The end of summer doesn’t mean that you should just let your beautiful lawn and garden wither away until Spring. Fall is a wonderful opportunity to do some much-needed maintenance on your property so that it will continue to look well kept year-round. Preparing your lawn for winter helps lay down a good foundation for a solid spring bloom. Here are some recommendations we’ve compiled from our expert landscaping team to keep your lawn healthy in the fall.
Remove Decaying Items
Fall leaves are one of the best things about the season – they’re lovely to look at and fun for the kids to stomp around in, but they’re hazardous to the health of your grass. As you leave them sitting in piles or just scattered around your lawn, they will trap moisture underneath and make your grass more likely to wither. Not only that, dead leaves are a breeding ground for fungi, pests, and even small animals.
Mow, Mow, Mow!
One of the most common mistakes we see when fall comes around is that property owners may stop mowing their lawns, believing that the colder weather will immediately cause the grass to stop growing. That’s not the case! If you let your grass overgrow, snow mold is more likely to take up residence. However, if you cut it too short, you may hurt the root system and make it more susceptible to the winter weather. In accordance with Colorado State University, we recommend a length of about three inches, which tends to be the lowest setting on traditional mowers.
Also, mowing will give you the added benefit of helping turn fallen leaves into nutritious mulch!
Aerate Your Soil
A good glass of wine isn’t the only thing that should be aerated in the fall! Aerating creates beneficial holes in the ground while also removing dirt plugs. This important step keeps the soil loose, making it easier to absorb water, oxygen, and nutrients – all key elements in having a lush and vibrant springtime lawn. Without this step, all the fertilizer and mulch you use may not be getting to the roots and might be wasted entirely.
To aerate your lawn, you can rent or purchase a lawn aerator that will operate similarly to a mower. For smaller landscapes, there are shoes with sharp tacks underneath that will get a similar effect when you walk around. It’s often easier to hire a landscaping contractor to do it for larger pieces of property.
Fertilize
Any landscaper worth his salt will tell you that fertilizer should be applied in late fall to have the best effect. Any earlier and the grass will grow just in time for the winter frost. Any later, the root system won’t have time to properly absorb all the nutrients. Trust us, if you fertilize properly at the right time, you’ll keep your lawn healthy in the fall, all the way until spring.
Lay Down Seed
Fall weather tends to be damper and more temperate throughout the day, which are great conditions for seed germination. By laying down new turf, you can help give your lawn the extra boost it needs before spring so that there aren’t any unsightly bare areas.
Keep Your Lawn Healthy in the Fall to Enjoy It in the Spring
A great lawn is a thing of beauty! But most beautiful things don’t come easy. Maintaining your grounds during the fall may seem tedious, but it’s a worthwhile investment for how much greener and healthier they’ll appear in the spring. We’ve often noticed that when homeowners try to cut corners on these steps or fall behind schedule, their grass suffers noticeably next year. If you want a professional to help you with the process, contact Giovine Landscaping! We can get the job done properly for you!