Here at Junk Busters, we want to help you keep your yard and landscape looking its best. As winter approaches, there are a few steps you should take in order to prepare your yard for the cold season and help it flourish come spring. We recommend that you follow these steps to get your yard ready for winter:
- Mow – The first thing you should do to prep your yard for winter is mow your lawn, trimming the grass to about 1-1½” tall. Keeping the grass short helps make aerating easier. If your grass is longer than 3”, trim its length in stages to avoid stressing the plants—first trim to 2”, then to 1”.
- Aerate – Next, you should aerate your lawn in order to encourage air and nutrients to reach the roots of your grass more easily. Choose a day when the soil is moist, but not soggy—it’s tough for your aerator’s tines to penetrate ground that’s dry and hard.
- Compost – When your grass has been trimmed down, spread a half-inch layer of dry, aged compost on your lawn. This will help encourage seedlings to grow.
- Fertilize – You should also prepare your yard for winter by spreading fertilizer over your lawn in addition to compost. This will give grass seedlings even more nutrients to help them grow.
- Seed – Distribute grass seed over your lawn using a spreader or power overseeder.
- Rake – Use a leaf rake, held with the tines facing up, to mix the seeds into the compost.
- Water – Finally, lightly water your seeded lawn for five minutes at a time two or three times a day until the seeds sprout. Once they do, switch to watering once a day for 15-30 minutes. When the new grass has reached 3”, trim it down to 1½”in preparation for its winter hibernation.
If you need help with your yard cleanup tasks or help hauling away yard waste, give our team a call!