If raking leaves are the only thing on your mind and your schedule this fall, you are missing the majority of the tasks needed to ensure that your yard survives the harsh New Jersey winter and thrives when everything comes alive in the spring.
While keeping leaves off your grass is an important step, it is only part of the overall equation of a healthy and beautiful lawn. Allow us to help you with these simple steps to ensure that your yard is the envy of all your neighbors when the snow melts and the birds start chirping again.
Here are 7 things that need to be taken care of before winter:
1. Rake The Leaves
To ensure the dead leaves don’t kill your grass over the winter, you need to do a fall clean up. It is important to rake them up and remove them from the yard altogether. This is of course unless you would like to compost them.
Removing the leaves not only makes your yard look better now, it ensures that the grass grows back healthy in the spring, but it will help to reduce water runoff that is contaminated with phosphates.
2. Make Sure The Grass Height is Right
Make sure to not let your grass get too tall or too short during the fall and winter. If you cut it below 2 inches, you will risk it not having enough food stored to survive the winter. It will increase your risk of having weeds take root in the grass area. If you let it remain more than 3 inches, it can get smashed down by snow and lead to mold.
3. Pull Weeds
Pull any weeds that you find in your yard. They don’t do any good now or in the spring. Who wants weeds in their yard anyway!
4. Seed and Fertilize
Your lawn takes a beating during the summer and winter, so the fall is a great time to seed and fertilize your yard to make sure that it is at top health in the spring. Cool-season grasses should be fertilized from September through November. Warm-season grasses should be fertilized earlier than that.
5. Water The Trees and Shrubs
After the leaves are all off the trees, spend some time watering them very well to help them survive the cold winter.
6. Cut Back Your Perennials
If you have any perennial flowers, make sure to cut them back close to the ground to ensure they are able to grow back next year.
7. Shut off the Water
Before the first freeze, make sure to shut off the water to the outdoor faucets, or if you have a frost-proof hose bib. Disconnect the water hoses from the outside faucets. Leaving the hoses connected could result in the hose bib freezing and bursting.
If you have an irrigation system, consider have professionals, like Chris James Landscaping, blow out the lines with compressed air. You’ve invested a lot of time and money in your irrigation system, so don’t risk damaging it by forgetting this important step.
Call Us Today For Landscaping in New Jersey
These are a good list of the things you can do to protect your lawn over winter and to ensure the best looking yard possible in the spring. It might look like a lot of steps, and it is, especially if you are busy this fall or are not able to do all these steps.
Instead of risking your yard not being top shape, contact us at Chris James Landscaping. We would love to help you make sure you have the best looking yard in your neighborhood. We are here to protect your investment of time and money that you have worked so hard for.