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Introduction
As December rolls in, the divide between the North and South becomes clear in lawn care. In the North, winter has often settled in, with fallen leaves either already cleaned up or buried beneath snow. Meanwhile, in the South, leaves may still be falling, and temperatures remain more temperate, keeping lawns active. Whether your yard is dormant or still thriving, this guide will help you care for your lawn in December and set it up for success in the months ahead.
Lawn Care in the South
In the South, December brings cooler temperatures, but lawns remain more active than in northern regions. While some grasses may slow their growth, tasks like leaf cleanup, occasional mowing, and proactive maintenance remain key to keeping your yard healthy. With milder weather, now is also a good time to address bare patches and prepare for any sudden frosts. Let’s look at the top priorities this December.
1. Continue Leaf Cleanup
Leaves may still be falling in the South, and it’s essential to stay on top of cleanup. Allowing leaves to pile up can block sunlight, trap moisture, and create the perfect environment for pests and diseases. The most effective method of leaf cleanup is a leaf vacuum, such as Cyclone Rake.
2. Monitor Lawn Health
Warmer temperatures mean weeds and pests could still be active. Keep an eye out for intruders like dollarweed or fire ants and address them promptly to protect your lawn.
3. Mow If Necessary
Grass in Southern regions like Bermuda or St. Augustine may continue to grow slowly. Mow sparingly, keeping blades sharp and grass at the recommended height to avoid stress.
4. Aerate and Overseed
If your lawn has compacted areas or bare spots, December is a great time to aerate the soil and overseed. This ensures the grass is strong enough to outcompete weeds when growth resumes in spring.
5. Water Strategically
While watering needs decrease during cooler months, occasional deep watering may still be necessary in dry areas. Always adjust based on rainfall and ensure you’re not overwatering.
6. Protect from Frost
In areas susceptible to frost, take precautions by covering sensitive plants or mulching around vulnerable root systems. Simple frost protection measures can often mean the difference of your plant surviving winter or not.
Lawn Care in the North
In the North, December marks the transition into full dormancy for most lawns. With fallen leaves cleaned up and snow often covering the ground, your focus shifts to protecting your lawn from winter damage and preparing for spring. Properly storing equipment and safeguarding sensitive plants from frost are essential steps to ensure a healthy start when warmer weather returns. Let’s look at the top priorities this December.
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1. Store Lawn Equipment Properly
With winter in full swing, now is the time to clean and service your lawn equipment. Empty fuel tanks or add stabilizer to prevent clogs, and store everything in a dry place to avoid rust. This step ensures your tools are ready to go when spring arrives.
2. Winterize Your Lawn
If the ground hasn’t frozen yet, apply a winter fertilizer to strengthen grass roots for a healthier start in spring. This is especially important for cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass or fescue.
3. Avoid Lawn Traffic
Grass that’s dormant or under snow cover can be easily damaged. Minimize foot traffic to avoid compacting the soil or creating dead patches that will need repair later.
4. Inspect for Ice Damage
Ice storms can wreak havoc on trees and shrubs, leaving branches scattered on your lawn. Regularly check for damage and prune broken limbs to keep debris from harming the grass below.
5. Protect Sensitive Plants from Frost
If you haven’t already, make sure to shield delicate plants from frost. Use coverings like burlap, frost blankets, or even old sheets to provide insulation. Mulching around their base can also help protect root systems from extreme cold.
6. Plan for Spring
Winter is the perfect time to evaluate your lawn’s needs. Take note of any areas that struggled during the growing season and research solutions, such as overseeding or adjusting soil pH, so you’re prepared when warmer weather returns.
Conclusion
Whether your lawn is resting under a blanket of snow in the North or thriving in the temperate South, December is a crucial month to give it the care it needs. It’s the perfect time to wrap up fall maintenance, protect your lawn for winter, and lay the groundwork for a strong start in spring. With the right attention to regional needs, your lawn will stay healthy, resilient, and ready to shine when the growing season returns.
Introduction
As we head deeper into fall, taking a few essential steps to care for your lawn can make a huge difference. November is the time to focus on keeping your yard clear and preparing it for winter dormancy. A well-maintained lawn now will ensure it bounces back stronger come spring. Here are some top tips to get your lawn ready:
1. Consistent Leaf Removal
One of the most important tasks this time of year is regular leaf removal. While a blanket of fall leaves may look picturesque, leaving them to sit on your lawn can suffocate the grass and block essential sunlight, causing it to thin or develop disease. Frequent leaf removal is essential to prevent this—and the easiest way to handle it is with a lawn vacuum, like the Cyclone Rake. Not only does it make leaf removal quicker, but it also picks up other debris, helping you keep a clean, healthy lawn.
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2. Adjust Your Mower Height
As temperatures drop, grass growth slows down, and there’s no need to keep your lawn as short as you would in summer. Instead, raise your mower height slightly to protect the grass blades from frost damage and insulate the roots. Leaving the grass a bit longer, around 2.5 to 3 inches, provides an additional layer of protection and minimizes the stress your lawn will face during winter.
3. Aerate the Soil
If you haven’t already aerated your lawn this fall, November is a great time to do it before the ground freezes. Aeration loosens compacted soil, allowing air, water, and nutrients to penetrate down to the grass roots, which promotes healthier, deeper root growth. Stronger roots will help your lawn withstand winter stress and come back even greener in the spring. For best results, follow up aeration with a light application of fertilizer to give those roots an extra boost heading into the colder months.
4. Apply a Winterizing Fertilizer
Applying a winterizing fertilizer with higher potassium content is a smart move for November. Potassium strengthens the lawn's roots, making it more resilient to cold weather, frost, and other winter stresses. Check your fertilizer label for recommended late-fall or winter formulas, and apply it evenly after your last mowing and aeration. This treatment will give your lawn the best chance to emerge healthy and vibrant when spring arrives.
5. Clean Up Garden Beds and Edges
November is the perfect time to tidy up garden beds and edges before winter sets in. Trimming back perennials, removing fallen leaves, and cleaning up the edges of your lawn not only gives your yard a neat look but also helps prevent pests from settling in over the colder months. Clearing out this organic debris reduces the risk of mold, mildew, and pests overwintering in your garden beds.
Cyclone Rake accessories, like the Power Vacuum Pickup and Estate Vacuum, make this job easier by reaching into garden beds and other tricky spots to clear out leaves and debris quickly. With the right tools, you can efficiently clean up hard-to-reach areas, leaving your garden beds and edges looking pristine and ready for winter.
Conclusion
Keeping up with these simple November lawn care tasks will help ensure your yard is well-prepared for the winter months and ready to thrive come spring. A little effort now can make a big difference in how healthy and lush your lawn looks next year. With the Cyclone Rake and its range of accessories, leaf removal and cleanup can be efficient and hassle-free, so you can focus on enjoying the season.
Where you live and how many trees you have are the two things that will ultimately impact what you should do with your leaves. When considering leaf disposal methods, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, and homeowners should feel empowered to use more than one disposal method in order to reap maximum benefits from the leaves.
Before you begin raking, it’s imperative to check to see if your town offers some sort of leaf pick-up program. Nowadays, many towns have trucks equipped with vacuum rigs that can suck up leaf piles left on the street and take them to a compost facility. This can be an incredibly convenient option—but one that’s likely only available in places that aren’t either highly urban or rural. Similarly, many towns will haul your leaves away so long as they are bagged up. While this may be a decent option for folks with small yards, bagging leaves can be a time-consuming process—and one that may not be the most efficient option if you have a large yard. Let’s take a look at six of the best ways to dispose of your leaves:
1. Compost them
If you already have a compost pile on deck, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t put at least a portion of your leaves in there. Leaves provide compost with that beneficial “brown material” it needs to thrive. For quicker decomposition results, try shredding your leaves (either with a lawn mower or by placing leaves in a garbage can and shredding them with a weed wacker). Keep in mind, however, that some leaves—like beech, sweet chestnut, and holly—aren’t suitable for compost because of their painfully slow decomposition times.
By far the easiest way to compost leaves is through collection with a leaf vacuum, which will save you the hassle of having to blow or rake leaves and haul them away on tarps. Companies like Cyclone Rake provide numerous solutions for this, from small yards to big ones.
2. Mulch into your grass
If you have a minimal amount of leaf coverage on your lawn, one option is to use a mulching lawn mower to shred them very finely, letting them decompose directly on your grass. Doing so will provide your grass with beneficial nutrients, but keep in mind: if the leaf coverage is too thick, it can prove detrimental to your grass.
3. Use them as mulch
Shredded leaves work great as a (free) mulching solution for your garden. A thin, even layer (about an inch thick should do) will both prevent weeds from sprouting up, and also help regulate soil temperature—which is especially important when temperatures start to drop.
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4. Leaf Mold
Leaf molds—especially for folks with big backyards—is perhaps the most underrated way of disposing your leaves. Essentially, leaf molds act a bit like a compost pile, except they rely only on two ingredients: leaves and water. While it can take a good amount of time for leaves to break down (anywhere from one to three years or so), the result is a compost-like product that can immensely benefit your plants by preventing runoff, improving water retention, and providing beneficial nutrients for your plants.
5. Burn them
While this is by far the most exciting option (unless you’re oddly aroused by the aerobic reaction of compost), burning your leaves can be dicey territory. For starters, many towns prohibit it, or, at the very least, require a license to do so. So, if you get a hankering to set your leaves aflame, be sure to check with local ordinances. Similarly—and this perhaps goes without saying—but burning leaves can be pretty dangerous. If you’re dead set on doing this, be sure to have a safe and proper pit to contain the fire, and always have a fire extinguisher on deck.
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6. Use the woods
If you happen to own a property with woods abutting your yard, another option is to simply blow your leaves into the forest. While the leaves will take roughly a couple years to decompose, this represents a good option for those who have the right set up. With just a little extra effort, the woods can be an excellent place to set up a few leaf molding stations.
In conclusion, the way you manage your leaves depends on your personal situation—yard size, the resources available in your community, or simply your preference. From mulching and composting to burning or simply using the woods, there’s a solution for every homeowner that allows for easy leaf management.
Introduction
The onset of fall means pumpkin spiced lattes and sweater weather, but it also brings the inevitable (and often dreaded) task of leaf cleanup. Make no mistake: fast and efficient leaf cleanup is an art, and knowing a little bit about each cleanup method will help you decide the best approach for your yard. In this post, we’ll aim to dissect the three main leaf cleanup methods: raking, leaf blowing, and leaf vacuuming. We’ll lay out the pros and cons of each to help you understand which method is best for you and your property.
Raking
When it comes to easy leaf cleanup, raking doesn’t often come to mind. While it can be great to get outdoors on a crisp autumn day, raking can also be quite labor-intensive. However, it remains a popular method for many homeowners.
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Pros:
Cons:
Disposal Methods:
Best for:
Leaf Blowing
Leaf blowers offer a faster and more efficient way to handle leaf cleanup compared to raking. While leaf blowers are incredibly handy and versatile, they are not without their challenges. Let’s look at the pros and cons of leaf blowing to see if it might be a good option for your yard.
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Pros:
Cons:
Disposal Methods:
Best for:
Leaf Vacuums
Leaf vacuums work by sucking up leaves and debris and then mulching them into a collector bag. It’s worth noting that there are different kinds of leaf vacuums. The SPS-10, for example, is a walk-behind unit great for small yards. Larger yards, conversely, may benefit from leaf vacuums that attach to your ride-along lawn mower, like the Z-10. Regardless, leaf vacuums stand as the most efficient and comprehensive solution for easy leaf cleanup.
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Pros:
Cons:
Disposal Methods:
Best for:
Conclusion
Easy leaf cleanup will depend on your type of yard and leaf coverage. While raking, blowing, and vacuuming each have their merits, the best method for you will depend on your specific needs and preferences.
Curious to see how a leaf vacuum could transform your yard? Take a look around the Cyclone Rake website, peruse our models, or give us a call at 888-531-7253 (Yes, we are old fashioned like that!)