Fall is the perfect time of year to start preparing your front yard or backyard for the cold and harsh winter season. However, many people seem to think that winter is a time when all plants, grasses, trees, and shrubs just die off and then miraculously come back to life in the spring. Unfortunately, that’s not quite how things work and there’s actually a great deal of landscape maintenance and planning that’s required in order to prepare your greenery for the colder temperatures and precipitation. Even though you can’t really do a lot of landscaping in the winter, there are a lot of things you must do in order to help your lawn stay healthy and vital throughout this time of year. Once you put these suggestions into practice, your landscape will do the rest all on its own. All you have to do is establish a strong foundation for success.
Aerate Your Soil in the Fall
Fall is one of the best times of the year to aerate your soil. Aeration involves using a garden cultivator tool to evenly poke little holes throughout the soil, allowing it to breathe better. As a result of this process, the roots of the grass can easily absorb more nutrients and water throughout the winter season to help keep it strong and healthy. Garden cultivators also help to break up dry dirt so that the grass will maintain a good level of hydration.
Apply the Right Fertilizers
By fertilizing in the fall, you’re providing your soil with the strength it needs to spread and use nutrients more efficiently and effectively to your perennials, shrubs, and trees. The cooler temperatures dampen the soil, making it that much more absorbent so that water and nutrients can easily penetrate the surface and get to the roots that are deeply integrated underneath. Any experienced lawn care professional will most likely advise you that the best time to apply fertilizers is about two months prior to the first winter frost.
Remove Dead and Dying Plants
One of the good things about fall is that the leaves on the ground make for an excellent organic composted fertilizer, which means that for the most part, you can just leave them on the grass. However, other dead plants or debris should be removed as soon as possible because a lot of them don’t naturally decompose on their own. You can then take that organic material and make it into all-natural compost and spread it throughout your outdoor space to kill weeds before they sprout.
A Good Time for Seeding
Another important piece of information that garden care experts might divulge to clients is that fall is one of the best times to plant seeds in your outdoor space. The reason is that once the soil is aerated, the soil is highly susceptible to any new and potentially harmful microbes that can enter the tiny holes. Filling those holes with seedlings before the microbes can get to them is a preemptive strike when it comes to protecting your grass and other plants against diseases. On top of that, the winter months provide the perfect amount of time for the seeds to start maturing below ground level, allowing their roots to strengthen and spread out more. This leads to another essential point: the sooner you plant your seeds, the sooner you can enjoy the results come springtime.
Hire Lawn Care Experts for Winter Landscaping Services
FOREVER GREEN LAWN & LANDSCAPE INC. is a prominent and professional landscaping business located in Toronto. Our services include providing exceptional and knowledgeable landscaping maintenance, design, and management to homeowners and businesses in Toronto and the GTA. We also provide top notch winter landscaping services to help your outdoor space remain green, healthy, and aesthetically pleasing all year round. To learn about our high-quality landscaping services or to book a complementary consultation with one of our landscaping experts, please contact us.
