Fall Lawn Care Tips
When most people think of the season to focus on lawn care, spring and summer come to mind. Fall, however, is also a very important time of year to focus on specific lawn care needs. What you do to your lawn in the fall will have a huge impact on the type of lawn you have next spring and summer. Let’s take a look at some fall lawn care tips.
Keep on Mowing
It might be tempting to park that mower after the first leaf falls from a tree. After those long, hot, summer months of mowing in the heat, you’re ready for a break. Lawn care experts actually recommend that you keep mowing until the first frost. If you try to stop mowing too soon, you’ll find yourself simply pulling the mower back out again after an autumn heat wave. Be sure to winterize your mower after that first frost, so that come spring it’ll be ready to ride. This is an important part of lawn mower maintenance.
Autumn Watering
Your lawn will continue to need watering as long as it is growing. It will continue to grow until the first frost. If you neglect this chore during the fall, your grass may start to suffer. During the next growing season, you may see patchy or unattractive places on your lawn.
Keep Leaves at Bay
It might feel like a losing battle, but it really is important to keep leaves from resting on your lawn for too long. Anywhere leaves collect can also start to collect moisture. Soggy leaves weighing down on your grass will soon start to kill the grass. You might think this isn’t a big deal if the growing season is soon to be over, but you don’t want dead grass. You want dormant grass. This is different. Dormant grass will start growing back next spring, but a dead patch of grass will just be an ugly bare spot all fall, winter, and next spring. Keep leaves raked up regularly.
Aeration If Needed
The lawn may suffer from soil compaction and heat stress during the summer months. Aeration is the process of removing soil plugs from the grass. These tiny holes allow for needed nutrients and oxygen to reach the roots. A carefully aerated lawn in fall will result in a lush, green, healthy lawn in the spring.
Fertilizer
Fertilizers should be reserved for the fall. These helpful nutrients will be able to feed the lawn while it is dormant. This is a good time because the grass is not under stress growing stress. All the nutrients can feed the roots, building up a better root foundation for spring.
Seed Bare Spots
If there are any bare spots, go ahead and seed those now in the fall. New grass will sprout right before the dormant season. This is good because it will give the roots ample time to grow strong.
Categorised in: Lawn Care Tips