Prepare Your Lawn For Winter
Lawn may be the last thing on your mind in winter; however, come spring you may be wishing you took some simple precautions. Homeowners who take care of their lawns year-round have green, plush lawn sooner come spring. Learn how to prepare your lawn for winter with the suggestions below.
Fighting mole damage can feel like an uphill battle…especially in winter when all repairs are halted. We recommend aiming your goals at mole control and mole hill blowing in the winter. Controlling mole infestation will reduce the damage done to your lawn. Blowing the mounds of soil will keep the areas beneath them from dying out and becoming muddy.
Moss flourishes in Oregon’s wet climate and can choke out lawn. Controlling it’s growth will aid in saving your lawn from the extensive damage moss causes. We recommend a granular ferrous sulphate application which is lawn safe. The moss may turn white or black, this is the simply the product working. Please read and carefully follow all product label directions. Your local home store should carry moss control, click here to see our suggestion on the best product.
Snow mold becomes active during snow or ice frost on lawn; which becomes evident as snow and frost begin to melt. It will appear as brown circular patches in lawn. Some preventative tips are rake up leaves, do not allow thatch over 1/2″, avoid excessive fertilization in fall and spread out any large piles of snow to decrease melting time of snow.
Did you stop fertilizing once it began cooling in the fall? This is a common mistake many people make. Your lawn should be fertilized about 6 weeks before the start of winter and then receive an ammonium sulphate treatment at the start of winter. Keeping your lawn fertilized throughout the season (up to 6 times per year) keeps the roots strong to endure the harshness of winter. Additionally, routine fertilization keeps lawn weed-free and dark green rather than the anemic counterpart, which is yellow in color.
While there is nothing to do about thinning in winter you can prevent damage by avoiding walking on grass as much as possible. Walking on wet thinning grass causes mud divot’s and ruins grass that will need reseeding in spring. Use walkways, pathways and step stones whenever possible. Consider having pavers or step stones installed in high traffic areas.
You have probably seen liverwort and not taken note. Liverwort is a non-vascular plant which is similar to moss and fern. Liverwort is known for it’s difficulty to control as it spreads rapidly and grows in the same conditions plants, trees, shrubs and grass thrive in. Liverwort usually starts by attacking plants and then spreads through planting beds and onto lawns. The best prevention to keep liverwort from spreading is to maintain regular fertilization and overseeding throughout the year while also keeping beds raked and barkdusted.
Erica is an avid lover of the outdoors, and transformed that love into a partnership running Valley West with Ryan 2012.
