Depending on the location you’re in, winter usually ensures most plant’s death. Now, just because the cold will be hard on most plants doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take measures to help sustain your lawn through the colder months. Careful consideration and armed with the knowledge from these helpful tips and you’ll be able to keep your grass green when winter comes!
Fertilizing
Now this may go without saying but we’re saying it anyway. It’s important to fertilize before the temperature drops too low because your lawn needs as much nutrients as possible when you’re trying to keep that beautiful green color. Spreading fertilizer during the end of fall and the beginning of winter while the grass is still growing will help to feed the root systems all through the cold and will help to lock in the health of the lawn before the first frost. Grass needs nitrogen for top growth, phosphorus for the roots, and potassium for overall health. Most fertilizers have an N-P-K chart showing the percentage of each element respectively. Also, pay attention and follow the instructions provided on the fertilizer, when spreading, more is not always better.
Aeration
During the summer, soil gets very dry and becomes hard and compact. Before the end of September, it’s a good idea to aerate or “exfoliate” the surface of your lawn. Raking, poking holes, seeding, and turning over dead patches are all examples of aerating prior to the first snowfall. Doing this a few times throughout the growing season will allow your grass to absorb as many nutrients as possible before the winter comes. Incorporating aeration into a mowing and fertilizing schedule will help to keep the grass as lush as possible because you’re allowing the root systems to establish and get in the best position to absorb all that they can before and during the winter.
Cleaning
Preparation is key with this tip. Going into the winter it’s so necessary to clean everything off of your lawn before it becomes covered in snow. By leaving debris and toys and lawn ornaments outside, the grass underneath can suffocate and become moldy yellow patches come spring. Avoid this by taking an afternoon close to the first frost or near your last mowing and do a quick clean up to avoid any unnecessary bald patches forming over the winter!
Grooming/Lawn-Edging
This tip goes hand-in-hand with cleaning. Maintenance of the lawn before the end of fall is crucial in order to have a lush lawn in the spring. Lawn-edging and weeding are primarily the focus here. By weeding the yard, you’re removing competition for those scarce nutrients during the winter and making sure there isn’t anything that’s going to choke out the grass. House Tipster says lawn-edging is important here as well in order to manicure the edge of the lawn and to keep a handle on growth patterns. Remember, healthy grass covers new weeds from the sun, preventing weed development, grooming helps by removing places where weeds can sprout. Lawn-edging will also help ensure the extraneous blades of grass hanging over the edge of the lawn won’t smother anything and, like weeding, won’t steal nutrients from the grass you want to keep!
Traffic
This tip is all about preparation, if you think ahead and accommodate the foot traffic around your lawn before the snow falls you can avoid loss over the winter. Creating pathways or by keeping paved driveways and walkways free of ice will help keep your yard strong and healthy through the cold. Even strong grass can become bent and die while being trampled under the weight of snow and footsteps so be mindful of how to navigate your space!
Mowing
You should be mowing until late fall, progressively lowering your cutting blade on the mower until the last cut is about 2 inches. Not going too low will encourage healthy growth next season and help to prevent disease and weed growth. Mowing over fallen leaves provide quick decomposing materials to benefit the health of the grass by enriching soil, keep this in mind as you mow into the fall, whole leaves bad, shredded leaves good.
Salting
Clearing pathways and walkways so your grass isn’t stomped all winter is crucial but be careful when using salt. It’s important to remember that everything on top of the lawn will eventually affect the grass below. When salting and shoveling the path you created before the snow be conscious of where you toss the salt filled snow because most sodium chloride-based salt is harmful to grass. When salting choose a mix that’s calcium chloride-based which is less harmful to your lawn!
Maintaining a lush, green, healthy lawn all year round is not an impossible task. It just takes some preemptive planning and casual mindfulness of the inevitable weather change! Follow these tips and you can keep your grass nourished even when the temperature drops.