Winter Lawn Care Advice
Once laid in front of the home, the stretch of grass needs care irrespective of the season in order to display the intense green color in spring again. It is a minimal effort so that the grass withstands freezing over in winter, several care operations which we will mention in the following article. One thing needs to be highlighted from the very beginning: If we speak of winter, it means that you by all means opted for cool season lawn, or else all these care measure will be useless.
Late fall or early winter are the best times to fertilize cool season grasses, like Bermuda and bluegrass. Before the first freeze, give your lawn a thorough fertilizing to replace all of the nutrients that can be lost from the soil during the hot summer months. Once the weather turns cold, the fertilizer will remain in the soil and feed your lawn’s roots all winter long. When spring comes your lawn will be full of healthy, lush, green grass that has been feeding on good fertilizer nutrients underneath the snow.
At the same time, make sure grass is as short as possible, by gradually cutting it, for reasons easy to understand, such as a smaller exposure to freezing temperatures. Also, slowly cutting your grass shorter will allow it to winter well without shocking it by cutting it all off at once. If it is too tall, the lawn may become a prey for field mice and other burrowing animals, with potentially significant damage, such as leaving dead surfaces behind or even pulling large areas to build their nests.
It is also recommended that, if the grass is short and fragile, to avoid walking on it, let alone park cars on that section, especially in freezing temperatures. Equally important, do not use salt to thaw snow or ice which cover the lawn because a too high concentration of salt in the soil will prevent the osmosis process. Dead or yellowed spots will come up which will be easier to notice in spring when the grass comes back to life again.
Keep the lawn clean all over the cold season and remove heavy objects that can harm the grass and leave dead surfaces under. Do an occasional sweep of the lawn every couple of weeks during the winter, as well. Early spring, if you notice dead spots across the lawn, just spread some peat moss all over the area to fix these problems. An don’t forget, winter lawn care hoes hand in hand with fall lawn care, so make sure you properly prepare the green surface in time before cold settles in.
Sources: Lawncare.org, Gazonul.ro, Gradinamea.ro
