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Lawn Food for Winter

Fertilizing Winter
4 min read

Your lawn may not need as much attention in the winter as it does during the other three seasons, but you will still want to make sure it’s in good shape come springtime. Need suggestions for lawn food or other winter lawn care tips? Jonathan Green can help!

Jonathan Green supplies genetically superior cool season grass seed, soil enhancers, fertilizer, and organic lawn and garden products to professional customers, such as sod growers and independent retailers, throughout the United States.

We are leaders in organics and have developed an environmentally sound approach to lawn care called the New American Lawn Plan. The Plan combines our Black Beauty grass seed mixtures with organic and traditional soil amendments, lawn fertilizers and control products that feed your lawn AND your soil so air, water and nutrients get absorbed by the grass.

Winter Lawn Care Tips

In fall (September to October), it is time to fertilize and get your lawn ready for the winter with Jonathan Green’s Winter Survival Fall Lawn Fertilizer. This will give your lawn the nutrients it needs to prepare for winter, keep it a deep-green color, and help it to handle the stress of cold desiccating winter winds while fending off early spring turf diseases such as snow mold.

As leaves drop, be sure to clear your lawn of them at least every week to avoid them smothering the lawn or blocking sunlight that can slow or stop the new seed from maturing, or even kill the grass. Leaves are also acidic and will drive down the pH of your soil over time. If thick, wet, or matted leaves have piled up, rake the lawn to remove them.

It’s always a good idea to keep driveways, walkways, and sidewalks clear of snow and ice so that you and your family will have a safe and clear path that provides a solid footing to walk in the winter. Apply Jonathan Green Melt-A-Way™ Ice Melter which contains sodium chloride, calcium chloride and potassium chloride for a faster 3-way melting action in temperatures as low as 5° F.

Dormant Seeding

Did you know you can actually plant grass seed during the winter season? It’s known as dormant seeding. If you put down grass seed in November or December, the seed will just lay dormant until the soil starts to warm in spring. While it can be risky, it can also save you the process of seeding in the early spring when the ground might be very muddy.

The dormant seeding technique works best if done at a time when snow is just about to cover the ground but before the ground is is completely frozen. When a blanket of snow covers the seed, it protects the seed. Even in the winter, we have warmer days when the surface of the soil warms up and then refreezes.  This causes small cracks and fissures in the ground that grass seeds fall into and get covered, so good seed to soil contact is achieved. The seeds will start to sprout as soon as the ground warms to a consistent 55° F, and the soil will have all the nutrients required to support seed growth.

The risk occurs if the winter weather happens to warm up. If it warms enough to melt the snow, it may also warm up enough for the seeds to sprout, and those newly sprouted seeds will not be strong enough to survive the cold desiccating winter winds and freezing temperatures. If this does occur, rake out the dead seedlings before replanting grass seed again in the spring.

For more tips on lawn food and lawn care for winter, visit Jonathan Green online or your local retailer before the first frost arrives.

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