Winterize Your Lawn & Garden | Millennium Waste
With the cold temperatures and notable snowfall that this region of the US receives, winter can pose many challenges for your lawn and garden. Lawns and gardens are very vulnerable in the winter to damage, disease, and death. To help protect your lawn and garden from the tough winter conditions, it is important to take the time to properly winterize your lawn and garden in the fall.
The primary reason for winterizing is to protect your lawn, plants, and soil from the harsh winter elements in order to help them survive the cold season, and it will help ensure a healthy and productive lawn and garden in the spring. At Millennium Waste, we are all about helping you achieve a sustainable lifestyle through composting and recycling. Lawn and garden winterization is done just before freezing temperatures set in, usually around late September through October, so now is the perfect time to get started! Here are a few tips from your Quad Cities Garbage Company that will help you get started on the right path:
- Rake leaves off of the lawn & garden area: Doing so prevents diseases among plants and allows proper air and water circulation. With proper moisture and aeration, these leaves may be used to make leaf compost for the following year, however, if the leaves are from diseased plants, do not put them in the compost, as it will contaminate the entire batch.
- Clean up your plants in the garden: Remove any dead or damaged parts and then add the trimmings to your compost pile. If there are large stems and leaves, be sure to cut them into smaller pieces to accelerate the decomposition process. Again, if you find any diseased plants or plant parts, do not add them to avoid contaminating the compost.
- Cover plants with mulch: Once you have trimmed back your plants and removed the dead matter, a thin layer of mulch can be added. This layer will absorb warmth from the sun and help protect the soil underneath. It is important to use thin layers of mulch, if applied to heavily the mulch may work against your plants, causing roots to rot or decay. Sawdust, pine needles, straw, or shredded leaves all work well as mulch, and apply them around the roots and over the beds.
- Mow: If your lawn is lawn is still showing signs of growth, it is important to keep up with the mowing which will help promote continue strengthen and root growth. Once the lawn begins to go dormant for winter, lower your mower blade an extra notch for the final mowing of the season to prevent long, matted grass blades for smothering your lawn over the winter months.
- Fertilize your lawn, not your garden: Fertilizing your garden this late in the fall may encourage new growth that will be too immature to survive frosts and cold temperatures; however a high-potassium slow release fertilizer for your lawn will help provide added nutrients and food to keep your lawn healthy through the winter.
- Move fragile plants indoors. All plants that cannot survive winter weather should be moved inside. Place them in a cool and dry place with a little bit of sunshine; do not forget to water them regularly. Remember that water will evaporate more slowly inside, so be careful not to over water. When spring draws near, move the plants into an area with more sunlight.
- The fall is an excellent time to collect what may be viewed as yard waste and turn it into essential nutrients for next year’s lawn and garden projects. Leaves, grass clippings, pumpkin rinds, coffee grounds, and the remains of old healthy garden plants will save you time and money next year!
If you are a Millennium Waste customer with yard waste to dispose, you may haul it to the Quad Cities Landfill and dispose of it for a small fee. To learn more about our residential garbage collection service in the Quad Cities or to request our services, please call us at 309-787-2303.
Last Modified: