3 Simple Steps To Winterize Your Lawn and Garden

Winter is almost here, which means it’s time to get your lawn, garden, and watering system ready for cold weather. 

If you don’t prepare for winter, you can run into problems as the weather drops below freezing. You may burst a pipe, cause cracks in your foundation, or set yourself up for a difficult spring when your lawn and garden thaw out again. 

The good news is that winterizing is quite easy. With an hour or two of your time and simple tools, you can ensure that your landscape and watering system is set up for the winter season. Here are three simple steps to make that happen. 

Whether you’re using a hose faucet or an in-ground sprinkler system, it’s crucial to winterize before freezing temperatures hit. 

Leftover water stuck in your lines can freeze during the winter, causing irrigation lines to burst and permanently damage your watering system.

You can prevent freezing damage by draining your watering system and shutting it off in late fall. The easiest way to do that is to blow compressed air through your lines, clearing them in seconds. 

Our Sprinkler System Winterization Kit contains all brass fittings that can be connected to an air compressor and then to a pipe threaded riser, a fitting, or an independent hose spigot to blow out the excess water in an inground irrigation system. Blowing out the excess water from your system helps keep the pipes from freezing during the winter months and reduces yearly maintenance on your system. 

Other winterization tools you may find helpful are the Automatic Drain Sprinkler Valves, and the Emergency Water & Gas Valve Shut-Off Tool. 

Learn more by watching our step-by-step winterizing video that shows you exactly what to do to clear out your sprinkler system and turn it off for the winter. 

2. Clear Your Garden Beds

Perennial plants grow continuously over multiple years and simply go dormant during winter. But if you have any annual plants -- plants that complete their life cycle in a single season and then die -- you may want to dig them up in late fall.  

Decomposing plant debris and spent vegetables can provide a haven for pests and diseases, keeping them alive and in your garden throughout winter. When spring arrives, your garden may develop a widespread pest problem, or your plants may face an outbreak of disease. 

Your best bet is to tidy up your garden beds before winter hits and freezes the ground. Get out your trowel and shovel and dig up annual bulbs, leftover vegetables, leaves and branches, and any other dead or dying plant material. That way you can start spring with fresh, clean soil. 

Once you’ve cleared out plant debris, your final winterizing step is to mulch your garden. 

A fall layer of mulch protects your plants’ roots from soil-based diseases. It also insulates your garden soil in colder climates, trapping heat and moisture and protecting roots from frost heave or other ice damage. 

Add two to three inches of mulch to your garden in late fall, making sure the mulch covers your plants’ roots. 

Once you’ve winterized your watering system, lawn, garden and flower beds, you can rest easy. Your yard will end the year in good shape, and you’ll see a big difference in the health of your plants when spring comes around.