Lawn Care In Autumn For Winter Preservation
Saturday, August 28th, 2010Lawn care that is specifically designed for winter ideally needs to begin as soon as the summer is over and autumn’s leaves begin to fall. This is a time of year when the days become a lot shorter quite quickly following the long, lighter days of the summer. The yearly cycle of gardens regenerating comes to an end as the temperatures get colder and the winter sets in before it all begins again.
Lawn care should be at the top of the list for lawn gardeners to ensure that lawns get the best chance of making it through the cold, heavy winter. In order for lawn care to be successful, there are a few things to remember to do.
The first on the list of lawn care advice is to make sure that the lawn’s surface is free from coverings of fallen leaves and any other debris from plants and trees. As the weather turns and conditions become increasingly windy, bark, twigs and sometimes larger parts of trees can be blown onto lawns. If they are not removed then it’s highly likely that damp, un-aerated patches will form below the fallen matter, which can do damage to a lawn.
Next, lawn care gardeners should give the lawn a good raking – often referred to as scarification, this should be done using the correct equipment designed specifically for this purpose. ’Thatch’, a layer of grass cuttings that forms on top of the soil following weeks of lawn mowing, is something that most lawns will build up. The thatch is bad for lawns because it prevents rainwater soaking away into the soil, creating damp and wet areas prone to disease. Lawn grass can also be stopped from developing correctly.
Lawn care can also be a useful drainage aid. Regular use of a lawn and natural growth can cause compaction, a cause of drainage and growth problems. This form of lawn care is often called aeration and is usually achieved by the process of spiking. Using a garden fork, holes can be driven into the lawn during the autumn which can help increase its ability to drain water and get more air. This process does not damage the lawn, despite it’s somewhat violent appearance, and expert lawn care gardeners recommend it.















