Time To Put The Yard To Bed

Use these last days of fine weather to put your lawn and garden to bed for the winter.

• Giving the yard a good cleanup in the fall means less work when spring rolls around.

• Continue to cut your lawn into the fall, but keep the length at three inches or so and bag the clippings.

• Apply a high-quality fall lawn fertilizer before mid-November. If weeds are a problem, try a fall lawn food 10-5-20 plus weeder.

• When the last of the leaves has fallen, give the lawn a thorough raking to remove thatch.

• Clean up garden beds, throw annuals into the composter and cut back perennials to about five inches from the ground. Apply a five- to six-inch layer of mulch comprised of straw or leaves.

• Use leaves to create a leaf mould top dressing for gardens next spring. Place shredded leaves in garbage bags with a few handfuls of soil, moisten and close. Shake the bags once a week. Dig the compound into the soil in spring or use as a top dressing.

• Turn the soil to aerate it and prevent compaction over the winter.

• Hill up the base of your rose bushes with top soil, up to 12 inches.

• Before the ground freezes, give the soil around evergreens a thorough soaking. This will provide them with the extra moisture they require to survive the winter.

Courtesy: Homeservice Club