Fall is an ideal time for turfgrass to redevelop its roots, which makes it the perfect opportunity to apply a winter fertilizer. A product with high nitrogen and moderate amounts of phosphorus and potassium works well. Turfgrass stores nutrients in its roots to supply food throughout winter and into the spring. Since turfgrass can remain active until temperatures reach about twenty five degrees, giving it the nutrients it needs now will help it stay healthy through the colder months.
By following these simple steps, you can set your lawn up for a strong start when spring returns.
