Since your lawn tends to grow slower in the fall, many people think that it doesn’t need as much care. But your lawn is busy preparing for winter and it can do a better job if you give it the care it needs. The colder weather and occasional rain is the perfect opportunity to get your lawn ready for spring. Here is how to care for your lawn in fall.
KEEP MOWING
Just because your lawn is growing slower doesn’t mean you should stop mowing it regularly. Keep mowing it as regularly as you would in the summer. Keep the lawn shorter allows more sunlight to reach the crown of the grass. Be sure not to cut off more one-third of the grass at once. Towards the end of the cutting season, put your lawn mower on the lowest setting to keep it short all winter.
AERATE THE SOIL
Every two years, your lawn should be aerated in the fall. This is so that water, fertilizer, and soil can easily reach the roots of your grass. You can do this by pushing a border fork into the soil, or use a hollow tine aerator to pull out plugs of soil.
RAKE REGULARLY
As we all know, leaves build up over time and become overwhelming. Stay on top of raking. When you see leaves that have fallen onto your lawn, make a point to get it done as soon as possible. If leaves are left on your lawn for too long, they can suffocate the grass and cause it to die. If you have a powerful lawn mower, it can use to suck up the leaves and break them up, saving you time and room in your green bin.
FERTILIZE
If you only fertilize your lawn once a year, it should be done in the fall. While the grass grows slowly, the roots are still growing rapidly, so fertilizing in the fall helps your lawn stay healthy. Wait until mid to late fall to apply a dry fertilizer evenly across the lawn.
FILL IN PATCHES
Fall is the time to fill in any patches of lawn that are dying or have disappeared altogether. You can do this with seed and fertilizing the soil. Rake the dirt that needs new seed, fill in the patches with seed and soil, then water thoroughly. Keep watering every other day.
KILL THE WEEDS
Early to mid-fall is the last chance you’ll get to spray the weeds until spring. Spraying weeds only works when the temperature is above 60 degrees, so don’t wait. If you wait, you’ll be pulling weeds constantly during the winter months.
Mike’s Evergreen is the right choice if you have questions about how to care for your lawn in fall because we are the Valley’s premier outdoor living experts. We work hard to understand your goals and provide quality results that will exceed your expectations. We understand that one of your biggest and most important investments is your home or business. Your objectives, lifestyle, personality, as well as the specific needs of your property are carefully considered to reflect a landscape that will provide beauty, function, and value to your home or property. Mike’s Evergreen offers a complete range of landscape services so we can make your dead grass into full, green grass.
Choose Mike’s Evergreen to answer your fall lawn care questions!
