We are in the heart of winter right now in Cary, NC and that can mean a lot of different things around here! Some days it can be cold and you feel like you are going to freeze and then you wait a couple of days and it feels like spring with temps in the 60’s. There’s an old saying around here that says if you don’t like the weather in North Carolina just hang around a few days and it will change. How true that is. With the ups and downs of the weather it leaves a lot of people wondering what should I do in my yard this time of year?
For most folks January is a big time for planning and new goals. It’s the same with your lawn. Just remember the 5 P’s for your lawn and for you personally. The 5 P’s are Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance! If you are going to come up with a plan for your lawn one of the 1st things you should do is to get a soil analysis done. You can take a sample of your soil and send it in to the NC Dept of Agriculture and they will do a free analysis of your soil. That analysis will help determine how much fertilizer, lime and other nutrients are needed.
Another big thing to remember this time of year is to try your best NOT to walk on grass that has frost on it. When a lawn is frosted, the grass blades are literally frozen, therefore causing the grass to lose its elasticity. Walking or mowing the lawn while it has frost on it will actually break the grass blade and damage it. With colder weather the grass grows much slower, so it takes a while for it to recover and you may end up with brown shoe prints through your lawn until spring.
Next week we will post some pruning tips to make sure your trees & shrubs are ready for that new spring growth that will be coming!!
Leap Frog Landcare is an organic based lawn, tree & shrub care company serving the Triangle area of NC, including Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay Varina, Morrisville and Raleigh.
