| How to Winterize Your Lawn |
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| Written by JM Van Horn | |
| Monday, 02 November 2009 10:54 | |
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When the Fall season approach, people's thoughts drift to the holiday season but it marks the time of year to prepare your lawn for the challenges it will face over the course of a long and cold winter. If you fail to give your lawn the proper attention before the winter invasion, you will find yourself doing extra repair work when the snow melts and the temperatures rise. Homeowners can prevent this from happening by winterizing their lawn properly. The Fall months are the perfect time to treat your lawn because this is when plants and seeds are left to grow without being inhibited by pests and disease problems. Here are the steps you need to take to ensure your lawn survives the winter. The first step in winterizing your lawn is to remove the weeds. Weeds are a homeowner's nightmare as they compete with your garden for food, light, and water. There are two different approaches you can utilize to remove the weeds in a short amount of time. The first and more traditional approach you may try is the non chemical method. Here you can remove the weeds by hand, smother them with a blanket of mulch or landscape cover, or use an uprooting tool. If you are going to physically remove the weeds you want to make sure you need to yank out the entire weed, including the roots. It is also important to remember, it is easier to remove weeds after it has rained and the soil is moist.
A more modern approach to wed removal is the use of chemical herbicides. Though they can be some of the most effective weed controls, chemical herbicides can cause the most damage to your lawn if not properly used. Some herbicides are selective, meaning they will only kill certain types of plants, while others are non-selective and will kill any plant they come in contact with. When using chemical herbicides anywhere on your lawn, it is important to read their instructions and use them accordingly. The second step in wintering your lawn is to remove any fallen leaves. Just like weeds, fallen leaves will hamper the growth and revitalization of your lawn. It is important to rake the leaves because they can compact the ground soil, damage the blades of grass, and limit the amount of air the lawn will receive. This is the perfect time to act green and recycle the dead leaves. You can place a thin layer of leaves in your flower gardens to act as mulch during the winter. The leaves will provide enriching nutrients to the soil as they being the decomposition process. This leads us to another stage in the process of winterizing your lawn. Most people think the application of mulch is best left to the warmer months, but they do not realize the important part they play in the survival of their lawn. If applied properly, mulch can act as insulation Aerating your soil is the next phase in the winterizing process of your lawn. This is the process of creating small holes into the lawn's surface to allow it to become adequately moisturized. Aerating your lawn will help create a deeper and healthier root system, along with stimulating the microbial activity in your soil. After you aerate your lawn with a foot pressure aerator or with a machine powered aerator, you will to water your lawn frequently to make sure the soil reaps the benefits. It should take about six weeks for the grass to fill in the cone size holes left from the aerating process. Aerating your lawn will also help the next step in the winterization process. If you follow these steps listed above to winterizing your lawn, you will be rewarded when Spring arrives. Instead of spending countless hours removing weeds and dealing with areas of dead grass, you will be able to enjoy the warmer temperatures and focus on your preparation for the Summer. October 16, 2008 by JM Van Horn Excerpt From Associated Content
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Anna, TX | |||||||
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