5 Tips To Maintaining Your Lawn In The Winter

You take a lot of pride and joy in your lawn and when winter comes it leaves you guessing as to how to maintain it. This is especially true if you live in the northern half of the country where you’re lawn can expect to experience frost, ice and snow as part of your winter time.

Except for those who live in a tropical environment, you need to know precisely what to do to keep your lawn well maintained through the winter months. Here are 5 tips that will help ensure that your lawn looks its best when winter ends and spring starts:

1.       Before snow starts to fall in the winter time, your lawn may have a lot of leaves on the ground, it is best to rake the leaves away. The fall season’s changing of the leaves is a pretty sight to behold, but if you neglect the fallen leaves on your lawn during the winter months they will only trap moisture, block sun light and leave you with an awful looking lawn.

2.       In preparation of making your final grass cut of the season, make sure that you set the blade level to the highest point.  When you are through with your final cut of the season, make sure to rake up all clippings so that the underlying grass doesn’t die off. Now your lawn will have a fuller appearance while it is not growing in the cold winter.

3.       You can fertilize your lawn one last time before the really cold stuff comes. Fertilizing in the first few weeks of winter allows the grass to gradually absorb the nutrients in the fertilizer during the cold months ahead. Make sure to use fertilizer that is rich in nitrogen and it is very important to only use half of the recommended amount.

4.       Avoid contact: Avoid contact with your lawn as much as possible during the winter months when there is frost or snow on your lawn. Walking on your frosted lawn may leave you with many unwanted dead spots in the spring. Keep in mind that it doesn't take much pressure to kill a cold spot of grass.

5.       It is also a good idea to “spike the lawn” by putting little holes all over your lawn. This will allow for better drainage when the frost and snow begins to melt causing more moisture then the lawn will need.

Another good idea is to drain your lawn mower, weed eater, and blower of gas while you store them for the winter months. Gasoline left in your lawn equipment for too long can gum up and cause unwanted trouble and extra expense in the spring.

These tips are easy to do and may seem mundane, but you will be surprised how much the little things will make a difference to your lawn during the winter time. If you maintain your lawn during the winter months it will be that much easier to welcome your lawn back in the spring when the weather starts to warm up.