Ready, Set, Winter

WINTERIZE YOUR GARDEN

Put your yard and garden to bed for a long winter's nap. We'll show you how.

Chilly mornings, football Friday nights, and falling leaves signal autumn's arrival. This time of year also calls for end-of-the-season yard work. Wrap up your growing season by tending to tasks such as leaf raking, mower maintenance, and bulb planting. Not sure where to start? Follow our simple steps to tidy up your corner of the great outdoors

Leaf Detail

Begin your cleanup by clearing leaves from gutters, grass, driveways, and shrubs. Deal with those fallen friends before they damage your lawn. To remove freshly fallen leaves, take action with your tool of choice: rake, blower/vac, or mower. A large-headed rake makes fast work of a small lawn with just a few swipes. Grab a smaller shrub rake to extract leaves beneath bushes. A leaf vacuum not only removes leaves effectively, it also shreds them into small pieces. For added versatility, try a combination blower/vac (Black & Decker, Leaf Hog, #104649). Another option is to run over leaves with your lawn mower. Let the chopped leaves lie to give your lawn a free dose of nitrogen. Or use a bag attachment to collect shredded leaves for mulch or composting. Time your leaf work before a rain; wet leaves clump and clog tools.

Composting

What better to do with chopped leaves than to recycle them as compost? Begin by blending a few shovelfuls of topsoil into your leaf pile. Cover the pile to retain moisture, and allow it to sit. Be sure to turn your pile after a hard freeze to dislodge any nesting rodents. By spring, you'll have a nice batch of compost.

Or make your compost in dark-colored trash bags that you can stash out of sight. Stuff bags with leaves, add a little topsoil, and then tie the bags closed. Come spring, you'll find they're filled with rich compost.

When adding material to a compost pile, remember that smaller pieces decompose more quickly than larger ones. Reduce yard-waste volume and size with a chipper/shredder vacuum (Troy- Bilt, #204531). When renting or purchasing a chipper/shredder, note the reduction ratio. A ratio of 10:1 means the machine reduces 10 bags of yard waste into one bag.

Turf's Up!

Give grass the royal treatment by keeping leaves raked and weeds in check. Spot-treat cool-season broadleaf weeds with Ortho Weed-B-Gon, available in a variety of sizes. Get a jump on spring weeds by applying a pre-emergent herbicide to turf in the fall-unless you plan to overseed.

Apply winterizer fertilizer to cool-season lawns to promote thicker root growth. Get more bang for your buck by using a fertilizer that also zaps weeds (Scotts, WinterGuard Fertilizer with Plus 2 Weed Control, #240860). Warm-season lawns turn brown in cool temperatures. Swap the brown for green by overseeding with ryegrass seed.

Mowing

As temperatures begin to drop, continue mowing until the grass stops growing. At the end of mowing season, run the gas out of the mower, change the oil, and pull and inspect the spark plug. Before replacing the plug, add a few drops of five-weight oil to the hole, and yank the start cord a few times. The oil lubricates the engine and wards off rust. If you sharpen the blade now, in spring all you'll have to do is add gas.

     

     

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FALL TO-DO LIST

Garden:

• Drain and store water hoses. In areas with hard freezes, turn off water to exterior spigots, and install insulating covers.

• Check and repair trellises and fences. Store any garden art that won't withstand a hard freeze.
• Check pond skimmer baskets frequently as leaves fall. Skim leaves from the surface of ponds daily. If trees surround your pond, suspend a net across the water to keep out leaves.
• Clean metal surfaces of tools with a wire brush. Dip metal parts into oil to prevent rust. Keep hand tools rust-free by storing them in a bucket filled with sand and a quart of motor oil or linseed oil. Lightly sand wooden tool handles, and apply a light coat of linseed oil. Sharpen and oil cutting blades.
• Empty container gardens in regions with harsh winters. Compost plants, and add soil to existing planting beds to build loose, fluffy soil.
• Store terra-cotta pots in a frost-free area. If freezing temperatures occur but don't linger in your region, store the pots upside down outdoors. Elevate the pot on pot feet or bricks so the rim isn't in contact with soil or surfaces that might collect water.
• Clip stalks on perennials to 3 inches after a hard freeze. Leave stalks with attractive seed heads for winter interest.
• Plant spring flowering bulbs until the ground freezes.
• Fill bird feeders, and hang where they'll be visible from indoors.

Outdoor Living Areas:

• Touch up flaking paint on deck railings and trim. Use a wire brush to remove paint; then prime and paint surfaces.
• Scrub plastic or metal patio furniture with a scrub brush and gentle detergent. Rinse pieces well before storing for the season.
• Use weatherproof covers for outdoor grills and furniture to prevent damage during the cold winter months.
• Move the grill closer to the house to make winter grilling convenient. Scrub the grill before frost arrives. Stock up on a supply of gas before snow begins to fly.
• Extend the season with outdoor heating, such as a fire pit (cast iron, #256803), chiminea (clay, #256799), or decorative heater.

General Exterior:

• Clean gutters frequently as leaves fall from trees. In zones where winter means freezing temperatures, install downspout extenders (white, #87794; green, #20111) to direct water away from driveways, patios, and sidewalks.
• Wash exterior windows.
• Load up on supplies of heavy objects, such as birdseed, sidewalk de-icer, salt for the water softener, and pet food, so you won't have to tote them over icy surfaces.

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