Week Before Christmas = Lawn Care

 

Leaf Cleanup and Lawn Prep In December

I had a successful Sunday this week, measured with a very low bar. I like to be productive, normally that means yard work or exercise. I spent close to 3 hours in the lawn mowing and raking the leaves for the second time. Why does it matter to anyone? It’s a slow news day in my world. Stay with me.

 Saturday was the first time. The size of my lawn dictates that I do leaf cleanup in 2 parts. It's a seasonal situation for me. Saturday I mowed the front, Sunday the back. The front lawn is much easier. I didn’t do any raking because the leaves are spread out enough and don’t clog the mowing deck. It does take a few passes to mulch them up effectively though.

However, the ground was still wet on Saturday. Nothing is worse than trying to mulch up heavy wet leaves. I managed with my small push mower. The trick is to raise it just high enough where the leaves don’t escape, but still crunch up to a fine powder. The next heavy rain will dissolve whatever organic material still exists in the leaves.

Sunday I had more time. Christmas this year is in Texas for me. Phil and Carolina are hosting me and my mom for 3 days. I’ll drive back on Christmas Eve. It’s a 5 hour trip so it’s not too dreary. Because we won’t have a family gathering this year, Justin and Tabitha hosted a dinner Sunday night. Dad and Joyce were there as well. We had a breakfast dinner complete with pancakes, egg casserole, bacon and Danish. I had all morning and afternoon to clean up the yard. Fortunately, the sun came up in the afternoon on Saturday and dried up the wet leaves. My back yard is much denser with leaves than the front is. My mower wouldn’t have been up to the task. I bagged a good section of it first, 6 bags worth. Then I ran the mower over it. I needed to make a few passes to properly chop them up.

That took a while longer than if I’d just mowed the lawn. With all the new grass seed in the lawn I’m hoping this year I’ll have a thicker growth and fewer weeds. Last year I paid a friend to come out and spray the whole yard for weeds. It killed everything in sight, not the grass thankfully. It was after that I realized how little in my yard was actually grass.  By August the soil was ready to plant again. I used a small tiller and dumped a healthy amount of seed on the bare spots. Not to mention, I overseeded the rest. After getting the leaves up I went to Lowes and bought two bags of crabgrass killer and threw it on the lawn. I asked for a “preemergent”. The clerk had never heard the term so I took my best shot with the crabgrass killer. I’ve got high hopes this year for at least 50% more grass and 50% less weeds. This is the first time I’ve considered improving my lawn and not just mowing it.

I called a few companies last year to get quotes on a treatment plan. None were less than $500 for the year. That’s just too much. I’m sure it’s worth the money but it’s a lot of money for me. The next best thing was to call Daniel (brother of Michael) to spray one good time. The rest was up to me. No matter how long I’ve lived here, it’s still strange to be talking about lawn care just before Christmas. I get that it’s technically not Winter yet, but up north it’s already snowed at least once. We didn’t always get a White Christmas but the threat of snow was usually there. Leaves cover the ground still in Oklahoma. I prefer this climate even though it’s not dramatically different. I’d say 10 to 12 degrees on average. That’s hardly Montana and Florida, but it’s an easier way to go in January and February.

Until the spring I’ll wait patiently and watch the ground. Merry Christmas everyone!