Our Fall Yard Cleanup Checklist, Winter-Haters Edition

You can start to feel it almost as soon as fall hits. There’s a bite in the air in the morning that reminds
you of what comes next … winter is coming. That means reluctantly starting your fall yard cleanup.
We’re giving this to you now, at the beginning of fall, so you have plenty of time to get on top of it
before that first snowfall hits. Better than worrying about it when snow is already on the ground, right?
That’s what we thought.

✓ Rake
Mother nature does just fine promoting growth in general, but if you want to be the boss of your yard,
you have to coax her. One of the most important reasons to rake is to protect your favored plants’
ability to grow up healthy next spring.
Remove heavy leaf cover, fallen branches and sticks so they don’t flatten your grass and plants or block
their access to sunlight. It’s easier to do now than when they’re under an inch of snow.
Another benefit of doing this now is you can start collecting yard waste to start the compost process. All
you need is some kind of large receptacle, like a plastic storage container. This will turn into great plant
food come spring.

✓ Weed
Disease and insects love to make their home in and among weeds. Sometime before the first frost, in
October to be safe, thoroughly weed your flower beds to give them a fighting chance come spring.
If you have a vegetable garden, do your thorough weeding after you have harvested everything usable.
It’s also a good idea to add compost (homemade or store-bought) to enrich the soil.

✓ Mow
There is no guaranteed final mow date. Not in Indiana, at least. It’s tempting to want to let it go until a
date you think will be your last mow. If you do that, you’ll wake up one morning to find a snow-capped
field to chop down.
Best to maintain it exactly as you do during the summer, keeping it at about 3 inches, give or take about
half an inch. That’s where you’ll want it in the spring. That’s where you’ll need to keep it until the
temperature drops and your grass goes dormant.

✓ Miscellaneous
Is there more you can do beyond cleaning up? Sure. Fall is a great time to plant trees and flowering
bulbs. Late fall, after a frost or two, is a good time to mulch your flower beds.
But the most important steps you can take to prepare your lawn for fall and the winter to come are the
big three: rake, weed, mow.

Look, winter is coming. We can’t stop that, but by staying on top of our yards we can enjoy fall while it’s
here, right?
We recommend not making winter more difficult than it needs to be by rushing to do your fall yard
clean up when it’s right around the corner – or worse, already here. You’ll be glad you got started on
that checklist now.
Need help getting your yard in tip-top, clean cut shape? You know who you call!
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