How to prepare your lawn grass for winter?
We have been gardening as a family for more than two years. They built a small house on the site, and arranged a lawn in front of it. For convenience and aesthetic reasons, the lawn was sown with lawn grass. In summer, everything is simple: watering, cutting, cleaning. But the season is coming to an end and the preparation of the lawn grass for winter is foreseen. Tell me what awaits us?
Having a summer cottage is just wonderful, but very laborious. After the summer is over, the autumn harvest is harvested, the lawn grass is prepared for winter.
- Stop watering. The rainy period comes in autumn, so you can refuse watering at this time. If you are caught by hot autumn days, then you can water the lawn with a little water. Do not flood the grass to avoid puddles. Those who have had a lawn for more than a year begin preparations for winter from the beginning of September and continue until the first frost. In order not to spoil the lawn grass and not to overmoisten the ground, it is necessary to stop watering completely when the air temperature begins to drop. Watering during the cold season is fraught with the fact that the grass can become weak.
- Lawn mowing. In the autumn, with a decrease in temperature, lawn mowing is carried out much less often than usual, because in summer you need to mow the lawn at least once a week. However, before the onset of winter, this procedure cannot be dispensed with, because the grass that they did not have time to cut will freeze and will interfere with the germination of new fresh shoots. The grass should be cut and not more than five centimeters high. After all, about a couple of weeks will pass before the snow falls, and the grass will be able to reach about eight sentiments, and this is the best option for the winter period for plants. This size of the herb will help to retain sufficient nutrients. The difficulty lies only in the fact that it is not really known exactly when the snow will fall and how many haircuts will have to be done before that. You can mow the lawn too early and before the cold weather everything will have time to grow again, the remaining grass and the first frosts will come suddenly, which will not allow the procedures to be carried out in time for winter. In the northern regions of the country, the best time for the mowing procedure will be the end of September, but for the southern regions it will be more appropriate to mow the lawn closer to mid-October. The beginning of October is the time to mow the lawn in the middle lane. The cut grass can be used as fertilizer in the garden beds. It must be laid in a layer on the soil, and under the snow it all turns into an excellent fertilizer.
- Top dressing. All plants, regardless of purpose, need additional nutrition and the lawn is no exception. During the autumn feeding season, experienced gardeners recommend fertilizing the lawn grass with phosphorus and potassium, which contribute to better root formation, which is so important for winter nutrition. But it is worth giving up nitrogen nutrition, because it leads to an increase in the growth of greenery, which is not desirable before the onset of a cold pore. But do not forget that nitrogen will make your grass gorgeous and green in autumn and will not be able to reduce the plant's resistance during winter frosts, so some gardeners do not stop feeding with nitrogen throughout the entire growing period, right up to the very frosts. Complex fertilizers are also good and easy to use.
- Aeration. This procedure is extremely important for the passage of water into the deeper layers of the soil. This helps keep the lawn free from puddles, which can lead to bald spots.You don't have to aerate only sand-based lawns, because sand has excellent drainage. The aeration process is best done in good weather, while raising the grass to improve air saturation of the root system. Aeration is carried out either with an aerator or with a forks for the garden, piercing the soil 20 centimeters. After the procedure, do not contact the lawn grass for three days.
To keep your lawn happy with warm spring days, cover your lawn with a peat blanket mixed with dry compost.