As fall approaches, most homeowners end their summertime lawn care routines without adopting a new plan. Just because the seasons change, it does not mean that your lawn does not need attention or care to ensure that it stays healthy and returns in the spring. To help your lawn prepare for the long winter months ahead, use the cooler temperatures in Autumn to get a jump on winter and build up the grass.
These are some of the most crucial lawn care tips every homeowner can do to prepare their lawn for the fall.
Maintain a Regular Mowing Schedule
Just because summer is coming to an end does not mean you should let up on mowing the lawn. Maintain a regular mowing schedule throughout the fall months because the health of the grass will depend on its ability to continue storing you nutrients. As autumn begins to end and the grass does stop growing at the same rate right before winter comes in, mow the lawn one last time at a lower setting than you normally do to reduce the amount of brown grass and allow the grass to continue to grow before it freezes.
Rake and Remove Leaves
There are a lot of opinions about whether or not to rake and remove leaves, because their decay does provide some benefits to the soil. If you are trying to grow and maintain a healthy, beautiful lawn though, you are going to want to rake and remove the leaves. Regularly raking and getting the leaves off the lawn reduces the chances of matting, dead grass spots, and fungal disease spots from appearing.
Attack Weed Growth
The autumn is one of the best times of year to attack and remove any weed growth that has appeared over the summer months. In the fall months, plants are storing up everything they can in order to insure their survival and return in the spring. Using weed killer on plants this time of year will not only kill them, but ensure that they are unable to grow back and return in the spring.
Aerate the Lawn
Lawns are living things and require regular maintenance to ensure that all the work that you put into them on the surface is able to take effect. When you aerate your lawn water, fertilizer, and other nutrients are able to easily reach the roots of the grass during a crucial time when grass needs to store up as much as possible. If you have a small lawn you can do the job in a day with a simple pair of aerators, but if you have a larger lawn, a powered machine will save you a lot of time and energy.
Fertilize the Lawn
Fall is the best time of year to fertilize your lawn and make sure it is ready for the winter months. Fertilizer works by feeding the roots of grass, and because the roots are busy trying to soak up as much nutrients as possible, the fertilizer is most effective during this time period. Take some time to correctly and thoroughly feed the entire yard so that you have nice even growth through the remainder of fall and in the spring when the grass returns.
Water the Lawn
Finally, make sure that you continue watering your lawn through the autumn months to ensure that it is able to maintain steady growth. All plants, including grass, are working hard to soak up everything that they can, and water is one of those nutrients that the grass is going to be going after. Water thoroughly in order to let water soak deep into the soil so that the grass can survive once the ground freezes. Do this and you will give your lawn the best chance at surviving and thriving over the fall and winter months ahead.
Each of these lawn care tips is essential to ensuring that your lawn will look better than ever in the spring.
