Winter's on its way!

[Melz]

Being a first time lawn-owner, I have some questions. How do you "winterize" a lawn?

If I want to plant grass seed in spotty areas (albiet, some areas are not just spots), when do I do that and do I have to re-till?

Do I cover plants that will grow back next year? (I have some perennials, I just don't know which ones are..lol)

Oh I am sure I will have more questions. You all are always so helpful :)

[sunsettommy]

Being a first time lawn-owner, I have some questions. How do you "winterize" a lawn?

If I want to plant grass seed in spotty areas (albiet, some areas are not just spots), when do I do that and do I have to re-till?

Do I cover plants that will grow back next year? (I have some perennials, I just don't know which ones are..lol)

Oh I am sure I will have more questions. You all are always so helpful :)

If you are talking about Bluegrass,then just mow it low(1 1/2"-2")(in the summer it should be taller at about 2 1/2")and apply fertilizer(1/2 the usual rate) for that growth.It would have been better if done back in september,this way the grass would have had a boost in growth and make it hardier and stronger to handle the winter cold.

Fertilizing in the fall is the single most important one of the year.That is to make the grass grow well and be stronger for the winter.However you MUST then mow it shorter than you did in the summer.Try dropping the mower down one notch in the front and see if that is sufficient,if not then drop the back ones too one notch.

It IS desirable in most cases to mow your grass shorter in the spring and fall (to reduce the incidence of humidity related diseases,and also to make it easier for the soil surface to dry better)and let the grass grow TALLER in the summer.Taller lawns makes it handle the heat and sun better and actually reduce water loss from the soil surface.Really,it does.

When the grass slows way down due to the cold weather,mow it one more time to make it short.This is a good way to clean up the grass and reduce the chance for SNOW mold,if the snow is deep this winter.

If you have some thin areas,you might find out why it is that way.Was it from compaction,or lack of sun,or water or whatever the reason.This way you can decide best on how to fix it.If it is just not obvious why it is thin,then rake the area hard to scratch it up for the new grass seeds to sprout in.Then overseed it then keep it moist,NOT waterlogged.It is better done in september too for the warmer sun to get good growth.Try it now anyway since the grass will grow in next spring if the area is protected from traffic.

I have no idea what Perennials you have.It would be expected that they have sufficient hardiness and was adequately planted to its location.It would help if you can desribe what they looked like when in flower.I suggest that you buy the ortho perennial book at the nursery.Then maybe you will discover what some of them are by name?

The one thing I could suggest is that you clean it up a little and to make sure the soil will NOT be waterlogged this winter(a great way to lose those Chysanthemums,Matricaria,Aster and Gaillardia) as they will rot away and nothing shows up in that spot next year.This is a common reason why perennials vanish.

[ErikTheRed]

sunsettommy is right on and I only have one thing to add. If you can afford the extra expense, contact a local lawn care company and ask about core aeration. That is the process of removing narrow plugs of soil from your lawn to a depth of about 3"-4" inches that helps to relieve soil compaction and allows the turf roots to easier accept water and allow the roots to grow deeper. If this is an option, you would want to do this before seeding and fertilizing. If not, sunsettommy gave you solid advice.

[Melz]

Erik, I actually have Chemlawn doing that this month! They contacted me about it and I am all for it. A tad of an expense but I know this will do wonders! They are also planting grass seed at the time they do this so that's another thing I won't have to worry about.

Thank you both for your advice, I know I sound like a dummy. I finally have a yard (actually a rather large amount of yard) and want to take care of it :)

[sunsettommy]

sunsettommy is right on and I only have one thing to add. If you can afford the extra expense, contact a local lawn care company and ask about core aeration. That is the process of removing narrow plugs of soil from your lawn to a depth of about 3"-4" inches that helps to relieve soil compaction and allows the turf roots to easier accept water and allow the roots to grow deeper. If this is an option, you would want to do this before seeding and fertilizing. If not, sunsettommy gave you solid advice.

Yes that is a good idea.

I have done such work that spanned 40 parks and 250 Acres.The results were VISIBLY obvious.Increased growth and also less water waste as it went faster into the soil.

I remember Core-aerating a park that had no compaction at all and I had fun making those plugs fly 30 feet into the air! I was driving the tractor fast and at times made the wheels in the front leave the ground.

Thanks for your nice support.:patriot:

[sunsettommy]

Erik, I actually have Chemlawn doing that this month! They contacted me about it and I am all for it. A tad of an expense but I know this will do wonders! They are also planting grass seed at the time they do this so that's another thing I won't have to worry about.

Thank you both for your advice, I know I sound like a dummy. I finally have a yard (actually a rather large amount of yard) and want to take care of it :)

No you did NOT sound like a dummy.It is smart to solicit free advice from people who know something about it.Then you know more about it yourself and in the end the wiser for it.

Later on when you think you need to Core aerate again.You can rent a lawnmower sized one from a rental shop.It is easy to operate and cheaper than having a company do it for you.

I hope it all goes well for you.

[ErikTheRed]

You're very welcome, Melz! You're not a dummy at all! sunsettomy knows what he's talking about and I work at a golf course so combined, I imagine we might be able to make a yard look good! Oddly enough, my yard looks like crap... :whistle: