Maintaining a luscious lawn through the wintertime is critical to a springtime display of greenery. There are many options one can choose to ensure that the frigid months do not spoil your hard work from the spring and summer. Follow these instructions below and your lawn will escape the winter beaming with color and life.
Be Alert
Simply, monitoring weather reports as the fall season approaches will put you a step ahead. Prior to the first overnight frost warning, make sure to aerate your lawn. Aeration allows the grass to breathe before the cold weather arrives. Try the old screwdriver test, insert a screwdriver into the grass and if it doesn’t penetrate the soil, then you need to aerate.
There are two ways to aerate your lawn: call a landscaper or rent an aerator, for which you will need a truck. Do not attempt to poke holes in the ground yourself and expect the grass to grow. Lastly is the importance of the term “dethatch.” Thatch is a layer of living and dead grass. You want a half inch layer in your yard. Grab a rake and dethatch your yard in early spring or fall if you live north of the Mason-Dixon line and in late spring/fall if you are south of it.
The next step is to fertilize your lawn. This critical step allows your lawn to soak up essential nutrients. Vitally important because these nutrients allow the soil to retain this sustenance for the long winter months. Fertilizing is a fairly simple process that can be a DIY project, or is something you can get help with. Drop that delicious seed into the ground after the aeration has taken effect and move on to step two. Obviously we are happy to do this for you by simply calling Anthony’s.
Clean your lawn
Prior to the onset of cold weather, you will want to make sure that your yard stays clear of leaves, mulch, lawn chairs, balls, footprints, etc. Dry leaves can be cut with your mower and returned to the lawn to recycle nutrients. Wet leaves need to be raked off the grass and removed. In addition, cut your grass a little shorter on the final cut of the season. Progressively lower your motor height by one notch until you hit 2 inches. The lower grass decreases the potential for snow build up. It also minimizes the distance from soil to air, allowing valuable oxygen to reach the dirt. Before that first snow hits, be sure to keep the kids off the lawn so that it can grow healthily prior to being smothered when the sun shows back up.
Don’t hate the snow
Contrary to popular opinion, snow is not bad for grass. Due to its porous nature, snow insulates the soil, thereby protecting it and allowing oxygen to continually flow to the soil underneath. Ice can be harmful. Keep driveways and pathways clear of snow in order to encourage guests to trod where the grass does not lay. A properly prepared lawn is the one that will flourish when spring arrives.
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