Winter in Ohio is nothing to balk at with frigid temperatures and snow storms dropping feet of snow on your property. During those months, your yard is left to the mercy of Mother Nature and that can be a daunting thought. That is why before the weather turns, it’s important to conduct some regular fall yard maintenance to prepare.
You certainly don’t want to waste your last few good weekends doing yardwork, but there are certain fall maintenance tasks that simply cannot be ignored. Keep reading for a breakdown of your fall yard maintenance checklist.
Controlling Leaves
If leaves are left to pile up and ignored during the fall months, it can wreak havoc on your lawn. As the snow falls, the leaves become thick and matted, blocking sun and air from reaching the grass below. Over the course of the winter, this not only causes the grass to die, it also leaves you with a wet, sopping mess to clean up in the spring.
If you don’t want to spend a few hours raking leaves in the fall, you certainly don’t want to spend the first nice weekend of spring raking up heavy, wet piles of leaves. Do yourself a favor and grab the following leaf maintenance essentials for easy fall cleanup.
First and foremost, you are going to need a good rake. Rakes come in all types and sizes, and each kind of rake has a different purpose. For cleaning up leaves during the fall you will want to pick up a Poly Lawn Rake. This rake is lightweight and enables you to cover a lot of ground while raking up leaves. Plus, the bright orange color means it won’t get lost and forgotten out in the yard all winter.
For your fall leaf cleanup, you will also want to get a wheelbarrow. You can get wheelbarrows ranging from 6 cubic feet to 10 cubic feet of capacity depending on your needs. For larger yards, you might want a 10 CU FT Wheelbarrow, while smaller yards you could get away with a 6 CU FT Wheelbarrow for transporting leaves.
Something else you may want to consider is getting some bags to load leaves into. Pick some up from your local hardware store early in the season to manage your lawn care no matter what the weather brings.
Winter Lawn Care Prep & Maintenance
Before winter hits you are also going to want to prepare your yard for the frigid temperatures, lack of sun, and heavy snow. If you have been following TurfCare’s 4 step fertilizer program, it’s time for Step 4, the TurfCare Winterizer. This fertilizer is best applied from September 1st to November 15th and is a slow release option that provides the nutrients your lawn needs to survive even the longest of winters.
A 50-pound bag of the fertilizer will cover an impressive 13,500 sq. ft. and it’s easy to spread on your own. If you haven’t been utilizing the TurfCare System, it’s still not too late to start! Just be sure to follow through with Step 1 in the spring when the weather breaks.
When applying fertilizer, you will also want a pair of gloves. Fertilizers contain great nutrients for your lawn that can be harsh on your skin, and a good pair of garden gloves will keep you safe.
You will also want to have either a Hand Spreader or a Push Spreader so you can be sure that you are spreading the fertilizer evenly. The Broadcast Spreader with Deflector is a push spreader option that might seem expensive upfront, but it will speed up the process and can also be used all winter to spread rock salt on your driveway and walkways. Plus, you’ll be able to utilize it in the spring and summer when spreading other seed and fertilizers.
Tree & Shrub Cleanup
Another important aspect of fall yard maintenance is cleaning up your shrubs and bushes. This is important for a few reasons. The first is that you should trim back shrubs and bushes close to your house to eliminate the bare branches from scraping against your house all winter.
By trimming loose or unruly branches, you can also alleviate some of the stress that a heavy snowfall will put on the bush. To do this, you will want to purchase a good pair of Hand Trimmers. For bushes and shrubs with smaller branches, a set of 2” Hand Pruners will do just fine.
If you have thicker and larger bushes you will want to grab a pair of 9” Straight Blade Hedge Shears. These trimmers are great because they’re lightweight enough for easy use, but the heavy duty high Carbon steel straight blades are tough enough to get through anything. Bypass Pruners are another versatile option that can help with this and they are available with a sheath or without a sheath.
In addition to trimming back hedges, shrubs, and bushes, you will also want to address the trees around your home. All it takes is one bad ice storm or heavy snowfall to crack a tree branch off. If they fall harmlessly to the ground in an open yard it’s not a big issue, but they can also fall on your roof, shed, awning, deck, car or other structure and cause serious damage. It’s important during the fall to do a quick inspection of the property and check for overhanging branches or ones that already appear to be rotted.
Grabbing a pair of 20” Loppers will enable you to trim wily branches up to 1.5” in diameter without bruising. 28” Loppers are also available to give you a longer reach and have a 4” cutting edge. For larger branches, you may want to consult a professional for proper and safe removal.
At Kurtz Bros., Inc., we pride ourselves on helping everyone from homeowners to professional landscapers with their landscape supplies. If you are looking to stock up on all the equipment you need for proper fall yard maintenance, Kurtz Bros., Inc. has you covered!
Not only do we carry fertilizers, soils, and stones, we also carry lines of yard care equipment. From rakes and gloves to wheelbarrows and hedge trimmers, Kurtz Bros., Inc. has what you need to get the job done right. Contact us today or stop into one of our stores to gear up for your fall yard maintenance!