Fall is coming in fast. The leaves are falling, temperatures are dropping and excitement is in the air as school starts up again.
But with the approach of fall also comes some seasonal responsibility for your home maintenance. Fall is the optimal time to prepare your yard for the harsh winters so you can have a beautiful lawn when springtime comes around.
Try these six things to keep your lawn in tiptop shape during the seasonal climate changes.
Mow the Lawn
Until it gets really cold, your lawn is going to continue to grow. So, it’s important to stay on top of mowing it every 7-10 days to make sure the sun can reach the crown of the grass.
You might even want to cut your grass shorter toward the end of the season to allow more sunlight to the crown and prevent browning.
Make sure you water and mow your lawn as needed until the cold season hits.
Clean up Debris
Now is the perfect time to start removing debris like leaves, pinecones, branches and unwanted stones from your yard. Leaves and pinecones will continue to fall throughout the season, so try to stay on top of raking them up once a week when you mow.
Clearing out this debris will keep your grass healthy when the snow comes. Large stones and branches left in your grass could cause dead spots when the snow melts again.
Aerate Soil
You can rent your own aerator for a day.
However, if you’re uncomfortable doing this yourself, seek out some professionals like YardMasterServices.com or another local yard maintenance service.
Manage Weeds
The optimal growth time for weeds is during the fall. Make sure to get them now so your yard will be clear of them in the spring.
Pull large weeds that are in your flower bed. You can also apply an herbicide to large patches of weeds like dandelions that are taking over your lawn.
Just make sure to pay close attention to the instructions and use something that won’t harm your grass as well. This is another service you can seek out local professionals for.
Fertilize
Another thing fall is the perfect time for – fertilizing your lawn. While your grass blades start to grow more slowly in the cooler temperatures, the roots are continuously growing at a steady rate, digging deeper and stronger into the soil.
So the fall is a great time to spread some fertilizer of your lawn to allow those roots to take a stronger hold in your yard for even more beautiful grass next year.
Fill in Bare Spots
This is also a great time to fill in the bare spots in your lawn. Grass dies sometimes, and we can’t always do much to save it.
But you can replace it by spreading new grass seed and fertilizer so it will sink in its roots now and grow beautifully in the spring. Before planting the seed, be sure to loosen up the soil in the bare spots of your lawn with a rake.
Once planted, water every other day for a couple weeks to ensure optimal growth.
Soon fall will be in full swing, with the leaves falling and Halloween lurking nearby. With the weather cooling, it’s too easy to just stay inside the warm house watching movies and drinking cocoa with your family.
As comfy as that sounds, it’s important to get out of the house and keep moving every so often. So, instead of staying indoors, try some of these fun family bonding activities.
