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Fall Maintenance: Winterizing Your Lawn and Landscape!

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winterizing lawn and landscape equipment You may still be using your lawn mower and other lawn equipment for a while, as fall gradually gives way to winter. Properly winterizing lawn equipment is well worth your time and effort. If you follow these six steps before putting it all away for the season, you will extend the life and maintain the efficiency of your lawn equipment, find yourself better prepared for the winter season, and perhaps have a fewer issues next spring, when the growing season resumes.

Winterizing Lawn and Landscape

1. Provide Complete Fall Maintenance for Your Lawn In preparation for winter, your lawn’s root system continues to grow during the fall season. Just as growth above the ground requires proper nourishment, so does this important growth beneath the surface. Late fall fertilization will help your lawn improve root growth and build up its strength to endure the upcoming winter months. Nutrients will also be stored by the root system to provide for a quicker green-up the following spring. There may still be a few weeds that can be controlled at this time of year too. If you gradually lower your mowing height toward the very end of the season, you will reduce the chances for diseases, such as snow mold, to take hold and may also reduce the tan/brown portion of the grass blades. 2. Properly Winterizing Your Lawn Mower Today’s blended fuels tend to separate over time, which can cause a variety of problems in small engines. Treat your gasoline with a fuel stabilizer when it’s time to refill the gas can. After you add treated gasoline to the tank on your mower, be sure to start and run your mower to circulate the treated gas throughout the engine. If possible, after you have cut grass for the last time, run the engine out of gas. This is particularly easy if your mower has an inline fuel valve between the tank and the engine. Whether you do it yourself or take the mower to a local shop, this is also a good time to change the oil and complete any other standard maintenance tasks that your mower requires, such as blade sharpening. Whichever way you get it done, be sure to comply with the manufacturer's recommendations. 3. Prepare Your Smaller Lawn Equipment as Well Gas powered trimmers and blowers have smaller engines than do lawn mowers, which makes them even more susceptible to problems related to separation, varnish build-up, and other “old fuel” issues. Any fuel left in their tanks should be treated and run through the engine. All lawn equipment should be cleaned and maintained per the manufacturer's recommendations. 4. Give Your Lawn and Garden Hand Tools Some TLC Shovels, trowels, garden hoses and such should be cleaned off before you store them for the winter. Use a wire brush to remove caked-on soil and rust and then wipe them down with some motor oil to keep them from rusting again. Unless the handle was varnished, it is also a good idea to smooth off any rough spots with sandpaper and wipe them with some linseed oil. This will help prevent the wood from drying out and splitting. If you value your garden hoses, disconnect and drain them before storing them indoors. 5. Is Your Snowblower Ready for Action? Was your snowblower serviced before it was put away last spring? Check it out now rather than wait until the first substantial snowfall before attempting to start it. Besides the engine, inspect common wear parts, such as blades/auger, clutch, and belt. Are all the nuts and bolts still in place and properly torqued? The idea is to have your machine ready to go when you need it. Always follow the manufacturer's recommendations. You should also check the condition of your snow shovels. Now is the time to determine whether they need to be repaired or replaced. 6. Mark Edges and Boundaries Snow has a way of masking where the grass begins along your driveway, sidewalks, and curb lines. Adding markers to the edge of your lawn allow you or your snow removal service to see where shoveling/blowing should begin and end in order to avoid harm. Adding reflective markers along the street line of your property may help road plow operators avoid your lawn. As always, never hesitate to call on your neighborhood lawn care professional at Spring-Green whenever you have questions or concerns about caring for your lawn and landscape. Whether before, during, or after each growing season, we are always on the job.