While the first day of school is the first indication that summer is coming to an end, this time of year does not mean that lawn care comes to an end. In fact, there are some things that you should do specifically during this time of year to get your lawn ready for the spring.
Follow these tips:
- The rain volume during the fall can vary greatly from year to year. Even though there are rainstorms during the fall, it is still important to water your lawn as needed. Also, it is important to keep mowing your lawn during the fall – on the days when it isn’t raining. As the fall season comes to an end, drop the blade of your lawn mower down to its lowest setting for the final cut of the season. This will leave less blade surface to turn brown as the winter arrives.
- Talk to your landscaping professional about aerating the soil of your lawn. This is the perfect time of year to allow more oxygen and water to penetrate and get to the root of your grass.
- Make sure to rake the leaves on your lawn. If left unraked, the fallen leaves will get wet and develop into a mat that can’t be penetrated and the lawn will suffocate. Not to mention the seal that the wet leaves create keeping bacteria and fungus in the lawn and dirt.
- If you’re going to fertilize your lawn at all, this is the time of year to do it. While the grass blades do not grow very much during this time of year, the grass roots grow exponentially during the cold weather. If you add fertilizer now, you will aid in the growth of the grass roots, giving a health start for the spring.
- If there are any bald spots in your lawn, this is the best time of year to get them fixed. With the roots growing strong during the winter, repairing bald spots now will give a head start for the spring. Talk with your landscape professional about your options for repairing bald spots or, areas of your lawn that need extra attention.
While it might be enticing to call off the lawn care now that the summer weather is coming to a close, spending just a few more months during the fall on taking care of your lawn will give you a big head start when the spring arrives.
