Fall Lawn Care
Fall Lawn Care
Important Lawn Care Tips for Autumn
As the seasons change, your lawn care techniques should change as well. Here at M&R we want to help you transition your lawn for colder weather with ease. Below are some important tips and tricks for prepping your lawn during the fall season and preparing it for winter.
Mowing
Before you put away your mower for the season, it is helpful to mow your lawn slightly shorter during fall. Typically cutting 1-2 inches shorter is recommended during the fall season. You should continue cutting this way until it is time to put away your mower for winter. Doing this will help stop your grass from matting underneath leaves or snow.
Watering
Ensure your lawn is receiving enough water. Typically, your lawn requires about 1 inch of water per week during the fall season. It is also important to water your lawn as evenly as possible if you are not receiving adequate rainfall for your lawn. It is helpful to water your lawn in the morning to help avoid evaporation. If you irrigate your lawn, you will also want to check your system’s valves and make sure water is draining properly out of any irrigation components to prevent freezing/damage during the winter season.
Aeration
Regular aeration helps to prevent roots or debris blocking your soil from getting the proper oxygen and nutrients it needs. It is helpful to cut and water your lawn before aerating. This will allow the ground to be soft enough for the aerator to penetrate the soil and also helps when it comes time to fertilize and seed your lawn in the spring.
Fertilizer
The best time to fertilize your lawn is during the fall season. It is always best to use too little versus too much fertilizer. You can figure out the amount you need based on the nitrogen concentration in your lawn. Doing a soil test right before fertilizing will help give you the most accurate nitrogen concentration readings as they can change frequently. The recommended levels of nitrogen for turfgrass are from 2.75-4.2%. To figure out the amount of fertilizer needed, simply multiply the total weight of the bag of fertilizer times the percent of Nitrogen listed on the bag for nitrogen to get the total pounds of nitrogen in the bag. It is best to fertilize your lawn twice during the fall season; once during September/October then again in November.
Grass Seed
Fall is also the best time to overseed your lawn. This will help fill in the bare patches, as well as help with weeds popping up in other areas of your lawn come springtime. It is best to seed your lawn at least 45 days before the first frost. Also, make sure to keep your lawn moist until the seeds have germinated.
Leaf Removal
Keeping up with leaf removal will help keep your lawn from getting damaged/suffocating. There are a variety of power tools/leaf blowers to help with this process during fall. We offer a wide variety of Stihl leaf blowers to help fit your lawn care needs! Feel free to stop into either of our locations and we will be sure to find you the right power tools to help you with your fall lawn care. You can also shop our Stihl power tools online.
Contact our rental departments if you’re in need of any equipment to get your fall cleanup tasks conquered! And once you’re finished with fall cleanup, don’t forget to get your equipment serviced for winter! Our trained service team will be happy to prep-your equipment for the winter season so it’s in proper condition when spring comes again.