Like all things, the season of winter has some pros and cons. For example, we’ll be able to build snowmen and have snowball fights, but we’ll also have to shovel our doorsteps and sidewalks. For our lawns, we’ll inevitably miss some green grass and sun and, instead, see browner, sparser lawns. But what you do now still contributes to the health and beauty of your lawn in the spring. For this reason, it is extremely important to protect and maintain your lawn even in the winter. Thankfully, the steps to winterize your lawn are pretty simple.
Spread Fertilizer and Cool-Weather Grass Seed
The first and most important step to winterizing your lawn is to apply ample fertilizer. We suggest using a spreader, as it will allow you to spread the fertilizer as evenly as possible. Use only the recommended amount as too much fertilizer can burn your grass. Then, scatter cool-weather or cool-season grass seed on your lawn, preferably with the same spreader you used for the fertilizer.
Aerate Your Lawn
The next step is to aerate your lawn. This comes with many benefits, such as improved air circulation between the soil and atmosphere, greater fertilizer uptake, and reduced soil compaction. You can use a spike aerator, which uses spikes to poke holes into the ground. The other option is a plug aerator, which removes small plugs of soil from your lawn. If you have a large lawn, consider contacting a professional contractor, like Giovine Landscaping, to quickly and effectively help you with this.
Clean It Up
Before severe snow hits, be sure to clean up your lawn. Leaving things like leaves, debris, or toys on the lawn make it susceptible to disease and could smother the grass. Poor conditions like these invite pests like insects and mice.
Cut Your Grass A Little Shorter
Grass that is excessively long can smother itself and cause disease. It can be particularly troublesome if you experience a late freeze or an uncharacteristic thaw. These weather conditions can cause a freeze-thaw cycle, which exposes your lawn and plants to damage. When there is an isolated rise or drop in the temperatures that is followed by regular temperatures, your garden will experience a freeze, followed by a thaw, as explained by the United States Golf Association. The thaw falsely signals to plants that temperatures are warming and spring is near. If plants do begin to bud and bloom, they will become exposed to damage from the cold. Although we certainly cannot control the weather, trimming our grass a little shorter for the winter is a good idea. However, be sure to avoid cutting it too short, which will expose the crown to extreme weather.
Winterize Your Lawn: It’s Worth It
It may sound a bit troublesome to winterize your lawn, but we are sure that you’ll be grateful for having fully prepared your grass to brace the cold weather. We encourage you to take a weekend to prepare your lawn or reach out to a local company to help you take care of it. Then simply sit back and spend the rest of your winter without worrying about your lawn.