You may not spend much time outside in the yard or garden during the winter
months, but taking care of the details there now, will prevent problems later
and will help your garden look great next spring.
Sprinklers and Hoses: Drain
all hoses and sprinklers so they won’t freeze and break. Shut off your
sprinkler system for the winter and store hoses in a shed or garage.
Trees: Remove any
dead or dying tree limbs now because stormy weather and snow or ice build
up may cause branches to fall and damage your home or cause injury to people
below. Prune healthy trees after leaves turn to encourage healthy growth
next year.
Give your trees a healthy watering before you take in the hose and add mulch
near the base of the tree. Piling mulch right on the trunk of the tree will
damage it, so leave breathing room.
Lawn and Plants: Fall
is the best time to fertilize, reseed and fix bare spots in your lawn.
Replace dead spots larger than two or three feed with new sod. When you do
your final lawn mowing of the season, leave it at least three inches long
for maximum re-growth in the spring.
Divide and replant perennials if needed. It is
better to do this in the fall than the spring. Fall is also the time to plant
new spring bulbs. If you had a vegetable garden, till the remaining plant
material into the soil. Prune spent flower heads from flowering plants and clip
any dead leaves from garden plants to prevent rotting during the winter.
Furniture and
Accessories: Wash and
store or cover your patio furniture. Launder all cushions and fabric
accessories and store inside, out of the weather. Clean out gas or
charcoal grill, scrub grate and then cover the grill or store in the
garage if you won’t be using it during the winter. Move terra cotta and
ceramic pots inside the house or garage for the winter as the cold weather
can cause them to crack and break.
Tools and Equipment: Clean
and oil basic gardening hand tools and store inside to prevent rusting.
Change the oil in gas-powered tools and drain gas or add a gas stabilizer
to keep gas fresh for up to two years. Store power equipment inside or
cover loosely so that air can circulate. Service and prepare snow-blower
for winter use and store snow shovel and ice-melt crystals in an easily
accessible location.