Your backyard enjoys one of the best-looking lawns in the neighborhood, thanks to your creative landscaping company and your endless dedication to mowing, trimming, and other hard labor. In fact, you spent much of the summer sweating it out, ensuring everything was adequately watered and tended to. Note that there is a touch of fall in the air; you are looking forward to spending your weekend afternoons watching football and sipping iced tea. But if you want your lawn to continue to look fantastic, this is no time to relax, not yet anyway. There will be plenty of time to enjoy the CSU Rams and Broncos later on, but for now, you should be engaged in tasks that will ensure a great-looking lawn come next spring. Autumn is a critical time to groom your lawn for next spring. Here are a few tips on how you can help make your lawn look great come spring.
BRING NATURE TO YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE
RAKE, RAKE, RAKE
We get it, raking is one of those labor-intensive tasks, and quite frankly, it just isn’t any fun. And if you don’t have kids, you can’t task them the job, so you have to do it all on your own. When your lawn is full of leaves, the sunlight can’t reach the grass, and this prevents it from getting food. In addition, the leaves trap moisture, and this can lead to moldy problems that you just would rather avoid.
You could take the easy way out and simply plug in the leaf blower to clear your lawn, but this won’t remove thatch, that tightly intermingled layer of live and dead stems, roots, and leaves that accumulates in your lawn and kills it. Instead, it is best if you use a traditional manual rake and work it out. The good news is that raking is good exercise and it will give you a strong upper body. So look at it as a good workout.
If raking just isn’t your cup of tea or if you are just not up to the task, there is an alternative that will save time and a lot of energy. You can rake your leaves by using your lawnmower fitted with a collection bag. Just make sure you empty the bag often, as it will fill up rather quickly.
Kill the Weeds
We will tell you this right now; the war to rid your lawn of weeds will never end; you will only enjoy winning an occasional battle. You might think that by fall, your lawn is clear of any weeds, but don’t let your guard down. There are weeds in your yard, and they are lying low and sucking in all of the nutrients they can to come back strong in the spring. This is why fall is the perfect time of year to kick up weed control.
As we just said, weeds are lying low and absorbing water and nutrients, so it is good to take the time to apply some weed killer. If you read the label on most weed killers, they say that autumn is the best time to apply the product. In doing so, you are giving yourself a fighting chance against weeds come next spring.
Time to Fertilize
If you are the type of person who fertilizes your lawn, it is recommended that you do it in the fall. Just like weeds, your grass is lying low in the fall and absorbing all of the water and nutrients it can. Fertilizing in the fall ensures that your lawn gets the nutrients it needs for a healthy start in the spring.
If you have never fertilized your lawn, now might be a great time to consider it. Most modern fertilizers not only give your grass the nutrients it needs to remain healthy, but they also provide at least some level of weed control. In addition, fertilizing your lawn will make your grass more resistant to disease, improve growth, and it will help it become more resistant to pests.
Tackle the Bald Spots
If your lawn has bald spots here and there where there is no grass growing, autumn is the perfect time of the year to fix that problem. The best way to do this is with a lawn repair mixture that can be found at any home center or garden shop. In addition to being quite effective, these mixtures are easy to apply and very inexpensive. All you need to do is use a rake to loosen the dirt around the bald spots and spread the mixture over the area.
Even if your lawn does not suffer any bald spots, it’s still a good idea to spread a lawn repair mixture or seed on your grass. Seeding is a job that is a little more complicated than merely fixing bald spots. It is a good idea to rent a slit seeder or call your local landscaper for this type of job.
Keep Mowing and Watering
We know that by September and October, you are about done with doing work on your lawn. We get it, there are better things to do, like watch football and, well, watch football. You might think that the cooler weather and additional moisture from rain are enough to keep your grass watered. Well, it might be, and it might not be, so your best bet is to continue watering, just not as much as you did in the heat of summer.
If you have already put your mower away for the winter, you had better go and grab it. Your grass will continue to grow, even after the first frost. If you notice that your lawn is getting a little too long, you need to mow it to avoid problems in the spring. Grass that is longer than two to three inches will mat under the weight of snow and could suffer damaging fungi.
These autumn lawn tips will help keep your grass healthy and ready for next spring. Fall lawn care is a critical step to enjoying a lush and green lawn come next year when the weather softens, and spring birds begin chirping once again. If you have any questions about lawn care, feel free to contact us.