Fall cleanup is something you can’t avoid if you have a yard. In September and October trees in Alberta are losing their leaves creating a beautiful carpet of yellow, brown, and red leaves on the ground. Depending on your area and if you have any large trees nearby you might have a lot of leaves in your yard or not much, but either way, you still need to have a Fall Yard Cleanup before the winter sets in.

Cleaning Up the Yard

While it can be a lot of fun to enjoy the fall landscape and to play in the leaf piles with your kids or pets, we also need to clean up the yard before winter kicks in. Why do we need to clean up yards in winter? Leaving the leaves on the lawn is not a good idea because as they rot, the mold and bacteria will create an unhealthy environment for the lawn.

The grass is supposed to receive a certain amount of sun rays and nutrients and if the fallen leaves and twigs are covering it, the lawn grass will get thin and empty patches might appear in spring. The main objective of fall leaf cleanup is to remove the fallen leaves and branches and do the final lawn cut before winter, so when spring comes the lawn is in its best shape and ready for the season.

Raking the leaves and removing debris like twigs, pinecones, branches or pine needles helps to minimize the amount of bacteria and diseases that affect trees and shrubs. If debris and leaves are left too long on the lawn, they will harbour bacteria and mold and can cause problems for the grass and perennials. Pine needles also increase the acidity of the soil, which will suppress grass growth.

Raking All the Leaves

That’s why the first step of fall cleanup is usually raking all the leaves, twigs and other debris. The leaves can be put in the compost afterwards. You can also leave a small amount of leaves on the lawn and mulch it with the lawn mower when you do the final cut. If you go bagless, the mulched leaves will fertilize the lawn soil. If you like to have a nice lawn coming back in spring you have to make sure your grass is continuing to get a good amount of sunlight and air before the winter starts.

Final Lawn Cutting

After the raking, it’s time to do a final lawn cut. Final lawn cutting ensures that the grass is at a good height before it’s covered by snow. The final cut is done before the frost because after the frost the grass is too fragile and better be left alone. If you leave the grass too long before the winter, the snow mold might be pretty bad in the spring causing problems for people with allergies. Cutting the grass too short is not recommended because the roots need a certain length of grass to stay healthy and get enough nutrients.

You can look at local fall lawn cleanup services that will take care of things like:

• Leaf cleaning and raking
• Final lawn mowing service
• Clean out debris from beds and shrubs
• Sweeping your garden bed.
• Aeration
• Natural and organic fertilization
• Deck pressure washing

Your particular landscaping needs might be different than general suggestions, so customizing your package will help you to get the most out of the fall yard cleanup service. So, how do you decide what services you need to add to your fall cleanup package?

If your soil is quite compacted and you get dandelions or moss growing on your lawn, consider getting an aeration service to bring more nutrients and air to the roots. With aeration, it’s easier to control weeds as weeds like to grow on compacted soil and aeration loosens up the soil and helps the grass to stay healthy.

Trimming the Hedge

If you have a hedge in your yard, you might want to get it trimmed in the fall to get rid of any dead branches. Hedge trimming is a gardening technique that is done in order to maintain the shape of the hedge. Hedge trimming involves cutting off the top layer of the hedge so that it becomes more leafy and dense. Trimming also helps to form hedges into shapes and designs.

Final Steps

Fertilization is recommended to improve the soil quality. The yard technicians can also do a soil test to find out which nutrients are missing and if the soil is too acidic and then add the minerals that will improve your soil.

Lawn edging can be done in the fall if required and it’s up to you to decide how often you need edging done.

Pressure washing is something you could do to give a good clean to your deck, sidewalks and porch. It will remove any grime and dust from your deck to keep it in good condition over the winter.

If you are not sure which services you need, you can always reach out to your local yard care professionals and ask questions and help you prioritize the tasks.