10 Tips to Get Ready for Winter

As the summer winds up, we need to start thinking about getting our yards and gardens ready for the cold months. Doing a little prep work now will help you have a great looking yard next Spring. Here are some tips from the experts at Outdoor Innovations on winterizing your property.

Feed the Lawn

Your grass has taken a beating this summer with withering heat and drenching rains. In the fall months, you should fertilize your lawn with a fertilizer that is high in nitrogen during the start of September. Before the ground freezes (around the end of October, usually), you should do a second wave with a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus. This will give your lawn the nutrients it needs to thrive through the winter. To have a more exact schedule of feeding times, you should get a soil test. This test will tell you about nutrient levels, soil pH, and other important information.

Another easy way to feed your lawn is to mow over the fallen leaves. Leave a fine mulch on top of the lawn, but don’t bury the grass in leaves. This could starve the lawn from sun and moisture during the winter.

Keep Watering

Although you’ll want to put your hose away before the temperatures drop below freezing, you still need to keep watering. In most cases, lawns should get about an inch of water every two to three weeks. Keep the ground moist, but not soaking. Overwatering a lawn can promote mold growth as winter approaches.

Cover Your Garden

Before winter comes, tuck your garden in for a nap. If you have the resources, you can plant a nitrogen-rich cover crop such as clover. This plant can be turned over the following spring, so it’s a relatively easy way to protect your garden. Another option is to cover the beds with burlap to keep weeds from taking over the area.

Put the Pruners Away

You typically don’t want to prune before winter, as pruning encourages growth and you don’t want tender shoots exposed to the winter weather. If you’re uncertain whether a plant can be pruned, give us a call and we’ll give you some advice. If a limb is dead, it is ok to trim that off. Pests will use the deadwood to hibernate, so don’t give them a hiding place.

Fix Damaged Areas

This Spring and Summer were unusual and really took a toll on many lawns around the area. If a lawn is severely damaged to the point that it needs to be reseeded, you may want to wait until Spring. If you can’t wait, many experts recommend using a grass that germinates quickly, like perennial ryegrass. You can help the seeds take root by applying a quarter-inch of soil or compost.

Put Down Some Mulch

Now is a good time to put down some fresh mulch. We recommend you place the mulch around your trees in the shape of a tire. This will prevent critters from making their homes in the mulch.

Call an Expert for Winterizing Tips

There are a lot of things you can do yourself, but if you want to make sure your lawn and landscaping is ready for the winter, give the professionals at Outdoor Innovations a call. We’ll be happy to help you get winterizing and help get everything just right before Old Man Winter comes knocking.

The weather is getting colder, and that means that plants and your landscaping are starting to die. How can you ease the transition from fall to winter and winter to spring? Consider these few tips that will get your landscaping prepared and ready for winter.

Give Your Plants Nutrients

Your plants need vital nutrients to stay happy and healthy, and your soil needs the same. If you have a compost pile, you’re a step ahead of the game. If you’ve been keeping up with your composting, you can use what is ready to fertilize. This is extremely helpful to make sure that the soil is ready for spring. Check the next tip to avoid erosion! Once this is out of the way, you can add more to get your next piece of the composting puzzle ready. This will be insulated against the cold.

Ease the Transition from Fall to Winter

Just as you start to put on thick sweaters and wool socks as the fall changes into winter, you must think about your plants! Many landscaping items are delicate and need help with the bitter frost and cold. One way to do this is by covering the beds with mulch. Mulch is great for keeping in and regulating heat, and it is great for erosion that comes with the spring. Mulching your beds gets you one step ahead of the game for the spring, and it leaves you with nutrient-rich soil and happy plants. However, if you have plants that need to be taken inside, make sure to do so! Not all plants can survive the winter cold.

Out with the Old

Weeding may seem like a spring and summer activity, but it is a fall activity as well. Before you decide to close up shop on your garden or landscaping, it’s important to get as many weeds and dead plants and flowers out of your beds as possible. Toss all of these in the trash, as they will cause problems on any natural space of land you place them on. As for dead plants, dispose of these immediately. Dead plants can harbor insect eggs and disease which will affect all of your other plants. Don’t take the chance, just toss it. All of this preparation should help your landscaping be ready for winter.

If You Need Help with Landscaping, Call Outdoor Innovations!

If you’re having trouble figuring out what to do before winter, give Outdoor Innovations a call! We will guide you on how to best take care of your landscaping, and make sure that you’re ready for fall to winter and winter to spring. Contact us today for more information and advice.