While it may seem like your lawn care is over for the year once winter hits, that’s not necessarily true. Good lawn care requires year-round protection, and the winter months are no exception. How do you go about maintaining a happy, healthy lawn when it’s cold outside? Here are a few ideas to consider when locking up that mower until next spring.
Remove leaves and debris
In order to give your lawn plenty of space for the grass to breathe freely, you’ll want to start by removing any and all debris laying around. Any fallen tree branches or equipment that you’ve left on the grass during the warmer months should either be disposed of or stored away for the time being. You will also want to rake whatever leaves were left behind from the fall season. Doing so will not only make your lawn look cleaner but also give it the necessary breathing room it needs to grow back as healthy as ever.
Aerate your lawn
Another key point of taking care of your lawn involves aerating it. According to Gardners Path, aeration “is a process of making holes down through the turf and into the soil below, to introduce air and allow water to penetrate.” Because the soil tends to clump together more for a variety of reasons, it needs aeration to loosen it up and thereby allow air to flow more freely through it.
Guard against ice
To keep you safe from ice and sleet during wintertime, make sure to use de-ice product to help melt away the ice and allow for safe travel. However, you also want to make sure you don’t hurt your lawn in the process of doing this. Aim for sidewalks, porches, ramps, and the like when applying this product and stay away from allowing any to fall on the actual grass itself. Doing so will keep the salt product from damaging your grass and keep you safe in the process.
Protect your mower
If you mow your own lawn during the spring and summer months, you’ll want to make sure to take good care of it when winter hits. Clean out the underside of the mower from whatever grass and dirt that’s built up over time. Sharpen the blades so that they’re nice and efficient to cut the grass effectively when it’s time to mow again. Not only will this keep your mower running better, but it will also cut the grass cleaner. You should also consider siphoning off the gas and storing it in a safe place until it’s time to run it again.
For more tips on winter landscape and how to maintain your yard, lawn, or garden ready for spring, contact First Fruits Landscaping at any time. Call First Fruits Landscaping for all of your Pacific Northwest landscaping, gardening, and yard maintenance needs. Would love to help you design and prepare your garden or landscape for the entire year.
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