Most Calgary residents think of the seasons as sequential; springs becomes summer, summer transitions into fall which slowly but surely turns to winter. In terms of your yard however, you need to be thinking further ahead than that, as a beautiful summer garden starts with preparation the previous fall. By getting your garden protected and ready for winter, you’re setting yourself up to make the most of the short Calgary spring so you can make the most the long summer days, and that work starts as fall draws to a close.
Fall Cleanup Checklist
Once you’ve hosted the last of the big summer parties and the family’s kids have run riot during your Thanksgiving weekend celebrations, it’s time to start your fall cleanup preparations. Clearing your yard of human and natural debris is essential to keep the soil clear of blockages that in turn will allow the snowmelt to reach deep to the roots come spring time. The following are easy fall cleanup tasks that prepare your garden for winter and beyond.
Leaf Pickup
The first and probably most arduous job on your fall clean up checklist is to clear the ground of leaves, branches and any other debris from your shrubs and trees like pine cones or acorns. While a carpet of red and gold leaves makes for a great fall photo shoot, brown debris like this quickly decays and clumps together, causing thatching which acts like a waterproof barrier over your soil. Leaf blowing is an easy way to achieve your goals, but it can also remove the top layer of soil, so hand raking is a better way to preserve the microbe ecosystem that keeps your grass fed and ready for spring growth.
One Final Mow
With the majority of leaves and natural debris raked up, it’s time to give your lawn one final mow. This reduces the amount of energy each grass plant has to to produce, as well as providing a finely chopped layer of mulch that will act as a natural fertilizer. For this mow, you’re looking to get the grass down to around 5-8 cm depending on your grass type, and your garden should look green and healthy when you’re finished.
Trim and Weed
With the leaves cleared and the grass nice and short, your final fall clean up task is to look to your garden beds. If you’re planning on doing any pruning this fall, make sure you do it before the first frost hits so the shrub or tree has time to heal the open wounds. If you’re just looking for neatness and to clear deadwood, you can prune at any time in the fall, taking care to dispose of any debris away from your lawn. Finally, fall is a great time to do one final set of weeding in among your perennials and shrubs, and remember to apply a layer of organic mulch and compost to retain moisture and promote the slow seeping of nutrients into the soil.
Getting Ready For Snow
With your fall cleanup complete, you need to start thinking about how to get your soil ready to withstand the upcoming winter storms and be ready for growth as soon as the snowpack melts. There are two key steps here: aeration and fertilising.
Aeration
Over the course of a summer of playing, mowing and general wear and tear, the soil around your grass plants gets compacted. When it’s dry out, this isn’t a problem as the soil will naturally provide gaps for water to seep down, but when the fall rains come, compacted soil can lead to minor flooding, water run off and no water getting to the deeper roots. Aerating your soil is relatively simple, and can be as easy as running a hard metal rake across your lawn to break up the top inch of soil. You can also rent (or buy) an aerator attachment for your lawn mower which will go a little deeper without destroying the integrity of your lawn. Come spring time, the bottom layer of snow will be able to seep deep into the root system, giving your plants the strength they need to come out of winter hibernation.
Fertilising
While many people think that fertilising your lawn is something you only need to do in spring time, the end of fall is actually a great time to add some winterising fertiliser to your soil. The higher number of rainy days means that the fertiliser is carried deeper into the soil where it nourishes your plants over winter, while the gaps created through your aerating process gives you a more even spread of fertiliser. Be sure to pick up a specific pre-winter fertiliser which will be less strong that the stuff you apply in spring, but will have all the nutrients your grass needs for a successful spring growing season.
Getting Professional Help
The only problem with getting your garden ready for winter (and spring, and summer!) is that it can be time intensive, at a time of year when your kids are back in school, fall sports dominate every weekend and there’s holiday celebrations around every corner. This is when contracting with the fall clean up experts at Scoop Cut N Shovel can be a game changer. Our team of gardening gurus will work with you to create a fall clean up plan, and they’ll take care of business while you’re out living your best fall life.
Bundle to Save More
Our fall cleanup package will save you time and effort by itself, but you can also save money when you bundle it with our other subscription packages. We offer frost to thaw snow and ice removal services for your driveway and walkways, as well as a spring set up and summer mowing service. The more services you subscribe to, the more you can save, so reach out today to get your whole property taken care of the whole year round.