Winter Lawn Care Maintenance Tips

In the early fall months it is hard to think of winter lawn care maintenance, but it needs to be done to ensure a healthy lawn next spring time.  As the winter months approach start by lowering the height of your lawn mower.  Winter should begin without any tender lawn left so that it doesn’t become a breeding ground for winter lawn diseases.  By the time winter is here you should be essentially shaving your lawn to get it ready, but to avoid damaging the turf you should do this in several steps and not all at once. 

Winter lawn care also includes a final fertilization in the fall months.  Your lawn won’t use the fertilizer immediately because of the inactive lawn, but your lawn will store the fertilizer in the root system and use it again in the first signs of spring.  Be sure to aerate your lawn before the first sign of a frost to help with your winter lawn care.  A good aeration will set the stage for beautiful lawn come springtime without as much thatch to your lawn.

Clean Up For Winter Lawn Care

Clearing your lawn of any debris can be extremely important to providing winter lawn care.  This includes any playground equipment, pools, hoses, leaves, toys, logs, or gardening equipment.  Basically anything that is sitting directly on the grass should be removed.  Once the snow comes, these items can smother your grass and damage your turf.  This also can leave your lawn vulnerable to disease if not taken care of properly.  Field mice can do damage to a lawn so if you live in a particularly susceptible area then also clean out under any shrubs, especially low lying ones which can act as a warm cover for the mice to eat up your lawn.

Storing your fertilizers and grass seeds is also a part of your winter lawn care.  If stored properly most will be able to be used again the following year.  You should keep the grass seed cool and dry, preferably in a garage where mice can’t get into the bag.  If your fertilizer bags are already opened make sure that you seal it securely so that no moisture from the air can enter the bag.  Pesticide products should not be allowed to freeze, so leaving those outside might be a bad idea if you live in an especially cold area, so choose a secure area away from pets and children, and away from heat and flame.  A basement with room that can be locked is excellent for storing pesticides. 

Winter is a great time to brush up on your winter lawn care, as well as your summer lawn care.  Read as many books or magazines to find out the proper way to care for your lawn, so that when spring time rolls around you are prepared.  Take this time to learn some gardening also, to make it look even more beautiful then it will be.