Don't Let Your Lawn Fall Behind - Fall Lawn Care
As the heat of summer gives way to the cooler, crisper days of fall, it is time to switch your gardening focus from watering and dead-heading to preparing your yard for fall and winter. Whether you are reseeding, fertilizing or redoing your lawn, fall is the best time of the year. Especially in the months of September and early October, your lawn will respond better to all your efforts.
Time to Seed Why is fall the best time to seed? In the fall soil temperatures are warmer. They’ve had all summer to heat up. This along with our frequent rains helps the seeds germinate quickly. The faster the seed germinates and the lawn becomes more established, the less competition it has with weeds. Plus, the cool air temperatures allow the young lawn to grow strong without the threat of heat stress.
Fall is the Most Important Time to Fertilize! If you only fertilize your lawn once a year it should be in the fall. You will want to fertilize it twice this season... During typical fall weather - once in early September and once in mid-November. Al's recommends Scott's Super Turf Builder Winterguard Fall Lawn Fertilzer, which is pet friendly. When you feed your lawn in the fall, the nutrients are changed into carbohydrates which improve the root system in your lawn. By putting energy into the roots instead of promoting blade growth you are improving your lawn for next spring and summer. The expanded root system also allows the grass plants to send out new rhizomes and encourages deeper roots. This will lead to a thicker healthier lawn, without causing a lot of blade growth. Your lawn is completely focused under the soil, so you don’t have to worry about mowing your lush lawn until next spring.
Air It Out There is one simple thing that you can do for your lawn each year to help it grow healthy and lush – aerate it. This of course comes after mowing, watering, and fertilizing, but aeration is an important step to a lush lawn. Aeration has several benefits for your lawn. First off, it takes compaction out of the soil. This allows for better water percolation and allows fertilizer to reach the root zone. The plugs that are left on the surface due to aeration also serve a purpose; they allow microbes to decompose thatch. Thatch is the major cause of many ailments in your lawn. The soil from the plugs will dissolve into your turf and the microbes from the soil will start decomposing the thatch. To make your aerating easier, water your lawn a day or two before having it aerated. This will help you draw longer plugs. The deeper the aeration plug the better. Various aeration options are available. Feel free to ask the purple people at Al's for tips on the one best for you.
Get It Under Control Fall is a great time to control broadleaf weeds in your lawn. Broadleaf weeds like clover and dandelions are preparing themselves for winter in the fall months. They’re in the same mode as your lawn, storing carbohydrates in their root system instead of growing above ground. If you don’t take care of them in the fall, come spring your weeds are going to be stronger than ever. There are many options for lawn weed killer. Many of your fall fertilizers have them built in. Weed killers work by causing the plant to grow beyond its ability to sustain that growth. For best results, try to spray for weeds when temperatures are in the mid 50’s or warmer. Bonide's Weed Beater is a great weed killer for lawns.
Mow It Down As the weather cools down in the fall, shorten the height that you mow your lawn. Mowing the lawn shorter in the fall encourages rhizome development in the turf which will thicken the lawn and help choke out weeds. Begin in September and continue through October, gradually reducing the height of your lawn until you’re mowing to a height of approximately one inch. By slowly reducing the height, as the fall temperatures cool, your lawn will not be stressed by the shorter mower height.
Don’t let your lawn get left behind this fall. Take the necessary steps now and you will be rewarded with a beautiful, green, weed-free lawn next spring!
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Al's recommends Encap Fast Acting Lime PLUS... Better Soil = Better Results!
See article below for the benefits of adding lime to your lawn in the fall.
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