[ Get Ready for Winter! Photo by Tereza Hošková on Unsplash ]

Here are some tips for prepping your lawn for winter:

    1. Water as long as you are able. Grass is thirsty, but as the weather cools, it uses less water.  No need to water after a hard frost, as the grass plants are going dormant.
    2. Mow and mulch your fall leaves, making sure they don’t pile up and smother the grass. You should be able to see much more grass than leaves. Always mow at 3 ” high for the healthiest lawn. Make your final mowing at 2.5″ to cleanup all debris and prevent snow mold next spring. For your final move remove the clippings by bagging or raking if possible.
    3. Do not fertilize late in the season. You want the grass to go dormant, not to stimulate growth. Lawns are like toddlers; you don’t give them candy before bedtime.
    4. Dormant seed now. If you missed seeding in August, you can dormant seed now (end of October – middle of November in the midwest). Grass that is dormant seeded gets snuggled in, close to the soil, and watered by rain and snow. Also, grass that is dormant seeded can wash away. It needs the proper erosion protection. If on bare soil, you will need to use straw, mulch pellets or erosion blanket to hold the seed. When the soil warms up in spring, the seed germinates and grows naturally. Contact us to schedule a delivery of our special blend of Fescue grass. For more information on dormant seeding visit University of Minnestoa Extension.
    5. If you have a dog, make a him a special potty spot. What to do about dogs? Every spring, I see yards with lots of burned spots from a winter’s worth of dog pee. The burned, dead areas are from the high water soluble nitrogen content of the urine. It is not a pH problem, as many garden centers claim, nor is it worse with female dogs. Do not put anything in your dogs water or feed them tomato juice, as these remedies do not work and only depress your dog. The solution is simple and easy! Just add a carbon source to the soil, such as compost or mulch. The carbon in the mulch/compost will tie up the nitrogen and prevent burns to your lawn. Train your pup to pee on wood chips or apply a heavy dressing of compost in the areas where you dogs goes most often. Plan ahead for winter, as this is when the urine becomes most concentrated. Just create a pee spot using mulch or compost and let Fido do his thing all winter.

As with many winter prep situations, people react more strongly to cold and snow than grass does. Don’t overdo your winter prep. A little neglect is good for kids and lawns. Enjoy your winter!