December 21 marked the first official day of winter. With the transition from autumn to winter comes cooler temperatures, drier air, and shorter days. As such, it's important for homeowners to spend a little extra time caring for their lawns during this time of year. Follow these three steps for a healthier lawn this winter. 
Homeowners and do-it-yourself landscapers often make the mistake of watering their lawn year-round, only to saturate their grass with an excess amount of water. However, warm season grasses typically go dormant during winter, meaning they won't need any additional water and flooding your lawn with too much water could actually hurt your efforts to keep it healthy and green. The excess water may settle on the soil, freezing at night while sending your grass into shock. Check your outdoor faucets to ensure they are protecting from freezing.
You should also remove leaves, limbs and other debris from your lawn. When leaves cover the lawn, it blocks out the sunlight, inhibiting photosynthesis and thus restricting the growth and development and grass. Furthermore, old leaves will decompose, creating ideal breeding grounds for mold and bacteria – two things that you probably don't want lingering in your lawn.
You don't have to necessarily rake and bag the leaves by hand. While this is always a viable option, some homeowners prefer using a lawnmower to mulch or capture leaves. Another idea is to lay out a large tarp over your lawn, after which you can rake all of the leaves into it. Either of these options are easier and less time-consuming than bagging leaves.
Don't wait until spring arrives to deal with weed growth in your lawn. Weeds can be downright invasive, emerging during some of the year's coolest winter days. When you spot a weed, either remove it and its roots via a weed removal tool or apply a chemical weed treatment product. Weeds consume valuable nutrients from the soil – nutrients that your grass needs to sustain good health throughout the cold winter months.
Greenfeet Lawncare offers a Winter Weed Preventer service that's particularly helpful for preventing winter weed growth. Applied during autumn, it controls poa annual, annual bluegrass, and many other common varieties of winter weeds. Also, applying pre-emergent for summer annual weeds such as crabgrass, needs to start before Spring, if you wait it may be too late. January and February is a good time to start.
These are just a few simple steps that homeowners can take to promote a healthier, greener lawn this winter.
If you need help with your lawn contact Greenfeet Lawncare.
Greenfeet Lawncare Provides Service to the Following Areas
770.619.2929
North Fulton, East Cobb, Cherokee, Forsyth Counties - including Alpharetta, Canton, Cobb, Cumming, Dunwoody, Gwinnett, Johns Creek, Marietta, Milton, Roswell, Sandy Springs
