Fall can be such a magical time of the year here in New England. But as you know, fall can sometimes feel like it’s quickly ushering in the winter. Before you know it, the ground might be covered in snow.
We undoubtedly have some pretty harsh winter weather, which is why you might be wondering how to prepare your lawn for winter.

In this article, we’ll go over a few important fall lawn care tips that will help in preparing your lawn for winter in New England.

How to Prepare Your Lawn for Winter

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Rake Up Those Leaves

As you probably already know, fall lawn care in New England involves quite a bit of raking. As a region, we are known for our beautiful fall foliage. But with that, comes quite a bit of leaf drop.

Raking leaves is obviously important for aesthetics but it also has an impact on your lawn’s health. Leaves that are left lying on the ground and not raked up can block your lawn’s access to sunlight, nutrients, and water.

Leaves can also become an invitation for critters to take up residence in your yard. As the weather gets colder, rodents and other pests look for sources of shelter. You don’t want your yard’s fallen leaves to become their new home.

Leaves left on the ground before snowfall can also create a problem with a  lawn fungus called snow mold. The leaves create an incubation effect and snow mold can start to grow on your grass
For all of these reasons, as much as it’s a pain, it makes sense to rake those leaves up.

Aerate Ahead of the Winter

Fall lawn care in New England should also involve an important service called lawn aeration.

Lawn aeration is the process of pulling small cores of soil from the ground and depositing them back on the lawn where they will break down and recycle nutrients back into the soil. Put simply, this helps your lawn to breathe.

We aerate lawns in the fall as this is also the optimal time for seeding. Over seeding is best performed during aeration so that the seeds can fall into the holes and have great seed-to-soil contact.

The timing is obviously important. You want to make sure that your lawn is aerated before the temperatures get too cold so that your grass can have time to germinate.

Fertilize Your Lawn

A late-season fertilizer application is another important part of preparing your lawn for winter in New England. This application will help set a good foundation for the coming winter season.

Late-season fertilizer plays an important role in helping your lawn to “green up” once the spring does roll around. It also helps your lawn to focus on proper root growth, maintain its winter hardiness, and even withstand some of the stress that it’s sure to face during cold winter months.

Think Ahead About Spring

Finally, preparing your lawn for winter in New England also means making sure you are ready for the spring! Winter often does end up flying by and before you know it, spring will be here again.

The fall and winter can be a great time to connect with your lawn care company and make sure that you are set up with all the spring services that you’ll need.