Prepping Up: Winterizing Your Lawn

Here comes the cold season. It is now time to prepare our homes, cars and our selves for the low temperatures. But what about our beloved garden and lawn? Winterizing your lawn and garden is all about keeping it thriving or alive until the following year. Contrary to what most people think, winter does not kill your lawn or your garden. During this period, the grasses are just hibernating, like some animals during winter.

Timing is important when winterizing. You do not want to have your lawn deprived of any kind of nutrients or vitamins while the ground is not yet freezing. Give adequate time for your grass and lawn to absorb as much sunlight and other nutrients they can.

• Rake leaves and clear the lawn of any kind of debris to allow more sunlight to be absorbed by the grass. Check with the local waste management council about the disposal of garden and lawn wastes, there are some states and locations where it is illegal to include yard trimmings in the trash. Leaving the trimmings could cause the mildew and molds to develop.

• You could use weed control in your lawn even if they will be covered with snow. Just like grasses, weeds still grow. By using weed control, the weeds would not return in spring.

• Another thing to check on your lawns when winterizing would be the pH levels. You would need to attain a balanced levels of nutrients in your soil, this would ensure that the lawn will be absorbing the nutrients or fertilizers in the soil and prepare for growth during spring.

• Fertilizing the soil to prepare for the winter is also important. When looking for winter lawn fertilizer, it is high in potassium. Potassium encourages the growth of roots, no the growth of leaves and flowers. Fertilizing the soil is usually recommended to start after September or October. If you would be fertilizing too late, the grass could still continue grow and eventually be damaged by frost.

• Aerating is also important when winterizing your lawn. Grass tends to be compressed and the packets in the soil where oxygen could be easily available to the roots. Oxygen is essential when roots and plants are breaking down the sugars stored from their photosynthesis. You could use punch-core aerator which is commonly used in golf courses. Aside from that, raking could also mildly aerate the soils.

• A thin layer of thatch is good for the lawn but if the layer of thatch exceeds more that ½ inch, then it could cause problems with your lawn. It could limit the flow of air which could eventually cause diseases and fungal problems.

With proper winterizing your lawn will be able to survive harsh climates. Winterizing your lawn may require a lot of work, but when spring comes, you would see the difference and the advantage of preparing for the winter. If your lawn is not that well cared for, then winterizing would help in rejuvenating your lawn and making it easier to manage during spring.