In Fall Prepare Your Lawn for Winter

Preparing your lawn for wintertime is easy and inexpensive. Simple things you can do now will help make your grass green next spring.

Our yards are similar to our bodies in basic needs. We both require good food, air and water to thrive. Before the cold weather sets in, there are some basic things to do to keep your lawn in shape. When the air turns cooler but the ground is still warm, it's the perfect time to take steps to insure a healthy yard next season.

Feed your Lawn

A late year fertilizer will encourage winter endurance, strengthen roots and promote early green grass in the spring.

• Nitrogen- it keeps grass green. Nitrogen affects the color and disease resistance of a lawn.
• Phosphorus- promotes stronger roots. Turf that is well fed with phosphorus will be more tolerant of diseases, heat, cold and drought.
• Potassium- important to prevent lawn stress and keeps your yard strong.

The exact fertilizer combination, or ratio, depends on where you live.

Organic Fertilizing

• As leaves begin to fall, you can just mow them into the lawn.
• Mowing regularly will allow you to feed the lawn without exceeding the amount of leaves you can cultivate into it.
• When you're done mowing the grass, it should look as if it's been raked. If you can see shredded leaves on top of the grass, then you will need to rake up any remaining leaves. Otherwise, they will block sunlight, smother and weaken the grass plants.

Breathe

Aerating is as crucial a part of a healthy lawn as feeding. It's done simply by making holes in the lawn and pulling out small "plugs" of soil. By opening up space around the roots, they can breathe, receive the nutrients from fertilizing.

Manual aerators are fine for smaller lawns but do require a bit of hard work. Power aerators can be rented and make the job easier and quicker. Or you can hire someone to core-aerate your lawn for minimal cost, depending on the size.




Posted by Joanne Vanderhoef
Marketing and Media Specialist

The Management Group
Property and HOA Management in Vancouver WA and Portland OR
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