Fall is a transitional season that brings changes in temperature and humidity. The moderate weather provides an ideal opportunity to treat your lawn for weeds and fertilize the grass to prepare for next spring. Here are some fall lawn maintenance tasks to boost the health of your grass.
Aerating the Lawn in Fall
Fall is the right time for aerating your lawn. Aeration minimizes soil compaction and reduces water runoff. It loosens the soil making it easy for the grass roots to grow deep into the ground to get water and nutrients during the winter months.
Fall lawn aeration provides oxygen to the soil that helps insects, microbes, and fungi break down dead plants, speeding decomposition. You can use a simple garden fork or an aeration tool for this task.
Fertilize the Grass
Treating your lawn with fertilizer guarantees there is good growth before winter arrives. Fall fertilizer applications provide nutrients to the roots and help the grass develop a healthy root system.
The fertilizers can also help boost the color of grass, which often appears brown due to low nitrogen content during this season. The easiest way to apply fertilizer is with a spreader.
Weed Control as Part of Fall Lawn Maintenance
Weed control kills existing weeds and prevents new weeds from germinating in your lawn. In the fall, apply pre-emergent herbicides. This type of product stops weeds that germinate in the winter. Herbicides are available at your local hardware store. Make sure you follow the directions on the product label.
Lawn Seeding
Fall is the perfect time for seeding your lawn. The mild weather is great for starting seeds as the soil temperature is warm enough to provide the heat that seeds need to germinate. Fall seeding repairs turf areas damaged by disease, drought, and insects. You can reseed your lawn quickly and easily with a drop spreader.
Fall Lawn Maintenance: Dethatching
Thatch is a layer of dead and dying materials in your lawn that accumulate around the base of the grass. When tackling dethatching in the fall, don’t remove the thatch layer completely but instead, make it thinner. Fall dethatching boosts seed germination and grass growth while helping the thatch break down faster. Use a dethatching rake to make quick work of this task.
Taking Care of Lawn Maintenance in the Fall
Fall is the ideal season for maintaining your lawn. Mild temperatures make yard work more pleasant. Use the five simple tips outlined above to take care of your lawn now so that it’s healthy in spring.
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