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Winter weather brings with it a host of challenges for your home and yard. If you don’t know how to prepare, it can cause lasting damage to your softscapes and hardscapes in Manassas, VA. Follow these steps to get your yard ready for snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. Prepare Your Grass By spending time preparing your lawn in the fall, you can give it a better chance at surviving the harsh winter weather to come. Continue to mow the grass as long as it is growing. Apply seed to any bare spots and fertilize the entire yard to strengthen the root system. The fall is also a good time to dethatch and aerate your yard to allow the fertilizer to sink deep into the soil. Clear Out Your Garden Prepare your garden beds by removing any lingering weeds that are fighting your flowers for important nutrients. Also remove annual plants once they’re past their peak. It’s also important to clear leaves out of your flower beds and off your lawn. Otherwise they will become damp and moldy and can cause disease in your plants. Apply Mulch Mulch is a useful insulator during the cold winter months. You can find many different types of organic mulch, each with their own pros and cons, but in general all mulch helps protect the soil from sudden temperature changes. Spread it around your trees and bushes, about 2 inches thick. If you use too much mulch, it can invite pests and mold growth. For this reason, it’s also important not to spread the mulch so that it piles up against your trees and bushes. Winterize Your Sprinkler System Once the temperatures start to dip, have your sprinkler system winterized by a professional. This important process clears the water out of your sprinkler system so that it can’t freeze and crack your pipes over the winter. Afterwards, make sure your sprinkler heads have returned to their places in the ground so they won’t be accidentally damaged by snow blowers and other heavy equipment during the winter. Prevent Icy Patches One of the most dangerous aspects of winter is the ice that collects along your driveway and sidewalk. Prevent this ahead of time by making sure the ground slopes away from your house and making sure your driveway has sufficient drainage to channel melting snow or ice to a safer location. Also inspect your gutters to make sure they aren’t leaking and double-check that your downspout is pointed away from your house. Protect Your Deck Wooden decks often take a beating during the winter. To prepare yours for the elements, thoroughly clean it so dirt particles can't get ground into the wood. Repaint it if necessary, and then cover your finished product with a waterproof sealant. Buy a shovel with a rubber or plastic edge to shovel snow off your deck in the winter, since metal shovels can damage the wood and protective finish. Fix Driveway Cracks Not only do cracks in your driveway look unattractive, they will grow worse over time. Winter is an especially difficult time for your sidewalk and driveway. If water gets into existing cracks, it will expand as it freezes, making the cracks even bigger. Eventually they can even become tripping hazards for anyone walking on your property. Asphalt cracks are fairly common, and you’ll probably find that you have to patch your driveway every few years to keep it looking its best. However, they are also easy and relatively inexpensive to fix. Cracks in concrete driveways or sidewalks are less common but more complicated to fix. It’s usually best to call a professional who works with hardscapes in Manassas, VA, to repair these cracks.
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