Organic Gardening Practices
The next time you look out your back window and over your lawn, take time to remember all the good times your backyard has provided over the summer. Whether your lawn is relatively new or if you are a veteran with years of experience in caring for your prized lawn, you have likely spent hours of summer sun enjoying barbecues and birthdays gawking over the green in your yard.
It may be hard to forget how many hours you may take watering, feeding, and maintaining a garden during the summer. The high heat always has potential of drying out delicate seeds during these months. However, once that sweltering part of the year ends, the maintenance of your yard should not. The natural marauders to your lawn take no seasons off, and can be more prevalent during the winter. Proper care during the fall can provide the boost in health for your garden/backyard.
When the leaves begin to fall in your area, use these techniques to ensure your backyard and garden are just as stunning next season.
Garden & Yard
● Attack weeds: Autumn is the time of year broadleaf weeds (dandelion, clover) are most susceptible to pesticides. Take the time to remove them from beds and potted plants.
● Check for “thatch,” which can be a product of overwatering or seeding during the summer. If you see a multitude of dead organic material in your yard, remove it from the area.
● Prune overgrown trees and bushes. Tree branches extending over your roof or other yards can be hazardous. Trimming them before the winter can save you from serious damage.
Rake your Leaves
Though it may seem like a hassle, raking your yards leaves can be vital to your yard. An abundance of dead leaves smothers lawns and, in some cases, causes them to die altogether. Areas of lawn covered by dead foliage do not receive sunlight and can develop snow mold- a fungus reaching into the deepest parts of the soil. Mulching and composting your own leaves is a fantastic option for your yard because both help boost the soil’s nutrient value during the winter. Also, both help the soil stay in place during the brutal weather and keep weeds at bay. Learn how to do this properly by following these tips from Redfin.
Triple Threat-ing Your Lawn
● Aerating your lawn during fall months is a crucial step because the topsoil below can solidify during both the summer and winter. Once soil has solidified, nutrients & water have issues reaching the roots. If your yard is small, try renting a machine and plugging holes. If your yard is large, you may consider hiring a contractor.
● Most of the grasses in North America have the highest growth rates during the fall months, beginning in early September. Fertilizing your lawn in the fall is best because grass needs cooler temperatures to sprout. Summer can induce seeds into a dormancy due to drought. A last dosage of fertilizer or mulch can give your lawn a head-start on the spring.
● Mow your lawn a bit shorter than usual before the start of winter. Snow can cause longer blades of grass to mat and further damage. Your mower may have been raised during the summer because of high-heat, but you should knock it down a notch or two.
Maintaining Diversity in your Yard
The best way to ensure all the plant life in your yard retain a healthful state is to implement healthy practices. Sustainable, or organic gardening practices, work symbiotically for both the garden and the gardener. The soil that is the foundation for the all the plant life in your yard is a bastion with millions of forms of life that work in unison with each other. Those natural bacteria and animal life dictate the natural course by which a garden is intended to run. Removal of any one of these with the use of harmful chemicals causes a break in that natural process. Organic gardening gives your yard a diversity that prevents calamity such as overbearing insect infestation or extreme weathering. Maintaining gardening practices such as these can give you the peace-of-mind that you are committing the best for your yard.
Article written by Jennifer McGregor