Although many homeowners think winter is a time to stop lawn care, winter lawn care is essential to ensuring you have lush, vibrant lawns throughout the year. Winter is the perfect time to analyze your lawn and soil so you can take corrective measures for any issues. It’s also the season to get your equipment serviced and ready for the spring.

Protecting your lawn throughout the winter will have long-lasting effects. Follow these winter lawn maintenance steps for healthy yards year-round.

1. Fall Preparation Is Vital

Doing proper fall lawn preparation and maintenance is critical to the success of your winter lawn care. During fall, your lawn enhances its roots in preparation for winter. Preparing your soil and doing proper fall lawn care will boost your winter lawn. Here are the five main steps your need to take:

Lawn aeration: Avoid soil compaction during winter by aerating your soil in the fall. You can choose between spike, core and liquid lawn aeration. Make sure you choose the right type of aeration for your lawn and your budget. Liquid aeration is less physically demanding than spike or core aeration as it uses a liquid lawn aerator. There are several liquid aeration products on the market, so research which would work best for your lawn.
Overseeding: You can overseed every three to four years, but annual overseeding offers the best results. Overseeding in the fall will give your lawn time to grow before the first frost.
Watering: Ensure you are watering your lawn correctly. Over- or underwatering can lead to problems in the winter. In the early winter, only water your lawn on warm days.
Mowing: Gradually cut your grass shorter before the last cut leading up to winter. Avoid cutting the grass too short, as this can encourage weeds and bare patches.
Fertilizing: Fertilizing your lawn gives it the nutrients it needs to survive the winter. You can also apply a root growth stimulant, as winter is when roots expand. However, remember that the Maryland Lawn Fertilizer Law restricts fertilization November 16 to March 1 to protect the Chesapeake Bay.

2. Keep Your Lawn Clean

It’s essential to keep your lawn clear of any debris during winter. Toys, fallen leaves and outdoor furniture can suffocate your grass and lead to bare patches. Debris can also create conditions that allow diseases, insects, mice and other damaging pests to flourish. At the start of winter, remove any furniture, toys, branches, leaves or other debris on your lawn. As winter progresses, continue sweeping away leaves and picking up fallen limbs.

The weight from any debris compacts your soil and stunts the growth of your grass. It’s best to discourage people from walking on your lawn or parking any vehicles there. Keeping your sidewalks clear of snow and ice will make visitors less likely to take shortcuts across your property.

Avoid piling too much snow on your grass when shoveling your sidewalk, pathways and driveway, especially if you’ve used deicing salt. Salt can damage your lawn and undo the hard work you’ve already put into your lawn. Try using calcium-based deicing salt mixtures, as they’re less harmful than sodium chloride-based salts. It’s also best to avoid deicers with urea or nitrogen as those ingredients can also damage your lawn.

3. Winterize and Prepare for Spring

Winter is the ideal time to take stock of your lawn equipment and make any necessary repairs. Take the time to change filters, sharpen blades and properly clean your equipment, and store all your gear in a clean, dry space that is not near a heat source.

Cleaning and disinfecting lawn equipment can prevent the spread of diseases from old clippings when you start your spring lawn maintenance. Clean equipment also works better and lasts for longer.

You’ll need to winterize any gas-powered lawn equipment, as leaving fuel in the tanks can cause significant damage to the engines. You can deal with excess gas in the following ways:

Run the equipment until the gas runs out.
Remove any fuel with a siphon and store it safely.
Use a fuel stabilizer and run it through the tank.

If you have a sprinkler system, you may need to hire a professional to winterize the system. Disconnecting water sources and removing any water in the system will prevent ruptures from freezing water. Ensure you disconnect any hose pipes, drain them of water and store them safely. You’ll also want to switch off the water supply to any outside faucets without frost protection.

Winter is one of the best times to correct your soil’s pH by adding lime, sulfur or fertilizer. You can test its pH and nutrient content to start preparing your soil for spring.

4. Spray Pre-Emergents

While you’ll handle most of your weed control in the spring, you can get a head start in winter. Spraying pre-emergents will prevent weeds that germinate in the fall from taking root. Before it gets too cold, dig up weeds and use an herbicide to spot-treat any weed-heavy areas.

5. Continue Regular Care in Warmer Regions

If you live in a warmer area, you can continue your lawn care as you have for most of the year, with a few slight variations. Since yards in warmer regions don’t experience a total shutdown like cold-region lawns, your winter lawn care will be slightly different:

Keep mowing and trimming: Warm-weather grasses can continue growing until December, so keep mowing and trimming your lawn until your grass stops growing.
Water your lawn: Monitor your precipitation and your yard’s condition — it should get at least half an inch of water every week. If seasonal rain provides enough water, you can reduce your watering schedule during winter.
Test your soil: Soil readings tell you what nutrients your lawn needs, so it’s best to test before adding any fertilizer or other treatments. Since you put down less fertilizer in winter, it’s the perfect time to take a soil test and adjust your soil care.
Maintain equipment: You use your lawn equipment less during winter, making it a great time to get any repairs done. Clean and disinfect everything so you’ll be prepared for spring lawn maintenance.

Contact OrganicLawns for Winter Lawn Care

Having a beautifully green lawn is the pride of many homeowners. At OrganicLawns, we have an in-depth understanding of the care your lawn needs every season, and our team of hands-on lawn specialists can help you maintain your yard year-round.

Fall is the best time to take advantage of our Maryland aeration and seeding services! We also offer weed control and annual soil testing services to help maintain your lawn. Browse our service packages for Maryland winter lawn care, or get a free quote today!