All homeowners want a lush green carpet in the spring. Beginning now, before and during the fall, homeowners can have that enviable green lawn by prepping it. The soil beneath the grass needs water and nutrients to face the cold dryness and the snow of winter. Let’s examine five tips for fall lawn maintenance.
Continue Mowing the Grass
Keep watering and mowing the grass during the fall. Lower the blades in the last two cuttings before the end of October. This allows moisture and sunlight to better get to the grass. Keep the blades at two to three inches until the last cutting. Then drop the blades an inch.
If you let the grass get too high, then the chance of growing mold is higher. Let it grow too short, and the roots can’t grow properly. The root length is proportional to the length of the blade of grass.
Rake Those Leaves
They’re bright, pretty, and fun to play in. However, leaves provide a cover that prevents water and nutrients reaching the grass and roots. They also block the sun, which are two things that will kill your grass. Keep raking and blowing until they’re all gone, or your grass will die.
Aerate the Soil
Fall is the perfect time to aerate the soil. Water, oxygen, and fertilizer more easily reach the roots. Homeowners may rent the tool, or they may call upon a lawn maintenance easton ct team to do it for them. If you’ll be aerating more than an acre, then this is the best solution.
Leaves aren’t the only thing preventing water, light, and nutrients from reaching the grass and roots. Without aerating the soil, thatch grows. This collection of wandering debris and roots are as bad as a carpet of leaves. Aerating should be done every couple years.
Fertilize for Growth
Grass roots need potassium, phosphorous, and nitrogen, all plant sugars produced by the chlorophyll in the grass. The grass needs enough nitrogen, however, to produce the sugars. It should have a fertilizer with slow-release granular 24-0-10 proportions. The numbers represent the weight of the nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.
If nitrogen helps the grass produce chlorophyll, then potassium helps roots grow, protects the plants against disease, drought, and cold.
Seed the Lawn
Bald spots will happen. Grass will die. To get ahead of that, reseed the lawn with the newest in drought-resistant grass. It will fill in the bald spots and replace the dying grass.
Fall is the best time to reseed the lawn. The earth is warm, it rains a little more in the fall, and the sun isn’t as punishing. It’s a delicate operation, though. The seed must embrace the soil, be watered, and grow a little before it gets cold. Otherwise, the grass won’t grow. Be careful that the seeder you choose doesn’t chop up the ground like some of them do. A power seeder installs the seed into the soil and causes no damage.
