How To Prepare Your Lawn For The Fall

With fall here and the wintertime quickly approaching, you're perhaps not spending much time concerned about your lawn. But autumn, with its occasional rainfall and cold temps, is the perfect time to get your yard ready for next spring.

Numerous homeowners believe lawns require less care in the fall since the grass sprouts quite slowly. In reality, it’s just the contrary. This time of year, the grass is actively absorbing nutrients, moisture, and energy in preparation for a dormant, long winter. Pay it some attention now, and you'll be repaid with a healthy, lush spring lawn. Just follow these suggestions to prepare your yard for the fall.

Mow On
Continue to mow your lawn, water as needed, during the fall. Then as the season comes to a close, put the mower's blade on its lowest setting for the last mowing job of the year. This will let more sunlight get to the crown of the grass, meaning fewer leaves will be turning brown in the wintertime.

Aerate the Soil
Fall is when you should aerate your lawn so that fertilizer, water, and oxygen can get to the roots. You can rent a lawn aerator. This machinery rapidly puts holes into the soil, removing plugs of dirt. If you've got a huge outdoor space and didn't want to aerate it yourself, ask a York tree service company to do it for you.

Rake the Leaves
Raking leaves isn’t a fun job. However, it crucial to get fallen leaves out of your lawn as fast as possible. Don't wait until every leaf has fallen from your trees to begin raking. If you do, the leaves will be wet from morning dew and rain, sticking together, and creating a thick mat that if left unmoved will smother the grass and develop fungus.

Fertilize to Grow
Most tree specialists agree: If you fertilize your grass just once a year, do it in the fall. Why? Your lawn grows way slower as the weather gets colder. Though, the roots continue to grow rapidly. An application of fertilizer in the fall brings vital nutrients, so the grass grows deep roots now and to have nutrients on standby for a fresh start come spring.