With only a mere 133 days left until winter, it’s important to prepare our lawn for those cold, brutal Colorado winters. With the right amount of care and preparation, your lawn will be nice and sparkly for spring’s anticipated arrival.
Fertilization
It is known to be that late fall or early winter is some of the best times to fertilize cool season grasses. Since the majority of lawns in North America are made from these grasses, such as Bermuda and bluegrass, it’s a fairly good bet that your lawn has one of the more typical seasonal blends. Before the first freeze hits, give your entire lawn a thorough fertilization to replace all of the proper nutrients that can be lost from the soil during those hot Colorado summer months. Once the weather turns cold, the fertilizer will remain in the soil and feed and give your lawn nutrition all winter long. When spring comes springing along, your lawn will be full, healthy, lush, and a beautiful green that has been feeding on wonderful fertilizer nutrients underneath all of that cold snow.
Mowing
During the last few months of summer, your should gradually lower the cutting base of your lawn mower each time you cut your grass. Slowly cutting your grass will allow it to winter well without shocking your lawn but cutting it all off at once. If you leave your lawn too tall during those winter months, it will be a perfect place for field mice and other animals that want a nice, warm place to sleep. Mice can destroy immense parts of your lawn by building nests and create dead spots where they spend their time.
Learn more: Tips for Keep Mice Out For Good
Make sure your grass is as short as possible at the end of summer, short grass protects any new growth that may be fragile by the end of growing season.
Cleaning
Cleaning your lawn is often forgotten about during summer. It can be easy to forget about those stray logs, toys, lawn furniture that get knocked over and forgotten about before winter comes. Make sure you clean your entire lawn of all of these objects after you mow it for the last time of the year. Do an occasional sweep of your lawn every couple of weeks during the winter. If an object is left on the grass during those cold weather months and snowfall, it can create large dead spots because of the weight of that object. In the spring when the snow melts and you find those objects, the area will be stunted and thinner than the rest of your lawn.
Traffic
When your grass is brown and short, it can be easy for people to forget that it shouldn’t be walked on. Try and prevent as much traffic on your lawn as much as possible. Grass is relatively resilient but it will be difficult to recover after winter if it becomes well worn. Keep your sidewalks cleared of snow and ice so you and your guests won’t be tempted to take a shortcut on your lawn. Never, ever allow anyone to park their car or truck on your lawn. Even the smallest of all vehicles will leave impressions in the soil and kill off any grass underneath the tires. Using your lawn as a temporary parking lot is one of the fastest ways to kill the good grass and make room for those horrible crabgrass and other types of pesky weeds.
Preparation
There is not much you can do during the cold months of winter for lawn care. If you properly care for your lawn in the fall, it will be fine until the welcoming warm days of spring arrive once more. Make sure that you aerate, fertilize, and mow the lawn before the first freeze of the season. Rake away those pesky dead leaves that have fallen and collected on your lawn to avoid wet spots that will become mossy or moldy within time. Keep your lawn cleared of debris and remind family and friends to respect the yard while it is dormant.
Contact
Once you have taken care of your lawn before winter, you will be ready to enjoy a nice, warm winter indoors while your grass has a nice healthy sleep before arising beautiful and ready for spring. If you or someone you know needs a bit of lawn care help for winter, contact us here today at Westside Grounds!