Fall Lawn Care Checklist

One of the key points we regularly bring up on this blog is that the best way to set your lawn up for success in the spring is by covering essential lawn care tasks in the fall. We have covered some of these different tasks before, such as aerating, seeding, and the like. In this post, though, we are going to collect the essentials of a good fall lawn care checklist in one place so you can use it as a reference.

Clear the Leaves
Even one tree can drop a tremendous number of leaves on your lawn. Each successive tree creates a seemingly exponential increase in the leaves on your lawn. Sure, they may look beautiful, but they are not good for your lawn. They do two things, in particular, that can kill your grass: block the sunlight and trap moisture. As the leaves descend from the trees, stay diligent in your raking or blowing and don't let them pile up. Also, even after your trees have dropped all of their leaves, autumn winds can blow neighborhood leaves around. These leaves love to collect in the corners of yards, where fences meet. Make sure you clear those leaves out, as well. Anywhere you leave piles of leaves resting over the winter, you will have dead spots on your lawn come spring.

Adjust Your Mowing Height
As fall rolls around, you may notice that your lawn is requiring mowing less frequently. Still, keep that mower within reach. Though it might seem slower, you grass will keep growing right up to the first frost of the season. As such, you'll want to keep mowing until then. The key is to set the deck height on your mower to about 2.5-3 inches. If you let the grass grow longer than that, it can mat and become more susceptible to fungi. Cutting it too short, though, presents its own problems as it can restrict root growth. This is because root depth is directly related to grass height. With a compromised root system, your grass will struggle to survive the dry and cold of a long winter.

Bonus: Mowing in fall can chop up your leaves, too. So instead of a blanket of leaves that can harm your grass, you get wonderful soil-enriching mulch instead!

Keep Watering
When you are finally past the scorching summer heat, it can be easy to forget to water. After all, fall brings cooler temps and more rain, which is great for your lawn. That said, in fall, you really want to focus on doing everything you can to promote the good root growth that helps a lawn not just survive in winter, but also thrive in the spring. Continued watering is a great way to do this. If you are not getting an inch of rain (minimum) each week, you should keep watering right up through Halloween, if necessary.

Lawn Aeration
When soil becomes compacted and/or covered with thatch, it can become very difficult for roots to get the oxygen, water, and nutrients they need to grow strong. The best way to address these issues is with lawn aeration. A good plug/core aerator punches holes through thatch and removes little plugs of soil from the ground. Ideally, you'll want to aerate right before your fall fertilization to ensure that your fertilizer can get right down to the roots where it can be most beneficial for your lawn.

Lawn Fertilization
As just mentioned, fall fertilizing is a great way to prepare your lawn for spring growth. In fall, you'll want to consider a slow-release 24-0-10 granular fertilizer. Those numbers refer to the weight of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium in the fertilizer, respectively. Potassium is especially beneficial during fall fertilization, because it aids in cold resistance, drought tolerance, and disease prevention.

Runoff is always a concern with fertilizing, as it can lead to contamination in waterways. For that reason, you will want to keep at least five feet away from any water when you fertilize and make sure you have a few dry days in the forecast to prevent rain from washing your fertilizer into waterways.

Seeding
You know one of the best ways to prevent weeds from growing in your lawn? Have a nice, dense lawn. This is where over-seeding is really beneficial. It fills in bare spots and introduces more-resilient, less-drought-prone grass into your lawn. Late spring is a good time to seed, fall is even better... both for the same reasons:

cooler temperatures
warm ground
increased moisture
less direct sunlight in the day

Proper seeding isn't as simple as scattering seed around the ground. That's essentially just feeding the birds. You'll want to make sure the seeds are in full contact with the soil, so they can take root. They'll also need regular but not too much watering to ensure proper germination.

Check out our more in-depth article on late summer seeding.

Keep to a Schedule
For the best results, each of the chores above need to be carried out at the right time. If they aren't, you are just wasting time, energy, and sometimes money. For example, if you seed too late in the season, the seedlings won't be strong enough to survive the cold. If you fertilize too late, it will be difficult for the roots to absorb the nutrients in time for it to make a difference. If you think you can put off aeration until spring, think again. That would just make it even easier for weed seeds to hunker down in your lawn, too.

For best result, know the order in which these tasks must be done and put them on your calendar. Also, watch the weather for windows of opportunity. If you have to move a task ahead or behind a few days to take advantage of ideal weather, you should do that.

In Conclusion
A good looking lawn takes regular care. In fall, it can be too easy to slip as the grass grows a little more slowly and the weeds start to die. In actuality, the work you do in fall puts you in the best position to have a great looking lawn come spring!

For all of your commercial lawn maintenance needs, feel free to contact E.P.M. online or call us at 517.990.0110 today!