The “Slow Season” is The Time To Get Busy
Now that the holidays are upon us, a lot of projects inside and out tend to “Fall” by the wayside. It’s a real easy trap to get comfy and watch Netflix or sports during these times, I know from personal experience. Now that plants and lawns have slowed down on growing, it’s the perfect time to launch that outdoor campaign. Doing things now means they’re likely to hold well into the warmer growing seasons.
Lets start with leaves. All that wonderful, free mulch and nutrients that are supplied from your trees is just waiting to be put to good use. Why rake and bag up all the oak leaves when you can smother out weeds in your bed areas? Then you can come along after the leaves are done falling and put a thin layer of mulch or straw instead of mass quantities. Another option is creating compost bins to put these leaves into along with veggie waste and coffee grounds to create some free compost for your plantings and lawn.
Check your irrigation! Make sure it’s working well even if you’re just going to shut it off for the cold season. Don’t wait till it’s hot to find out it’s not working!
Lawns. This is a great time of year to add topsoil to those low spots which will eventually give you a nice, flat turf area. Also, if your soil is compacted and grass isn’t growing well, consider doing some aeration and raking the dead thatch out with a metal rake. Your lawn will snap back twice as good with new room to grow and nice soil.
Shrubs and trees. Check when is the best time to cut back your plant material per species and get a jump on it. If pruned correctly you’ll have a much easier time when it’s hot.
Well folks, back to work for me, I need to burn off all these holiday goodies! Aloha!
Charlie Stonecypher is operator of Suncoast Irrigation and Landscaping. They help people (mostly residential) troubleshoot their landscape and outdoor areas, and specialize in products that work smart without wasting resources. Contact Charlie at 843-327-8642 or suncoastirrigation@gmail.com.
