Prepare Your Lakeshore for Winter

Winter comes so quick! When the weather turns toward the winter months, so many of us tend to overlook a few important chores that help our yards weather the winter and be able to emerge in spring in all its glory.

• Lawns:
  • Rake leaves off of lawn areas. Leaves left on the lawn over winter tend to mat together and can encourage lawn disease. Never rake leaves into the lake.
  • Shred those leaves and put them in a compost pile. They make great garden mulch next year.
  • Mow the grass on final time before the ground freezes, using a low mowing height.
• Trees and shrubs:
  • If the soil is dry, give trees and scrubs a thorough watering before the ground freezes, giving special attention to any trees and shrubs planted this year.
  • Watering evergreens such as arborvitaes in the fall can reduce the occurrence of winter burn.
• Flower gardens:
  • Pull annual flowers and add to your compost pile.
  • Remove and destroy any foliage or stems that show any disease.
  • Perennials can be cut back to the ground or leave the stems until spring.
  • Some perennials (purple coneflower or tall sedum) have interesting heads and can provide winter interest in the garden area.
  • Leaving perennial stems up can help trap snow, which is good insulation.
  • After the ground starts to freeze, apply a layer of winter mulch to perennials that were recently planted, have shallow root systems, or are marginally hardy.
• Vegetables and Fruits:
  • Remove vegetable plants from the garden; add to compost pile or if they are diseased have them destroyed.
  • Protect fruit trees from rabbits and moles by enclosing the lower trunk in a cylinder of hardware cloth.
  • Strawberries benefit from eight to 12-inch layer of straw mulch applied before the ground freezes.
• Equipment:
  • Drain all hoses, turn off all outdoor faucets and blow all sprinkler lines.
  • Clean, sharpen and oil all garden tools.
  • Store fertilizers, pesticides and other garden chemicals in a frost-free location that is secure and child proof.
  • Get out a good book, put a pot of chili on the stove and get prepared to watch the snow, wind and fisher-people out on Big Fish Lake.

(We are thankful to the University of Minnesota Extension Service for all their information. John H. Brunner is a resident on Big Fish Lake)