By the month of November you will usually be doing your last few scheduled cuts of the year, clearing leaves and ensuring your lawn is winterized with a good moss control.

When I say last few cuts really this will depend on the weather. The last few years have been unseasonably mild and the growing period has gone into December. Grass doesn’t actually stop growing during the winter months but is much slower and therefore needs less mowing. On a dry day just take the tops off the grass to keep it in check. You can do this simply by raising your mower blade a little higher than usual. If you feel that you’re happy to let your grass stay long then make sure your mower is cleaned off, perhaps give it a good service, then retire it until the spring. I’m often commenting to customers about the need to mow with a sharp blade to ensure a clean cut, so winter is a perfect opportunity to sharpen up and prepare for the new year.

A moss control application, most usually a ferrous sulphate solution, will harden the turf, green up the grass and blacken the moss. This threefold benefit to the lawn will help the grass be in the best condition over the winter months. This can be applied every 4 to 6 weeks if required. At Sharpes Lawn Care we apply this twice a year to keep the moss at bay. You will receive this in the winter and early in the year prior to any remedial work such as scarifying.

An essential job is to clear the leaves from the lawn regularly to avoid damage to the lawn underneath. Doing this with a spring rake will also lightly lift out any moss as you do it. Blowing them off is much easier though!