Winter is less than a month away and this a good time to offer some winter lawn care tips. For example, is it necessary to mow your lawn at the start of winter? During the winter, your lawn goes dormant. That means that the grass doesn’t grow. However, early on as the season begins, grass does grow. So, mowing is necessary until the grass actually stops growing. That would be in the late fall.
Your last three mowings not only saves your lawn, it helps rid you of the leaves problem.
(Courtesy: Jean Claude at flickr.com)
Leaves will probably be falling from the trees at about that time and your lawn may be covered with them. It’s okay to just mow over them. Cutting them up will permit them to decompose quickly adding organic matter to your lawn’s soil. This also prevents the leaves from forming a mat that smothers the grass plants to death.
Cut the grass shorter than usual, but don’t just do it the last time you mow. It is recommended that you actually begin to do so two or three mowings before the very last cut. If you commonly keep your lawn at about 2.5 to 3-inches during the growing season, then it is suggested that you decrease that to 2-inches. However, do it gradually as you work toward the last mow of the season. Make sure that you don’t cut too short. This could cause weeds and diseases, which results in bare spots.
Weeds are another issue and there are winter lawn care tips for them, too. If you don’t want weeds, then it is essential that you keep the grass healthy. The grass blades provide shade for the soil and prevent new weed seeds from developing.
Fall is a good time to do what’s necessary to control weeds. Dig them up or spot treat problem areas with an herbicide. Be sure to read instructions on how to use the herbicide before acting. You also need to be aware of specific temperature guidelines. For example, on cool days when the temperature is 50°F or warmer, weeds are growing. So herbicide is more effective.
(Source: Gilmour.com)
