How To Care For Your Colorado Lawn In The Winter
With winter right around the corner it is important for you to take some steps to prepare your lawn so that is comes back better than ever next spring. Most people may assume that you can turn off your sprinklers once it gets cold and you are then done until Spring.
However, at Arnie’s Lawn Care we have come up with a proven system that helps to reinvigorate your lawn while it rests in the Winter months. The benefits of this is a heartier lawn in the Spring that comes back quicker and uses less water.
4 Steps To Winterize Your Lawn
1) Aerate You Lawn In The Fall.
Most people aerate their lawns in the Spring but this is often a mistake. The reason it is a mistake is because Spring is the prime time when weeds spread. If you aerate in the Spring you are just making it easier for seeds flying through the air to find the perfect spot to land and grow.
But if you aerate your lawn in the Fall you are giving it the room the expand and settle throughout the ups and downs of temps in the Winter and this make it easier for the roots of your grass to grow longer in the Spring and Summer.
It may be cold right now but it is the perfect time to get your lawn aerated.
2) Winter Fertilizer
There is a special cold weather fertilizer that you can buy that is slow releasing so that it gets absorbed for the entire winter. In contrast the fertalizers that get used in the Spring and Summer often get washed away with two much watering and rains. A hearty fertilizer right before winter will help you to save a lot of money on fertilizer throughout the summer. Some clients don’t even need it in the summer after using our special winter fertilizer.
3) The Best Time To Cut Your Lawn For The Last Time
A question we get a lot is when should I cut my lawn for the last time and how short should I cut it. The best way to cut your lawn in preparation of winter is the actually cut it one setting above what you want before you turn your sprinklers off and then cut it one more time on one setting lower than usual once your grass turns brown. So it you have four settings on your lawnmower and you always cut your grass on the third setting. Set it to four before turning off the sprinklers and when the grass dies cut it on two.
The reason for this is that you want to control how much snow your grass holds for when it evaporates. If your grass is a little shorter than how you like it in the summer then this allows just a little more water to be absorbed in the winter months.
4) Apple Cider Vinegar To Keep The Bugs Away
Did you know that the best time bug proof you lawn is in the fall? Bugs hate apple cider vinegar but it gets washed away too easily in the fall and spring. However if you put apple cider vinegar in a a prayer and apply it to your lawn it will get absorbed by your lawn much better if it is brown and thirsty. During the summer it get sucks into the roots of the grass and you will not have any more bugs and mosquitos for the rest entire next summer.
Doing these four steps will ensure that you have a beautiful long lasting lawn that will come back quickly and use less water. A lot of people do complain that doing all this is a lot of work and is a pain when it is cold.
If you want to have someone else winterize your lawn, Arnie’s lawn care service has a special winter packages that does all this and more for only $299. And for an extra $50 we will blow out your sprinklers.