Winterizing Your Lawn

Don't make the mistake of thinking that when winter comes you can take a breather from tending to your lawn. Winterizing your lawn is as important as watering, feeding and mowing in the summer. 

Winterizing your lawn and garden is all about keeping it thriving or alive until the following year. Contrary to what most people think, winter does not kill your lawn or your garden.  During this period, the grasses are just hibernating, like some animals do during winter.

When winterizing your lawn, timing becomes very important.  You do not want to have your lawn deprived of any kind of nutrients or vitamins while the ground is not yet freezing.  Give adequate time for your grass and lawn to absorb as much sunlight and other nutrients as possible. 

Steps Involved in Winterizing Your Lawn

1. Rake leaves and clear the lawn.  Clearing your lawn of debris allows more sunlight to be absorbed by the grass.  Check with your local government about the disposal of garden and lawn wastes as there are some states and locations where it is illegal to include yard trimmings in the trash. Leaving the trimmings could cause the mildew and molds to develop.
2. Use weed control.  You can use weed control in your lawn even if they will be covered with snow. Just like grasses, weeds still grow.  By using weed control, the weeds won't return in spring.
3. Check the pH levels.  You need to attain a balanced levels of nutrients in your soil, as this ensures the lawn will be absorbing the nutrients or fertilizers in the soil and preparing for growth during spring.
4. Fertilize the soil with a winter lawn fertilizer. When looking for winter lawn fertilizer, make sure it is high in potassium.  Potassium encourages the growth of roots, not the growth of leaves and flowers.  Fertilizing the soil is usually recommended to start after September or October.  If you would be fertilizing too late, the grass could still continue grow and eventually be damaged by frost.
5. Aerate your lawn.  Oxygen is essential when roots and plants are breaking down the sugars stored from their photosynthesis.   You could use a punch-core aerator which is commonly used in golf courses.  Even just the act of raking mildly aerates the soils. 

With proper winterizing your lawn will be able to survive harsh climates. Winterizing your lawn may require a lot of work, but when spring comes, you would see the difference and the advantage of preparing for the winter.  If your lawn is not that well cared for, then winterizing would help in rejuvenating your lawn; making it easier to manage during spring.

Synonyms: winerizing, winerize, winterise, winerise, witerize and witerizing are typos for "winterizing" and "winterize."