Fall And Winter Recommendations For Using Mulch Around Your Yard
As the weather changes from warm to cool and then freezing, you watch as your yard's landscaping changes sometimes overnight with a hard freeze and falling tree leaves. Mulching in your yard with the materials you already have access to and others you can purchase from a landscape supplier can protect your yard from winter's harsh climate and put it into a better situation for the spring thaw. Here are some recommendations to help you keep your yard and soil healthy for winter with fall mulching practices.
Add Mulch to Bedding
Mulch added to your landscaping soil in strategic areas can protect your soil for a good head start in the following spring. You can use mulch that you have created in your yard with a wood chipper or shredded leaves, or you can purchase mulch from a home and garden or landscape retailer by the bag or truckload to use in your yard.
When you add in a mulch covering over your yard's bare soil, you will be protecting it from the winter's harsh weather and freezing conditions. And this is helpful for perennial plants, shrubbery, and trees by protecting their roots from winter damage. After the first winter hard freeze, cut back any perennials that need trimming, then apply a layer of mulch that is a couple of inches thick. This will protect the soil by holding in warmth with an insulation barrier and will keep the healthy organisms, worms, and microbes in the soil alive for longer to continue in your soil's improvement. A mulch covering also protects your soil from any freeze and thaw cycles, which can be harmful to your landscaping plants, as it maintains a more even temperature throughout the soil.
Manage Your Tree Leaves
Fall weather also means your trees are losing their leaves, which will end up piled on top of your lawn. It is important that you remove the leaves before winter so your lawn does not get harmed from a layer of leaves all winter. Leaves can smother your lawn over the winter to cause dead spots and can also put your lawn at risk of snow mold and other mildews.
Use your lawn mower to mulch tree leaves so they can put back beneficial nitrogen into the soil of your lawn. However, only leave a small amount of leaf mulch over your lawn, as too much can still be smothering to your lawn. Bag up the rest and apply it as a mulch ground covering around your bedding soil and plants for winter protection.
For more information on mulching, contact a professional near you.
