6 Winter Lawn Care Tasks Everyone Should Do
There are a bunch of things everyone should tick off each winter. Things like munching on mince pies, drinking wine that’s hot. To taking long strolls through your favourite patch of countryside, spending time with family and friends and, yepp, stepping into your garden to take on a few winter lawn care tasks. In fact 6 Winter Lawn Care Tasks to be precise, and we should all be doing them!
We know, we know. Doing anything to your lawn in the depths of winter can seem pretty pointless. Especially given you barely even see your lawn at this time of the year.
However, trust us, there are a lot of nasty problems waiting to capitalize on any weaknesses that show up in your grass at this time of year. And simply ignoring them because Michael Bublé is on the TV could see these problems damage your lawn long term.
So without further ado, here are six lawn care tips to help your lawn survive the winter and thrive in the spring:
Tip No.1: Get Rid of Those Fallen Leaves This Winter
In the same way there’s nothing more postcard-perfect than seeing the leaves turn from green to gold, there’s nothing more harmful to your grass than those leaves landed on your lawn. Now a few leaves scattered here and there are fine, but if the wind picks up and those leaves gather in a corner, that’s when serious lawn problems can happen. From turning into a thick layer of thatch to shading out the grass beneath them, these pretty fallen leaves can actually kill entire parts of your lawn.
To prevent this from happening, as soon as the leaves have fallen, get rid of them. Rake them up, blow them away, add them to your compost bin or simply mulch them into the soil, where they’ll start off by protecting insects during these freezing cold months and then gradually rot down to add nutrients to your soil.
Tip No.2: Don’t Walk on Wet Soil
You only need to take one look at the weather app on your phone to see just how damp the UK can get. Better yet, look outside. Chances are, it’s either raining, drizzling, showering or monsooning. Either way, unless your lawn has been aerated recently, your garden will probably become waterlogged at some point this winter.
When this happens, it is so important you don’t walk across your grass in order to preserve the integrity of your soil. The reason for this is pretty simple: when you step on wet soil, your foot sinks in forcing the air out. Without those air pockets, your soil is going to become compacted when it dries out, which will prevent air, water and nutrients from getting to the roots, as well as your roots from being able to grow deeper.
Should this happen, the best thing you can do is aerate your lawn in the spring. However, it’s better to prevent this from happening, so make sure you stay off your wet lawn this winter.
Tip No.3: Don’t Let Moss Be The Boss in Your Winter Lawn Care
No matter how much you might love winter, moss loves it even more. That’s because moss absolutely thrives in damp, cold, shady conditions, which basically describes the UK at this time of the year. As such, if you’ve already had issues with moss in the past, you may find it completely takes over your lawn during the winter.
To stop this from happening, we recommend putting down some kind of moss control treatment in the early winter months, with another treatment scheduled for early spring should you be facing a particularly persistent type of moss. Whether or not you have a moss problem or not, though, we recommend deploying some form of moss control into your winter lawn care routine, you know, just in case.
Tip No.4: Should It Grow, It’s Time To Mow
There’s a common misconception that mowing is not a winter activity. In fact, the moment you’ve mowed all your leaves up, people tend to tuck their mowers away for the winter. But this isn’t the case. That’s because the UK is actually prone to having some pretty mild winters; mild enough that your grass keeps growing.
If this is the case with your lawn, don’t hesitate to yank on that start cord and run your mower over the lawn to tidy it up. Just make sure the grass is dry before you commit and that you’ve raised your mower deck up a few notches so that you’re not taking off more than ⅓ of the grass. Of course, it’s not just about keeping your garden tidy. Winter mowing will also help remove any debris from your grass, as well as increase the amount of sunlight that reaches it.
Tip No.5: Keep an Eye on Winter Lawn Diseases
This is prime time fusarium season, which is a fungal disease that can create circles of death across your lawn from now until spring. That’s because UK lawns can actually become really weak during the winter thanks to the wet weather washing away so many of your lawn’s essential nutrients. It’s this vulnerability that can let diseases such as snow mould and red thread run riot.
Translation: everytime you’re having a wander around your garden, try and spend a few minutes checking your grass for any signs of lawn disease. And if you do spot any white/grey mouldy patches, or any circular rings that look strangely alien, Idrop us a call and we’ll diagnose it for you before giving you advice on how to treat this issue.
Tip No.6: Warnings For Frosty Mornings
There’s not many things in life more beautiful than a frosty morning, your lawn glistening in the first sun rays as the world begins to wake up. But as magical as these little moments are, it’s so important you don’t get out there and take a stroll across your frozen lawn, no matter what time of the day it is.
You see, when your lawn freezes, the moisture in your grass blades expands, making them extremely brittle, to the point where walking across your lawn can force the cell walls to rupture, your grass blades to snap in half and disease to take hold. You may not notice it at first, but in the coming weeks, you’ll notice your lawn is covered in brown patches. They’re not good news.
On the other hand, snowfall is not a problem for your lawn. In fact, snow works as a kind of insulation, keeping your grass nice and snug beneath its white blanket. However, if this snow hangs around for a while, it can lead to snow mould, which is something to look out for as the snow thaws.
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