How to Prepare Your Lawn for Winter
/It's fall and it's a great time to get your lawn set up for a healthy spring season. Here are some tips to give it a boost.
1. Mow with Purpose
Keep mowing and watering your lawn as needed through the fall months. For the last two mowings of the season, you'll want to cut the grass shorter than you normally would. This lets more sunlight hit the crown of the grass. You're not supposed to cut more than 1/3 of the length of the grass when you mow so you may need to lower the blades on your mower incrementally.
2. Aerate
Many people aerate their lawns in the spring. It's actually healthier to do it in the fall. Aerating lets air, water and fertilizer get right to the roots of your grass. You can rent aerators or hire a landscaping company to do it for you. Both are pretty minimal expenses. When I did mine last it was about $50 to hire someone.
3. Rake the Leaves
You want to get the leaves off your lawn. If they are left on all winter they can suffocate the lawn and encourage fungal growth. And you need to keep the lawn cleaned off. Waiting until all the leaves drop gives time for the bottom layer of leaves to get wet and start to rot and choke the lawn. If raking is too much, mow with the bag on your mower to pick up the leaves.
4. Fertilize Specifically
Fall is a great time to give your lawn a good meal of fertilizer. Many fertilizer companies make fertilizer specific to what lawns need in the fall months. This helps the roots grow nice and strong and gives the grass a reserve of nutrients to draw on as the spring growing season begins. It's also a good time to hit the weeds with herbicide.
5. Fill in Bare Spots
The cooler weather of fall is also a good time to fill in bare spots in the lawn. An All-In-One Lawn Repair Mixture is a great way to do this. Rake up the dirt in the bare areas to break up the soil a bit and then sprinkle the repair mixture on in a good thick layer. Compact it a little and then water it. Water it every other day for a couple of weeks so it can take good hold.
Those are some simple tips for you to give your lawn a boost for the spring season. Happy fall!
