Fall is upon us, and the short and cooler days are signaling it’s ok to start slowing down a bit. But, just like a boat needs some TLC before putting it in storage after a fun summer on the water, your lawn needs some TLC as well before winter comes into full swing. How can we set your lawn up for success over the winter so it comes back just as strong in the spring? Keep reading to learn how to do exactly that!
Many leaves and needles have fallen already, and properly managing that residue is step one. If all of it is left to cover the lawn, it could suffocate the grass by significantly reducing air and water movement. If all of it is removed, you lose out on the free nutrients locked inside that residue, and the grass will have no insulating protection from the extreme cold. The trick is to remove about 75% of the residue and mulch the rest. This means the grass in your lawn reaps all the benefits! Better water and air movement, added fertility, and a little bit of cover to insulate from the cold.
Before you burn your leaves, or dispose of them offsite, consider these alternatives! Leaves are a great source of fertility when allowed to break down and decompose in a compost pile. In the spring, this broken down residue can then be applied to garden beds or back on the lawn, saving you money on fertilizer! Click this link to learn more about composting. Leaves are also the preferred nesting habitat of many native pollinators, so giving them some places to live during the winter months is an easy way to help them! Pile leaves into areas that are out of the wind to prevent them from blowing around, and in areas where they aren’t a nuisance. For example, piling leaves in flower beds, around trees, or the corner of your yard should be out of the way and not hinder additional yard work.
After the residue is taken care of, mowing is step two. Setting the mower height in the 2 - 2.5 inch range should be perfect, as long as you aren’t cutting more than a third of the overall grass height. Mowing at this height will ensure grass clippings and shredded leaves can be incorporated into the soil over the winter months while leaving the grass at a healthy height to resist diseases. After your last mowing, the third step is to aerate the lawn to maximize air and water movement, as well as promote residue and soil mixing. This can be accomplished with aeration boots, a push behind type implement, or a pull behind type implement attached to a riding mower.
Overseeding, the fourth step, is one of the more important steps to ensure a thick and lush lawn come springtime. This is especially true if your lawn has grown thin, or developed a few bare spots from heavy use over the summer. Once you have obtained the proper seed, use a hand spreader or a push or pull type spreader to scatter the grass seed over the locations you want to fill in. By completing steps one through three beforehand, you have significantly increased the likelihood of your freshly sown seeds germinating. Great work!
Fertilizing is the final step of the year before your lawn wakes back up in spring. Since we want to make sure we do this right and don’t damage our lawn or cause any pollution, we’ll cover this step in greater detail in the November post. In the meantime, take a look at our Lawn Care Playbook to learn more lawn maintenance tips and discover resources to help you succeed!
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