If you want an easy transition to a beautiful green yard next spring, now is the time to take steps to make sure your lawn is properly winterized. The steps you take now to protect from the frost and cold to come will make the difference in how well your lawn bounces back.
To start off, it’s good to know what kind of grass you have. Warm season grasses include Bermuda, Centipede, St. Augustine and Zoysia. Cool weather turf usually has fescues, Kentucky Bluegrass or perennial ryegrasses. Both warm and cool weather turfs need specific actions in the fall to get ready for winter.
Know your lawn’s pH level. You don’t want patches that are too alkaline or acidic. A neutral pH level is best for your lawn.
Get rid or the weeds. We want to protect and feed the good plants, not the weeds so they have to go.
Fertilization of the lawn is key for the cold winter months. There are fertilizers blended specifically for winterizing lawns. These formulas have more potassium to make stressed plants stronger. Careful… too much will burn your lawn.
Aerate your lawn. Aerating your turf improves the flow or water, air, and nutrients to the roots.
Spread some winter month grass seed blends. Putting out cool weather seed just helps to reinforce your long through the cold months of winter, and keep some green in your lawn.
As temperatures cool and leaves begin to fall, it is time to cover flower and plant beds. You want to insulate the top soil in your flower and vegetable beds. A good way to do this is to use mulch and plant a cool weather cover crop.
Maintain through the winter. You want to be sure to pick up leaves, and debris throughout the year. Raking with a yard broom will help remove the thatch and and make it easier for important nutrients needed to keep the grass strong get down to the roots of your turf.
For all of your lawncare and landscaping needs, we use and recommend Graham’s Lawn Care Service. Contact them through Facebook or call (903) 293-9039.
(A post sponsored by Graham’s Lawn Care.)
