Preparing Your Lawn for Winter

Many of us put a lot of work into our lawns and our grass just to have the winter season destroy it. Instead of starting over again every year, there are a few things that you can do to help to preserve your grass and shrubs in the colder times. These things can be very simple and most of them cost little to nothing. If you start now, you can spread that cost and effort across several months and it will not affect you as much. If you wait too long though, it may be a little more difficult and costly to get it all done. Here is a look at some of the things that you will need to do.

Aerate
The first thing that you will need to do is aerate. This is one of the most important steps to keeping your lawn green and healthy, no matter what time of year it is. Aerating is essential because it allows your fertilizers to seep in, gives room for the plants roots, allows the soil to trap and hold water and nutrients, and can ease the effects that freezing has on your plants. You could rent an expensive aerator and spend hours punching huge holes in your lawn, or you can do it the easier and cheaper way. Most of us have golf cleats around, and if you don't they are quite cheap. These work perfect for aerating grass.

There are also aerating spikes for sale at many stores, but cleats are usually cheaper. Aerating spikes may be necessary if you have more plants and shrubs in your yard though. The bigger the plants, the deeper you need to aerate. You can also take a garden cultivator or even a rake to the soil that is around your shrubs and plants. For the grass part, just strap on the cleats and stroll around your lawn several times. As long as you make sure that you have walked every inch of the lawn, you can be sure that you have properly aerated. You will want to do this at least once a month, but no more than once a week.

Fertilize
Fertilizing is a very important thing for your lawn. The harsh winter temperatures can easily deprave your soil of nutrients. It will freeze these nutrients and they can then evaporate from your soil or be washed away during the first melt. You will need to fertilize your lawn well in the final months of summer and fall. No matter what type of fertilizer you use, you will want to treat your lawn once a month from September on. One way to make these treatments more effective is to do it just prior to aerating. The spikes that you use to aerate will help to push the fertilizer into the soil where it can be locked in a little better and get to your plants' roots.

You may want to add some worms or night crawlers to your lawn as well. These will vastly improve your aeration and they help to mix the fertilizer evenly in your soil. One of the best things you can do is add some worms. The harsh summer temperatures may kill them off if the spring rains didn't get them first. You will want to check your soil for them first. Dig up a nice size patch of dirt in the corner of your lawn. If you find a couple worms, then you are fine. If you do not, it is time for a trip to the bait store.

Add compost and straw
One more thing that you will want to do is to add a layer of compost and straw. You will want to wait until the last minute for this one though. You can start storing up potato peels and chunks and some dead leaves and grass clippings for this. Just prior to the first freeze of winter, you will want to spread this compost across the top of your lawn. You can then cover this with a nice layer of straw. The straw is usually pretty cheap. If you cannot get any in your area, grass clippings and leaves can work. This does two things. The underlying layer of compost can help to fertilize and replenish your soil during the winter. The layer of straw or leaves on top will help to insulate the ground so that the freeze is not as bad on your plants and grass. You will want to water your lawn quite well before you put either layer down. Then you can add the compost and water again. Then just lay the straw or leaves on top and walk around on it to pack it down a bit. This will ensure that the wind doesn't just blow away your hard work.

With a little bit of planning and preparation, your lawn can be green for several seasons. You need to give it a light dusting of seed each spring to replace any grass that did die over the winter, but these precautions may be able to save you from having to start over every year. Even if all of your grass does die, all the aerating and fertilizer will make your next lawn even better.