Fall Lawn Care: 4 Ways to
Say Good Night For The Winter
Labor Day through Halloween is your window for preparing lawns
for a lush spring.
Although spring lawn care gets all the attention, fall
lawn care is the make-it or break-it season for grass.
Fall lawn care is hard work. There are four basic things you should do:
Aeration, Seeding, Fertilizing,
Mulching
1. Aeration
Aeration gives your lawn a breather in autumn
and provides room for new grass to spread without competition from spring
weeds.. That allows water, oxygen, and nutrients to reach roots, and gives
seeds room to sprout.
A hand-aerating tool ($20), which looks like a pitchfork with hollow tines, is
labor-intensive and meant for unplugging small sections of grass. Gas-powered
aerating machines (rental, $20/hour) are about the size of a big lawn mower,
and are good for working entire lawns. Bring some muscle when you pick up your
rental: Aerating machines are heavy and can be hard to lift into your truck or
SUV.
Depending on the size of your property, professional aeration costs about $150.
2. Seeding
Fall, when the soil temperature is about 55
degrees, is the best time to seed your lawn because turf roots grow vigorously
in fall and winter. If you want a lush lawn, don’t cheap out on the seed.
Bags of inexpensive seed ($35 for 15 pounds) often contain hollow husks, weed
seed, and annual rye grass seed, which grows until the first frost then drops
dead. Splurge on the good stuff ($55 for 15 pounds of Kentucky Bluegrass seed),
which resists drought, disease, and insects.
Water your new seed every day for 10 to 20 days until it germinates.
3. Fertilizing
A late fall fertilization — before the first
frost — helps your grass survive a harsh winter and encourages it to grow green
and lush in spring. Make your last fertilization of the year count by choosing
a product high (10% to 15%) in phosphorous or nitrogen-rich, which is critical
for root growth.
4. Mulching
Instead of raking leaves, run over them a
couple of times with your mower to grind them into mulch. The shredded leaves
protect grass from winter wind and desiccation. An added bonus — shredded
leaves decompose into yummy organic matter to feed grass roots.
A mulching blade ($10) that attaches to your mower will grind the leaves even
finer.
Hope this information is useful.
Have a Supreme day!
