Fall lawn care tips from A Concord Carpenter
The overall beauty of your home can be impacted by your landscaping, and your lawn is probably the largest part of your yard. So regardless of how well maintained and beautiful your home is, you can’t ignore the look and condition of your lawn, since both you and I know, your neighbors certainly won’t.
Don’t let your lawn be an eye-sore and check out these Fall lawn care tips and be sure you know how to prepare your lawn for winter by investing the time and effort into caring for your lawn during the late summer and fall.
Attack Weeds Now!
Getting after weeds now will again ensure you spend less time on your lawn in the spring and summer. The investment you make in ensuring your lawn is healthy in the winter pays off in the spring, same goes for the weeds, but with the opposite effect. The more damage you do to the weed situation on your lawn now, the less likely the weeds will survive the winter and will be able to compete with your lush lawn in the spring.
You can use a pre-emergent to get ahead of the winter weeds to allow your lawn to have zero competition while you prepare it for the fall and winter months. And by attacking perennial weeds now, the less likely you are to see them in the spring when they are most visible.
Source: ppdl.purdue.edu
Remove Excessive Thatch
Thatch is a layer of of dead grass components between the living vegetation and the soil surface. A thatch layer of 1/2 inch is acceptable but anything more should be removed as excessive thatch can lead to disease, infestation from insects, and can amplify issues in the event of drought or cold weather.
Source: lawntechllc.com
Fertilize, Reseed, and Aerate
Investing in your lawn during the fall can have a dramatic impact on the condition of your turf come springtime, and ultimately the more work you do now in the cool fall weather the less you’ll have to do in the heat and the sun of the summer months!
As the temperature cools grass plants begin to focus and develop their root systems. You can encourage this growth with a winterizer fertilizer. Use a 7-3-2 ratio of Nitrogen – Phosphorus – Potassium or N-P-K. To learn more about the fertilizer numbering system visit the Garden Counselor. The robust root systems this type of fertilizer promotes helps your lawn winter over successfully and a strong root system helps it stand up to the hot and dry summer months.
If you have bare patches in your lawn, it’s not to late to reseed and aerate. The winterizer fertilizer you apply will help the new seeds thrive and by aerating your lawn you’ll ensure you maximize the effects of the seeding and fertilizer. It’s best to over-seed thin and bare patches of the lawn and increase watering gradually.
Mowing your lawn in the Fall
Mow the lawn at your mower’s highest setting or around 2 inches, no less than 1-1/2 inches. By leaving a tall grass you insulate the lawn in the cooler temperature and ensure the grass can compete against weeds in the cooler and darker months of Fall. The taller blades also prevent fallen leaves from matting down the lawn and hindering its growth.
Continue to Water your Lawn
Just because it’s cooling down doesn’t mean you lawn doesn’t need water to thrive, in fact regardless of temperature, your lawn needs water most when it’s dry so continue a watering schedule into the dry fall months. Just pretend its a warm summer day and get outside in the cool fall mornings and keep your lawn looking its best!