How to Protect Your Lawn from the Cold Weather - Ritchie Feed & Seed Inc.

How to Protect Your Lawn from the Cold Weather

Every homeowner knows one thing - having a beautiful lawn makes a big difference. You spend all summer tending your garden, ensuring it’s a lush paradise that is the envy of the neighbourhood. Then the harsh Ottawa winter kicks in and your lawn gets covered in a blanket of icy snow. How can you make sure your lawn looks just as green and healthy when the weather starts to warm up again in March and April? Here are easy to follow tips on how you can protect your lawn when winter comes:

Prepare for the winter, fertilize the lawn

First things first, you need to make sure you prepare your lawn for the winter. Use quality fertilizer from Ritchie Feed & Seed, with trusted brand names like Scotts®, CIL, and Turf Revolution™. First, fertilizer helps damaged areas of turf recover more quickly. Fertilizer will also serve as a good replacement for the nutrients that are going to be lost during the cold weather. When winter comes, the fertilizer will still be there and feed the roots. You can rest assured that when the snow clears and the ground starts to thaw, your lawn comes back just as green and vibrant as ever.

Cut the grass the right way

Second, you need to have the right strategy when it comes to cutting your lawn. If you cut your lawn at the same height all year long, you’re doing it wrong. Remember, the longer the leaves are, the deeper the roots are. Raise your mowing height in the fall months to protect the blades of the grass plant. At the same time, you don’t want to leave the blades too long, or they could become more susceptible to winter diseases like snow mould.

Clear up everything

Third, just because it is winter it does not mean you can forego cleaning up your lawn. Let’s say you leave a heavy object like a log on your lawn over the winter months. Come spring, you’re going to have a dead patch underneath that area of the lawn. Take the time to rake, dethatch, and clean your lawn of twigs, branches, and other debris. You’ll appreciate it come spring time.

Should you overseed?

Not every lawn needs to be overseeded. But if you have extensive damage that can’t be fixed by fertilizer, your lawn may benefit from overseeding. Start by aerating the soil, then spread grass seed over the soil. At Ritchie Feed & Seed, we carry a large product line-up from trusted brands like Scotts®, Mapleseed®, and a custom line of grass seed from Quality Seeds Ltd. Visit us in-store and we’d be happy to help you find the right grass seed for your needs. Just a little bit of work, and you’ll ensure you have a lawn you’re happy to come home to all year long. See you in the spring!