After a long summer of watering your lawn, keeping up with cutting it regularly, and doing all it takes to keep it green, by the time fall comes, you may be ready to take a rest as far as lawn care goes. However, this is a crucial time for your lawn. Taking care of your grass now will ensure it’s ready for next year. Check out our tips to learn what you can do now to prepare for next spring already!
Get Rid of Leaves
While the colorful fallen leaves on your lawn might add to your autumn aesthetic, they’re not good for your grass. When leaves pile up on your grass, they block sunlight from getting in and trap moisture underneath. This is a recipe for disaster for your lawn! As the leaves fall, regularly rake or blow them as necessary. If you leave them for the winter, they’ll get packed down by snow, and leave you with a dead mat of a lawn in the spring.
Keep Mowing
It’s important to keep cutting your grass in the fall, too. Grass will continue to grow up until the first frost, so don’t put the mower away just yet! Keep it at a healthy 2 ½ – 3-inch height. If it gets too long, it’ll mat and be more likely to grow fungi such as snow mold. Cutting it too short can be just as bad, causing the root system to curtail. Mowing frequently will also get rid of leaves.
Loosen Soil
Aerating your lawn every few years helps to prevent soil from becoming compacted or covered with a thatch, which is a thick layer of debris that blocks water. An aerator can fix this problem, by piercing holes through the thatch and pulling up pieces of soil. Doing this in the fall before fertilizing is highly beneficial, as it’ll allow the nutrients to reach the roots.
Fertilize
Once you’ve aerated your lawn (if necessary), fertilizing is the final step to protect the roots from freezing, and giving it the nutrients it needs to bounce back next spring. Fertilizing allows your grass the chance to build up stamina before the long, harsh winter. Doing it on a fall morning helps the turf to absorb the nutrients, because of the excess moisture from the dew.
