When the temperature falls, and the air seems colder and the autumn approaches slowly, many people think it’s now time to give the tedious lawn care a break. However, this is the best time to prepare your lawn for a lovely, beautiful spring and set the lawn care bar high for your neighbors!
According to many homeowners, as the grass grows slowly during the fall, the lawns require minimum care and maintenance, which is a myth.
Actually, at this time of the year, the grass is busily absorbing all the essentials and energy to prepare itself for a beautiful, lush green spring.
Identifying the type of grass in your lawn is the first step towards working for a better spring — specific lawn care changes with the kind of grass you need to look after.
Your fall lawn care schedule can be more effective if you have complete knowledge about the grass.
So. without further ado, here are our best fall lawn care tips.
Fall Lawn Care Tips – How to treat your lawn in the fall?
1. Keep Mowing
Proper mowing practices are a must, regardless of the grass type. Keep mowing.
Time your mowing according to the growth of the grass and not according to the calendar. This will help you understand the growth of your grass better and how it needs to be mowed from time to time.
You can make it slightly shorter than usual, which will prove to be quite helpful.
2. Clean Up the Leaves
Those fallen, unattended leaves can be a huge problem for your grass.
The leaves, when left on the grass, form a sort of layer above the grass and suffocate it, hampering its growth and overall health. Moreover, these leaves serve as a breeding ground for bacteria and harmful diseases.
3. Keep Watering your Grass
The grass needs water. However, as fall comes near, you can let the rains help you a bit.
Well established, healthy lawns need one inch of water weekly, including precipitation. However, as fall approaches, the same amount may suffice for 10-14 days under normal conditions.
4. Use Fertilizers for Future Growth
We can’t make a list of fall lawn care tips without mentioning this one.
Experts claim that fall is the best time to fertilize your lawn. If you plan on fertilizing your lawn once a year, fall is just the perfect time to do so.
At this time, the grass grows slowly above the ground, but the roots and rhizomes continue to grow rapidly. Sprinkling your lawn with fertilizers helps provide the roots and rhizomes with the best nutrition at the perfect time. They absorb the nutrients very quickly and also take some into reserve for the spring, keeping it healthy and beautiful.
5. You Need to Get Rid of the Weeds
If broadleaf, ugly weeds like dandelions have taken over your lawn, now is the perfect time to restore your lawn’s beauty. The weeds are at their peak of drinking at the time fall is approaching.
They drink and absorb everything that comes their way, making them a considerable threat to your grass. Since they absorb practically everything at this time, it’s effortless to get rid of them using herbicides.
Apply weed killers now, and they will not return in the spring.
Make it a point to read the instructions carefully before you sprinkle your lawn with herbicides. Most of the herbicide manufacturers advise applying the herbicide during early-to-mid autumn when the day temperatures are regularly above 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
6. Seeding and Sodding
If you want a healthy, beautiful lawn in the spring, seeding and sodding is something you should consider doing in the fall. The best gift you can probably give your lawn is plenty of time to grow and develop deep roots into the soil.
Planting your seeds during the fall gives them a lot of time to germinate and grow beautifully. If you plant the seeds in the spring or summer season, they try and grow faster, making the lawn sparse.
Sodding your lawn in the fall gives the root systems much more time to grow and develop deliberately into the soil as compared to sodding in the spring. This will keep you yard lush green in the coming seasons.
7. Feed your Lawn
The hot summer has probably damaged the roots of your grass, which is hampering its growth. Healthy, lush green grass is just two feeds away.
Fall is the best time to sprinkle your lawn with fertilizers, as the nourishment is absorbed quickly, and the grass grows to become healthy.
8. Fill the Empty Spaces
The fall lawn care schedule can be fun when it comes to filling up all those empty spaces that were caused by multiple sources. The kids playing at the back or that cat spoiling the grass, fall is the perfect time to fill these spaces.
Use a product specially formulated to treat bare spots. Also, if you have any seeding project, keep the soil moist and water it at least once a day, ensuring that you do not add too much water. This is also an excellent time to treat thin grass.
There are various products available that tell you how to manage your lawn in the fall and give you all the guidelines for treating that scanty grass.
A beautiful lawn is not just a beautiful sight, but a source of immense satisfaction that your hard work is paying off well. As fall approaches, so do your responsibilities towards your lawn increase as this is just the perfect time to treat your lawn for beautiful seasons ahead.
Keep your lawn clean, put that furniture away as you will not like to sit and sip tea in your yard during the fall. Use the required fertilizers and follow the best-suited fall lawn care schedule for your lawn and then enjoy a beautiful, lush green lawn in the spring.
We hope you enjoyed reading these fall lawn care tips. Do you have any tips of your own? Share them in the comments below!