Why to not ignore fall lawn care and maintenance?

People often forget about fall lawn care and maintenance because they feel that the season is over, but fall is actually the most important time of year for seeding and fertilizing. During the cooler months moisture is plentiful so it is easy to build up a thick healthy turf. The more North you live the more important turf density is. There are three easy steps that you can take to prepare your lawn for winter, you might not be aware; it is also preparation for spring.

Early fall is a good time to de-thatch the “brown layer” of dead grass with a rake or de-thatching tool. It is important that you do not wait until you have a frost to do this so plan on thatch removal late august early September, especially in the North East where temperatures can drop quickly. Remember that the thatch layer also protects lawns from deep freezing so do not completely remove the brown layer, thin it out a bit before you plant fresh grass seed in the bare spots.

Fall Reseeding

After you have thinned out the layer of thatch, reseed bare spots with fresh seed and cover it with a thin layer of soil or mulch to keep it moist for several days. You will notice that the lawn soil stays moist longer this time of year because it does not evaporate as quickly as it does during the hot summer months. Also don’t be afraid to plant lawn seed all over your yard. I like to work the seed in with an aeration roller rake which is often used to invigorate soil in your garden; this gets the seed under the soil better than a regular metal rake.

Fall Fertilizing

In the early fall apply fertilizer to your reseeded lawn to encourage fast growth of turf grass, use fertilizer which is higher in nitrogen and potassium but lower in phosphorus. There are also some good fall lawn fertilizers that are offered at local hardware stores which are named to let you know their purpose.

For those who take advantage of these cooler months, they will be rewarded with thicker more productive lawn come springtime. For those who let leafs pile up and smother their lawns during winter, they will have compacted, unproductive soil during spring. The safest way to ensure your lawn stays dense and healthy all year around is to not ignore fall lawn care.