December may be starting but your outdoor days don't need to be done! ​

​Prep for Spring! You can already start prepping your garden and flower beds for the spring season. Remove any weeds, debris, trash, dead or rotting plants, and excess leaves now. This helps your soil and can keep any pests that may have lain eggs from having a head start on you come spring. You can also start preparing your soil for the spring using soil amendments, like compost and manure, depending on your yard's needs giving it time to breakdown and enrich your soil.

​​Dividing and Planting Bulbs is still an option until the ground freezes. We had a few cold days sure, but the weather is warming up again after last week giving you the opportunity to place those last pops of color you may not have had time to do yet. You can also dig up and divide bulbs that you currently have planted to be immediately planted elsewhere.
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Safety First! Holiday decorations are everywhere this time of year but if you're looking to put some up this year if you haven't already, maybe keep these things in mind. Make sure that anything you are placing outside is weatherproof and cleared for outdoor use and that they are plugged into UL approved extension cords for outdoor use specifically. Check to make sure that the lights you have are also in good condition, meaning no frayed or damaged parts! 

For the holidays Quality Lawn Care is also helping hang lights outside your house. Nothing extreme, but a nice dusting of decor to light up your property is something we are happy to help with!
​Caution Always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines in regard to safety instructions, care and maintenance, and use to be on the safe side.

​     ​So, you’ve winterized you Pressure Vacuum Breaker, but is that the only thing you need to worry about? Another important thing to do is to disconnect your garden hoses from any outdoor water valves and drain them of any water they might have.  The easiest way to drain the hose(s) is to start at one of the ends and hold it upright. Do not release the hose completely but rather work your way to the other end of the hose while holding up one part at a time, you can also coil the parts of the hose you’ve done while you are draining the rest to save time. 

        ​You might be thinking “Why do I need to do this?” especially if you have never done this before and it’s worked out fine. Well, when temperatures drop below freezing, there is always a chance of the pipes, hoses, and couplings, the part connecting the hose to the hose bib (picture to right), freezing and breaking due to water getting caught and expanding when frozen. It is best to coil the hose loosely and store it away from the elements until spring or you need to use it again. You would do this to help prevent wear and tear and the need to go buy a new hose every year.

        You can focus on trimming certain trees and shrubs that are best to take care of this time of year. Deciduous shade trees (trees that drop their leaves every year) are good to trim after the leaves have dropped, although deadwood can be removed at any time. Evergreens can also be trimmed now that we've had some freezes. You DO NOT want to trim your fruit trees until February and trimming roses should wait until April according to Rose Society. The things you want to focus on trimming in trees are weak branches, ones that are crossing, skinny branches, suckers, and water sprouts. Suckers are generally located near the base of the tree trunks and look almost shrub like when growing (example below).

        The trees are going to sleep and leaving us with a huge mess! Now that we have had a few freezes, the trees and many plants are settling down or finishing up for the winter. Remove leaves, dead plants, and weeds from your yard to prevent insects from nesting or disease from taking root and spreading. You can also spread mulch 3-4" thick around your plants to help regulate soil temperature, retain moisture throughout the year, and can also help prevent some weed growth. Also, while it may not be in your yard, another important thing to remember to do is make sure your gutters/drainage areas are clear for when it rains or snows. Doing this now can help prevent a leaky roof later.

         As you no doubt have noticed, it is definitely getting cooler and it’s time to start winterizing if you haven’t already. From your pressure vacuum breakers (PVB) to your trees and shrubs, it’s time to get ready for the freeze. Even though this next week is supposed to be a bit chilly with highs typically ranging from mid 50s to the low 60s with a couple outliers, and hanging out in the mid to high 30s for the lows with a couple of low 30s spread about. That’s getting really close to freezing if not already at freezing or lower and you don’t want your plants harmed if they aren’t prepared for a freeze, nor do you want your PVB to malfunction or break
         Now, a Pressure Vacuum Breaker (PVB) is a backflow prevention device that helps keep contaminants from getting into the public water system. If you do not want to drain the PVB so you can continue watering using your irrigation system, you can add heat tape and insulation to help minimize the chance of freezing.

          ​Now vacuum breakers may begin to leak because the plastic cap has ruptured by freezing due to water left over in the device, or even old worn down parts. Replacement parts should be available to make any needed repairs.

          ​As the temperature lowers you want to be even more wary of watering in early morning and at night. While it is warm out you want to water early enough to prevent disease from taking hold of your plants or from creating insect havens. In the cool seasons you don’t want to have wet patches freeze overnight and leave ice patches which can be hazardous so watering in the afternoon is best. 

      Another thing you may want to do is a residual herbicide application in order to provide better control of late winter and spring annual weeds. Starting early on your weed control is always a relief later on!

By Vanessa Hairston
Edited by Robert Hairston

Amazing aeration! To help combat soil compaction and root damage, aeration is always a plus for the spring and/or the fall. Meaning now is the perfect time to schedule services! Aeration is when one uses an aerator (lower left) to pull up “plugs” (lower right) from the lawn in order to decompress the lawn, enable air, water, and nutrients to penetrate deeper and encourages deeper root growth. Allowing your lawn to have more space to grow stronger and healthier. You’ve probably seen these plugs before on lawns, at parks, or on golf courses and just thought there was a dog invasion with no one to pick up after them. 

It's just about time to prep your lawn for hibernation. This is what we call "Winterizing." Winterizer is a late fall fertilizer that helps your plants store lot's of "food" for the winter and to promote fast and healthy growth in the spring. It IS NOT focused on keeping or encouraging your yard to keep growing during the fall and winter seasons. 
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Here in Albuquerque, annual water restrictions that start April 1st are still in effect through Oct 31st. This means you are still NOT supposed to water between 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. We are also staying true to our usual Water by the Numbers schedule continuing from September into October with twice a week watering for lawns. Lawns should be watered to a depth of 4"-6" minimum. Established trees and shrubs should be deep watered at least every other week. Trees to a depth of 24", shrubs to a depth of 18". Consider adding a 4" - 6" deep layer of mulch to trees, shrubs, and flower beds to dress up the yard and help retain moisture and deter weed growth.
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By Kay Olson
     Saint Patrick’s Day is Sunday. Don’t forget to wear green, but also, take care of the green in your life!

     Your lawn needs care now more than ever. Fertilizer, aerating, and power raking act as day-spa action - vitamins, massage, and exfoliation, but for the grass. Pre-emergent care is also important (like preventing breakouts before they happen!), but be sure to carefully research what you use on your lawn, as some pre-emergents will also harm your yard.

     Save your yard by giving it what it needs this week!

     Be careful not to overwater. Grass needs to be watered once a week, while trees and shrubs are once every other week. If you’d like to get a jump-start on your garden, you can begin planting your seeds and letting them develop and germinate inside, in flower pots.  (As always, read the label to determine levels of sun exposure and watering frequency.)

​     Our daffodils have bloomed, and there’s a ton of new growth this week. The silver lace vine and honeysuckle has grown out a bit, so we’re going to trim it down so it’ll grow healthy and strong.

     Unless you’re Julius Cesar, don’t worry too much about today. Just don’t forget that Tax Season is coming to an end, so if you haven’t filed already, now would be a good time to start. Have an amazing weekend!