Tips for Fall Lawn Care

Fall is the time to prepare your lawn for winter and to take steps to ensure a lush and healthy lawn in the spring. Here are 10 tips for fall lawn care.

1. Mow. Keep mowing your lawn in the fall until the grass stops growing and goes dormant.

2. Clear the Surface. After the final fall mowing, remove leaves, pine needles, twigs and other debris from the surface of your lawn. This matter, if it is left undisturbed during the winter, can decompose and contribute to rot, mold and other lawn diseases.

3. Dethatch. Thatch is the accumulation of grass cuttings, leaves, twigs and other debris that can accumulate around the base of grass. Thatch buildup blocks air, water and nutrients from reaching grass's roots, hindering its growth and resulting in a less robust lawn. Therefore, dethatching is a critical part of your fall lawn care routine. You can use a dethatching rake to break up and clear thatch or, if the accumulation is too heavy, use your mower's dethatching blade, if it has one, or rent a dethatcher from a lawn and garden store.

4. Remove Loose Thatch. Once you have broken up and loosened the thatch, rake it up.

5. Aerate. Aerating is the process of punching holes in your lawn to allow it to "breathe." It benefits your lawn, especially in high-traffic areas where the soil is tightly compacted, by improving drainage, breaking up heavy thatch, loosening soil, and allowing better nutrient absorption.

6. Repair. If dry patches have developed in your lawn during the summer, repair them in the fall by reseeding. Start by determining the cause of the problem. If dry patches are a result of insects or disease, identify what has attacked your lawn (you may need the help of an expert for this) and then address this problem before reseeding. If the cause is heavy traffic, consider ways to redirect traffic away from the area. Also, soil may be highly compacted in a heavy traffic area, so you may need to loosen the soil and, perhaps, add more top soil before reseeding.

7. Weed. A weed-free fall lawn will pay off in a healthier lawn come spring, so attack lawn weeds in the fall by applying an herbicide or removing weeds by hand.

8. Fertilize. Fall is the time to prepare your lawn for winter by applying a winterizing fertilizer that will encourage healthy root growth, helping your lawn to survive the winter cold and preparing it for a healthy resurgence in the spring.

9. Water. Keep watering your lawn throughout the fall. In fact, your lawn may need water more than ever during the fall months when lower humidity reduces the amount of moisture it gets.

10. Plant Winter Grass. If you would like color in your lawn throughout the winter, plant winter grass, such as winter rye, in the fall.

www.lowes.com, Repairing Bare Spots in Your Lawn

www.uri.edu, What is Thatch?

www.doityourself.com, Preparing the Lawn for Winter Leads to a Beautiful Spring

www.essortment.com, Preparing your lawn for winter