Our Landscape Answering Service Helps You Prepare Your Lawn for Winter

Winter is quickly approaching and as a homeowner you need to start thinking about preparing your lawn for cooler temperatures. If you would prefer to DIY and not seek out an expert landscaper to assist you, our landscape answering service brings you some quick and easy ways you can protect your lawn and yard from harsh weather.  

Lawn advice from our landscape answering service  

How to protect your lawn :

Rake Your Leaves

Leaves can smother your grass and harm the overall health of your yard. Dead brown dirt patches will surely be an “eyesore” in your neighborhood come spring if you don’t devote some time during the fall to gathering those dead leaves and trashing them.

Don’t worry though; raking can be fun with a positive outlook. This is a great family activity and traditional pastime to spend a few hours outdoors with your family. Have one family member rake while another family member gathers the leaves into a nice pile. Maybe throw your little ones into the pile for a little autumn fun before placing the piles in a large bag.

Did You Know?  According to ShareCare, “The average 150 pound person will burn about 235 calories in 45 minutes of leaf-raking.” Combining raking and your exercise routine is a great way to prioritize your time and get the most out of these necessary chores.

Build a Compost Out of Your Leaves 

Instead of trashing all of the leaves you just spent a lot of time raking, why don’t you think about building a stash of leaf mulch and/or building a leaf compost? This natural and free compost can give your dead leaves a purpose and help your garden grow. The leaves you will collect contain twice as many minerals as store bought plant food options so maybe this year, give it a try and see if it works for your yard or garden.

Our landscape answering service is happy to share these 3 easy steps to creating your own compost: 

1. 1. Rake leaves weekly and store in a bag.
2. 2. When the bag is full, sprinkle the leaves with water, give them a good shake, and tie the bag shut.
3. 3. Store your leaves in a shady spot and leave them to rot down into a rich, crumbly mixture. These rotted leaves can later be used as mulch or as a natural compost in your garden. 

Click here to see how long it will take for your particular leaves to become a recyclable and natural resource for your future garden.

Fertilize Your Lawn

About a month before your lawn is expected to freeze, it’s a good idea to fertilize your lawn. To help your lawn survive the cold season and last through winter hibernation, make sure you strengthen the roots of your lawn and plants by giving them nourishing food.

To understand why fertilizing is so important this time of year here is a brief explanation of how your lawn works during the changing seasons.

• • During the hotter months of the years, the sun and heat will strip away the natural nutrients of your lawn and plants.

• • Just like a bear storing food for the winter, your landscaping needs help in getting their nutrients stored for the cold season.

• • When spring hits next year, if you have properly fertilized before the freezing temperatures hit, your yard and plants will bloom easier because it had the fertilizer to feed off of during their off-season. 

Tips to Protecting Your Lawn During the Winter

There are lots of small tasks you can perform to improve your lawn’s chance of survival throughout the colder months.  To name a few:

1. • If you are expecting snow, make sure to map out a walking path so as not to disturb your dormant yard with excessive traffic during the winter.

1. • Use a garden fork to spike holes into your lawn to improve drainage.

1. • Turn off your water sprinklers in order to make sure they don’t freeze your lawn if you are expecting snowfall. The snow will help hydrate your grass. Water less frequently if you are in a warmer climate. 

1. • Keep mowing your lawn until there is a noticeable decrease in growth. Having your grass blades too short will cause dead spots to develop and having it too tall will encourage mold or disease to spread.

1. • Prune surrounding trees and plants as needed but be sure to research before cutting! Your various plants and trees all have different suggested lengths so do your homework before snipping away.

Our Landscape Answering Service Wishes You The Best of Luck to You and Your Lawn This Winter Season

Our landscaping answering service wishes your lawn and garden a healthy sleep this winter. If you have any tips that are not listed above and want to share your knowledge with our community, head to our Facebook here and comment with your best tips to preparing your lawn and gardens for the winter season.