Are you excited for wintertime? Although your yard doesn’t need the same level of care and maintenance as it does during the more active spring and summer seasons, there are still things you need to do to keep your yard tidy when the coldest weather sets in.
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At Prim Mart, we love this time of year and have put together a list of some of our favorite winter yard clearing tips.
Feed Your Lawn
Before the winter sets in, if you want your lawn to survive the long, cold harsh sleep it’s about to have during the coldest part of the year, you need to make sure it has enough nutrients.
Add your preferred fertilizer, making sure it has a high amount of phosphorous in it to encourage the strength of roots and to ensure you have a luscious and green lawn by the time spring comes around.
Removing Dead and Dying Plants
All plant lovers suffer from the same affliction – that need to hold on to their beloved plants to the very bitter end. However, when your plants are already dead or even if they are just close to dying and showing no signs of life, there is no good reason to leave it taking up space.
You need to remove all dead plants and those that are close to dying to create a yard that has a cleaner and simpler look.
Carry Out Some Choice Pruning
Once the leaves have started to fall, even if you’ve neglected to keep on top of the pruning needs of your plants, now’s a good time to get out there and do it.
Trim and clip back your perennial plants and during the early stages of winter you should also lightly prune at any shrubs you have, so that they are reduced to 10% or possibly even less of their original size.
Make Good Use of Those Fallen Leaves
How do you normally deal with the leaves that have fallen to the ground? The best way to tidy up and get rid of those fallen and dead leaves is by reusing them in either soil condition, compost or mulch to name a few.
If you have taken to raking or blowing leaves into a corner or clearing to deal with later, this is the time to do it. Start by shredding them, as that will allow them to decompose quicker and they will not mat.
Create Natural New Edges
You find that the natural edges on planting beds and garden borders tend to melt somewhat as time passes by. Grasses start to make their way into those mulched areas, while even irregular foot damage squashes the outer rim.
During those slower months leading up to and through winter is a good time to learn about edging a garden, so you can spend some time redefining those natural edges using a bed edger and border spade for a slicker and crisper look.
Add New And Fresh Mulch
Once those cleaner and crisper edges are in place, you will want to add new mulch to complete the job. Rather than just being attractive, a continuous layer of 2 to 3-inches of mulch helps to reduce the encroachment by weeds, conserves moisture in the soil and insulated to protect it against fluctuations in the temperature during winter.
Dealing With Snow
If snow is inevitable in your part of the country, you need to have a plan of action prepared to deal with the white stuff when it comes, so that you’re not left panicking.
There are some places where snow will be okay in your yard and others where it is less welcome. For example, snow is obviously not welcome on your drive, unless you plan on becoming a hermit that never leaves the house.
So, you will want to clear the snow from your drive. There are various methods for doing this, but one thing you should consider investing in is a snow blower. It will reduce the amount of time it takes to shift snow, even if you must get a snow shovel out and do some manual labor.
Make sure you choose a snow blower that is suitable for the depths of snow you receive though, some smaller or cheaper models may not be able to cope if you live in a heavy snow fall area.
However, your lawn and beds will survive okay with a covering of snow. Snow is actually very useful for protecting the soil as it helps to regulate its temperature and keeps it insulated.
However, if there is a lot of snow, it could be too heavy for the branches of your trees and plants and could even break and damage them.
This is when you may need to get out there and clear the branches, starting from the bottom and working your way upwards.
