Lawn & Property Care in North Dakota
Fall Yard Cleanup in North Dakota: What to Do Before the First Freeze
In this part of North Dakota the first hard freeze usually arrives somewhere in late September or October, and the first lasting snow can follow closely behind. That leaves a narrower window than most people plan for — and a few of the jobs on the list stop being possible the moment the ground freezes.
Here is what actually has a deadline, what does not, and the order that saves the most trips around the yard.
The jobs with a hard freeze deadline
These stop being possible, or start being expensive, once things freeze.
Blow out the irrigation system. Water left in lines and heads expands when it freezes and splits them. The repair is trenching in spring. Nothing else on this list has a worse cost-to-effort ratio if missed.
Drain and disconnect hoses. A hose left connected to an outdoor spigot holds water back into the wall and can freeze the sill cock or the pipe behind it. Disconnect every hose, drain them, and store them out of the weather. If you have frost-free spigots, they only work when the hose is off.
Get the leaves off the grass. Leaves matted under snow for five months smother the turf beneath them, and what emerges in spring is bare ground or disease. A light scattering can be mulched in with the mower. A real layer has to come off.
The final cut. (How short, and when to stop for the year.) Take it a little shorter than your summer height — around two to two and a half inches. Long grass laid over under snow is what snow mold grows in. Do not scalp it, and do not stop mowing on a calendar date; stop when the grass stops growing.
Clean the gutters — after the leaves are down. Gutters cleaned in early October and then filled by a late drop have not been cleaned. Wait for the trees to finish. Ice dams form where water cannot get away, and a plugged downspout in November is a problem you cannot fix in January.
Shut off and drain anything that holds water. Rain barrels, stock tanks you are not using, the pressure washer, and any equipment with water in it.
Jobs that are easier now but can wait
Cutting back perennials. Some gardeners cut everything back in fall; others leave stems standing for winter interest and for the insects and birds that overwinter in them. Both are defensible. Diseased material should always come out and should not go in the compost.
Pruning trees and shrubs. Late fall is generally not the ideal time. Most deciduous pruning is better in late winter when the plant is fully dormant. Dead, damaged, or hazardous limbs are the exception — take those whenever you find them, especially anything overhanging a drive or a roof where snow load could bring it down.
Edging and bed cleanup. Nice to have going into winter, no consequence if it waits.
Aerating and overseeding. These have a window, but it is earlier — mid-August through about mid-October for aeration, with seeding realistically done by late September. If it is already late October, this is next year's job.
The four misses that cost real money
1. Irrigation not blown out. Split lines and heads. Spring repair, sometimes trenching.
2. A hose left on the spigot. A frozen sill cock can crack the pipe inside the wall, and the leak often does not announce itself until the first thaw, inside the wall.
3. Gutters left full. Water that cannot drain finds another route, and ice dams push it back under shingles.
4. A limb over the driveway. Snow and ice load bring down weakened branches, and they land on whatever is beneath them.
The order that saves trips
- Wait for the trees to finish dropping. Doing the yard twice is the most common waste of a fall weekend.
- Prune out any hazard limbs — before the leaves are cleared, so the debris comes out with everything else.
- Clear leaves and debris from beds, lawn, and around foundations.
- Clean gutters and check downspouts — they are draining onto ground you have just cleared.
- Blow out irrigation, disconnect hoses, drain anything holding water.
- Final cut, a little shorter than summer height.
- Stage for winter — mark drive edges, hydrants and anything a plow needs to miss, and think about where snow is going to be piled. Snow piled on turf is the last spot to green up in spring.
Two notes for equipment
Fuel. Small engines sitting all winter with untreated gasoline are the reason so many mowers will not start in May. Either run the tank dry or fill it and add stabilizer — a half-full untreated tank is the worst option.
Blades and service. Fall is a better time to sharpen blades and change oil than the first warm Saturday in spring, when every shop in the county has a two-week backlog.
Vicks Gadgets LLC handles fall cleanup, gutter cleaning and property maintenance in Mott, North Dakota and the surrounding area. Fall slots fill early — call 701-209-0229 to get on the schedule.