Autumn may be just around the corner, and you’ve been taking great care to ensure that you’re ready for it. The Christmas list is already filled out and ready to head to the store, the thermostat has been adjusted to make sure your home is warm, but the bill isn’t stifling, and the car has been winterized but have you done anything for your lawn? With the winter months encroaching many people forget that their homes and vehicles aren’t the only things requiring special care during this time of year. If you want to make sure your lawn continues to look its best year-round, follow these tips.
Don’t Cut Back on Cutting the Grass
Even though the season has cooled down and your grass isn’t growing as quickly, don’t think it doesn’t need to be tended to or no longer needs watering. Your lawn is keying up for a long cold winter and needs as much opportunity to grow as it always has. However, you will want to raise your lawn mower blade by about an inch to ensure that it isn’t spending all its reserves trying to grow but instead can set some aside for the seasons ahead. When it’s time for your last cutting lower your blade, so it cuts at its lowest setting, this will ensure that the grass’s crown gets as much sunlight as possible before going dormant.
Let the Air Come In
Novice lawn owners don’t often think about this, but it’s essential for your lawn to breathe and core aeration is the best way to help it do that. If you’ve got a small lawn, you can use a hand-aerator to extract dirt plugs that will let air and water get down in your soil, on larger lawns you’re either going to want to hire a contractor or rent a self-propelled aerator that will make the task a breeze.
Get Those Leaves Up
Whether you love the look of Autumn leaves on the ground or don’t want to rake them, we’ve got some bad news for you. Leaves are detrimental to your lawns health and can leave your lawn brown and wilted come Spring if left to rot. Leaves trap in moisture, provide a haven for pests, and allow mold and diseases to fester if left to rot through the winter, so make sure you get them off the ground! One great solution is to get a leaf shredder that will turn those pesky leaves into nutrient-rich mulch for your lawn.
Fertilize Now, If No Other Time
The Fall is the most essential time of year to apply fertilizer to your soil. With the cold winter nights and short periods of sunlight, your grass just isn’t getting the same amount of nutrients as it does throughout the year, and every little bit will help. For the best results, you should use fertilizer multiple times a year, but a dry fertilizer applied in the fall will ensure that your grass has what it needs to bounce back in spring.
These four tips are vital to ensuring that you have a beautiful lawn all year round, but they’re essential to helping it survive the fall. This time of year can be very hard on grass, even in the southern climates where heavy rains can serve to damage your grass even without the frozen winter nights of the North. This year let your lawn be the best it can be by preparing for fall!