Winter Lawn and Garden Core Chores Checklist
Winter is often considered just one of the four annual seasons by most people. But, homeowners see these few months as the time to nurture and repair their lawns and gardens from the harsh summer sun and the harvesting of plants throughout the autumn. Now is the time when tender loving care is needed to prepare their property for the coming growing seasons.
Whether you are a new or a seasoned homeowner, you know the pride of having well-tended lawns, trees, plants, and gardens that reflect the efforts of your labour. Admittedly, some winter chores, such as checking on the functionality of your watering system or the sharpening of mower blades, may need the attention of a professional. However, there are several routine winter lawn and garden chores that homeowners can accomplish with the right equipment, the right materials, and the time available to complete the tasks.
Admittedly, there are times when people have more than one project on their calendars and that means that one or more of the winter core chores might get overlooked. As a helpful reminder for all of our Perth homeowners, we have compiled a checklist of the basic winter jobs designed to achieve and maintain healthy lawn and garden areas in the local area. One friendly tip to remember when planning your winter lawn and garden chores is to avoid working with wet soil. Allow the ground to dry out for a day or two before digging, weeding, mowing, mulching, fertilizing, or planting.
5 Basic Winter Lawn and Garden Chores Checklist
1. Clear the Ground Area
To know where to apply your efforts, you will need to clear the surface areas of any debris that is laying on the surface. While this may seem like a no-brainer, it is not unusual to see homeowners attempting to add a new protective layer of mulch on top of last season’s mulch rather than remove the old, weather-worn material before applying a fresh application of mulch.
As trees, plants, and shrubs prepare for the annual dormant winter season, their leaves and petals will dry up and fall to the ground. While thinking ahead to when you will start your spring gardening, winter is the time to remove the stalks and any remaining in-ground plant parts before fertilizing the soil. Removing this debris increases the amount of fresh air available to the heavily shaded areas of trees, plants, and garden plots as well as going a long way in the prevention of having grey mould invade your lawn and garden spaces. If you have a large area to clear, a leaf blower can greatly reduce the amount of time you spend collecting the yard waste that can then be placed in paper trash bags for recycling.
2. Remove the Weeds
The growth cycle of weeds may be short, but their damage continues as their seeds continue to spread across your lawn and garden areas. The winter temperatures and increased levels of moisture are conditions favourable for weed germination. Attempting to manually remove weeds before they reach the seed spreading stage is both time-consuming and labour-intensive.
For an effective weed control process that makes it harder for weeds to establish roots and grow, treat your lawn and garden beds with an application of our Feed and Weed granular weed destroyer. Having a healthy lawn and garden ground cover makes it difficult for weeds to establish growth or spread their seeds.
3. Mowing
The cooler winter temperatures slow the pace of grass growth, but the grass does continue to grow. Routine mowing will continue during the winter months, just not as frequently or as close to the ground as during the prime growing seasons. Raising the height of mower blades leaves behind taller grass blades that are better positioned to absorb and retain nutrients and sunlight. Another benefit of winter mowing is the reduction of weed seeds spreading across the lawn or garden as the mower removes their sprouting flower heads before germination occurs.
Winter is also the ideal time to have your mower blades sharpened in preparation for the more frequent mowing sessions during the height of the grass growing season.
4. Mulch Where Needed
More than an eye-pleasing ground cover, mulch is an excellent winter ground cover for heavily shaded areas under trees, shrubs, plants, hedges, and garden plots. Newly planted landscaping projects will benefit from a mulch covering placed over the soil enhancing fertilizer and wetting treatment used to encourage successful root growth. Replacing last season’s mulch will continue to preserve an even soil temperature as well as working to nurture the retention of healthy microorganisms in your lawn and garden soil, especially in Perth’s predominantly sandy soil region.
Because mulch can prevent excessive sunlight from reaching the underlying soil there will be fewer weeds to deal with. All of our mulch products are environment-friendly and free of weeds. Depending on the size of your project, the beneficial depth of ground covering mulch is between 50 to 75mm. If you are unsure much mulch you will need, call us at (08) 9434 2290 and talk with one of our knowledgeable, friendly staff members.
5. Fertilize as Needed
If a plant is completely dormant, there is little to no need for fertilizer. But, deciduous and perennial plants, shrubs, trees, and garden plots will need a light application of fertilizer every 4 to 6 weeks during the winter season. If you are working with sandy soil, you will want a fertilizer that contains Bentonite clay for water retaining capability, enhanced soil structure, and nutrient retention. We carry a full variety of fertilizers and manure to help with all of your Perth regional lawn and garden areas that need an occasional boost of nutrients, nitrogen, and growth sustainability. If you are not sure which soil feeding product will best serve your winter care projects, call us at (08) 9434 2290 to talk with one of our friendly, professional staff members.
Bibra Lake Soils is your neighbourhood soil enhancement store that can supply you with all of the loose and bagged lawn and garden products, decorative lawn accessories, cement, and other items required for large and small landscaping maintenance. We are currently open Monday through Sunday at 222 Barrington Street, Bibra Lake WA 6163. You can contact us at (08) 9434 2290 or email us at info@bibralakesoils.com.au. We welcome all inquiries.
