Summer is at an end, and the beautiful gardens that made summer so bright are looking dull but not to worry. We’re in the fall, the last few days of great weather before winter comes around.
There’s a lot to be done to prepare for the winter, and keeping our lawns prepped for spring is one of them.
It’s time to start prepping your lawn and garden for another year of bright summer flowers, and this fall is the time to do it.
Here is a kickass list for fall lawn and yard maintenance.
- Clear up the Debris
Fall comes with messy flowers and leaves strewn all over the road and walkways. Grab your rake and get to work clearing up the debris, especially near your flowerbeds.
- Prepare your Soil
After clearing the debris on your lawn, prepare the soil for the next planting season. Begin by harvesting your garden and then pulling out the roots of the previous vegetable plants. When the entire area is free of old vegetable plants, apply compost to the area.
- Clean Out Dead Trees and Shrubs
Dead trees and shrubs make your lawn look half dead and uninviting. They also take up valuable space that could be used to plant new trees or add to your hedgerow. Cut them down and prepare the area for planting.
- Don’t Stop Mowing
Keep mowing and don’t stop. Grasses are still growing well right now, and you don’t want to have an overgrown lawn on your hands. So keep mowing and don’t stop until the grass stops growing. Mowing should be at least once a week to maintain the desired grass length.
- It’s Time to Seed
Do you want a beautiful lawn in the spring? Give yourself an edge by seeding this fall. If you live in areas where the soil doesn’t freeze during the winter, now is the best time to get a great lawn come spring next year.
Plant your seeds and then cover them up with mulch to help store up food for them. If you live in areas with severe winters, hold off on your planting till early next year. Anything planted now would surely be of no good.
- Dethatching and Aeration
Dethatching and aeration are two activities you should never overlook. Detaching removes those dead grass stems that never seem to go away and are great at multiplying quickly.
Aeration helps your soil to breathe and easily absorb nutrients from the soil. For dethatching and aeration, make use of a hand detacher and a shoe aerator.
- Clean Out Your Garden
Yes, you have to. It’s time to get rid of all the leftovers from last years bountiful harvest and clean out your garden bed. Till the soil and rake up all the leaves and roots. A new planting season is here.
- Find out the State of your Soil and fertilize Your Lawn
What’s the state of your soil? Is it acidic? Does it lack certain nutrients and if it does, what can be done for it? There are different ways to test your soil for its nutrient content, but we’ll go with the use of dolomite limestone. Spread it out on the soil and wait for results. If your soil is lacking in any nutrient, then you should get a guide on how to apply fertilizer.
- It’s Time to Mulch
Mulching isn’t such a problem not when you have all those leaves and grasses you packed up earlier. Pack them up and use them as mulch.
- Snip Snip Snip
Say what? Pruning, that’s what. It’s time to prune your flowerbed. Snip off every plant that looks out of place and does not compliment your lawn. The same thing should be done to tree branches that stand out; they are a hazard, especially in winter.
- Time to Plant
It’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. Now that your garden is ready to be planted in, it’s time to do the actual sowing. I’ll share a trick with you to make this whole thing easier? Map out and design your garden on paper. Then transfer your ideas onto your physical garden.
- Protect Your Plants from Cold and Pests
Winter is coming, and you’re not the only living being shoring up for the cold, cold weeks ahead. Other pests, especially rodents, have already begun to get ready for the winter months ahead by feeding on your plants. To avoid this, take drastic measure against them.
To protect your plants from rodents this winter, wrap a wire gauze around the trunk of your trees. Thank us later.
There are certain shrubs and flowers that can’t stay through the winter without losing all their shine and beauty. To protect these fragile plants, wrap them up in burlap sacks to maintain their moisture.
- Water your Lawn
Many times we forget to water our lawn. Water is an essential part of growth. If your lawn isn’t receiving as much water from natural rainfall, then it’s time to set up a watering regime.
You don’t want your garden to enter the winter looking dry because if it does, you’re going to have a damaged lawn when spring rolls around.
- Reduce the Perennials, Go for the annuals
Lean towards annuals than perennials. You can have beautiful flowers pop up and a full vegetable patch in early spring.
- Care for Your Tools
In all the rush to get everything on this list checked, you might have forgotten that your tools need to be cleaned and maintained. Wash your tools, dry them, lubricate, and keep in a dry spot. Who knows you might need to break them out soon.
It might seem like a lot of work to keep your lawn ready for the forthcoming winter months. It is, but no worries, It will look great when early spring sets in – it is worth all the hard work!
However, if you need professional help, ProRANA has got you covered! Our team of experts will provide you with the best lawn and yard maintenance solutions. Contact us now to learn how we can help!
