Spring and fall are our traditional cleanup seasons. Now that it’s fall, it’s time to prepare your yard so it can hunker down for the winter. With that in mind, here are some tips for your artificial grass. Since you don’t have natural grass any more (and aren’t you glad about that?!), you won’t have to do all that stuff you used to do to winterize your grass:
- No “final” mow – which was never final anyway, if we had a warm winter and your grass kept growing.
- No fall fertilizing in hopes the grass would do better next spring.
- No fungicide applications to kill the mold and mildew starting to appear on your rain-dampened grass.
- No weeding or last-minute reseeding to fill in bare spots from summer play or your dog’s potty breaks.
Yes, you can forget all that. Instead, think of fall cleanup on your artificial grass as a “buff and fluff” project.
1. Plan a short day of it
...because there won’t be much to do. All you’ll need to do is rake up any leaves or debris that has made its way onto your grass. If it’s still dusty from summer, give it a rinse with the hose. Do a walk-around inspection, looking for any small problems such as a spot where the edge next to the walkway or your driveway may have lifted. If so, call us for a quick fix.
2. Plan something fun to do with the rest of your day.
3. Turn cleanup into a “no work party.”
Invite some friends over to help and then stick around to enjoy a convivial celebration of a job well done – a job that took just minutes.
4. Enjoy the fruits of your labor
...by organizing an impromptu game of touch football.
5. Of course there may be other yard work to do
...raking up fallen leaves from under shrubs and trees as well as whatever has blown onto your artificial grass, final deadheading of perennials before they go dormant for the winter, etc. If you haven’t finished your summer’s end garden tune-up, now’s the time to get that done.
6. Wash the windows, inside and out.
Since your artificial grass will look lush and lovely all winter long, you’ll want to get a good view of that. Remember when you had natural grass that looked yellowed and ratty during the fall and winter? Thankfully, those days are gone.
7. Set out some big pots of fall color
...such as chrysanthemums, flowering kale, or asters. Those colors in the purple range will look stunning with pumpkins as a fall porch display or on the back patio.
8. Check out your fire pit
...to be sure it’s in good shape, whether or not you used it during the summer. Clean it up, and make sure you have plenty of right-sized wood and kindling stored nearby where it will stay dry. Now is the perfect time to review this article on fire pit safety around your artificial grass.
9. Knowing your fire pit is ready to go...
...lay in a supply of ingredients for everyone’s favorite outdoor dessert – s’mores. Popcorn, too, for those nighttime opportunities to sit around the “campfire” and watch the stars come out.
10. Do you have an artificial grass putting green or bocce ball court?
Be sure to give them the same simple once-over. If they’re in the shade, moss can sometimes appear. Our Heavenly Greens expert technicians can solve that problem for you.
In fact, fall is a great time to schedule an appointment with our Heavenly Greens team to do a more thorough inspection and tune-up for all your artificial grass installations. Doing this periodically helps keep your lawn, putting green, or bocce court in prime condition so it can perform exactly as you expect for many years to come. If you’ll be hosting Thanksgiving or year-end holiday festivities at your home, an artificial grass tune up will also ensure your place looks beautifully welcoming when guests arrive.
