Wondering what to do to make sure your yard survive the cold Winter? Here are six steps that will help keep your yard resilient through the harsh weather.
Keep your lawn at 1 to 1.5 inches. If your lawn is more than 3 inches tall, don't mow to 1-1.5 inches immediately. Do it over a few mowings to avoid stressing the grass.
Aerate your lawn. A lot of people don't understand the importance of aerating your lawn as part of your pre-winter lawn care. Don't aerate on a soggy lawn, but do it when it is moist.
Top-dress your lawn. Spread a half-inch layer of aged compost where grass is sparse. Make sure your compost is cured (dry, crumbly, and cool to the touch) otherwise it is more likely to harbor pathogens and burn your lawn.
4. Fertilize. The best way to determine what kind of fertilizer to use on your lawn is by doing a soil test. If a soil test isn't something you want to do, try a high-phosphorus fertilizer to stimulate root growth.
5. Overseed. Set your spreader to about two thirds of the bag's recommendation and distribute seed over the compost. This will account for overlapping passes.
6. Rake and Water. Use a rake (held tines up) to mix seeds into compost. Water lightly-5 minutes at a time, two to three times a day-until the seeds sprout. Then water once a day for 15-30 minutes. Mow the lawn again when the existing grass reaches 3 inches; bag the clippings. After leaves have fallen, cut the grass back to 1.5 inches for its long winter nap!
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