7 Must Do Things To Get Your Lawn Ready For Fall

Keep Mowing 

Keep mowing your lawn as you normally would until late fall. When the fall season starts coming to an end, drop your mower blade to cut the grass shorter for the last two cuttings, grass should be 1.5 inches in length. Doing this will help avoid disease issues over the winter/early spring months.

Aerate The Soil 

Over the summer, your lawn has probably suffered from heat stress and soil compacting because of this; you may have seen brown or thinned grass spots. To correct this, aerate your lawn to help your lawn be green and healthy next year. Aerating your lawn will allow oxygen, water, and fall fertilizer to reach the grass’s roots. 

Rake The Leaves

Rake and keep raking those leaves, don’t wait until all your leaves have fallen. If you do, the leaves will become wet from the rain and morning dew, causing the leaves to stick together, forming a mat that, if left unmoved, will suffocate the grass by blocking sunlight, causing thinning and fungal disease growth.

If you do not want to rake, you can use your lawnmower fitted with a collection bag or vacuum system to collect the leaves or mulch your leaves to dime-sized pieces with your lawnmower.

Whether you decide to rake or use your lawnmower, remove the leaves before they get wet and start to damage your lawn. 

Fertilization

If you want your lawn to be thick and green next year, apply fall fertilizer. Fall fertilizer is the single most important thing you can do to your lawn in the fall. Fertilizing in the fall delivers essential nutrients to your grass to grow deep roots now, and keep nutrients on reserve for a healthy start in the spring. If you have decided to aerate your lawn, fertilize soon after doing that. 

 

Fill-In Bald and thinning spots

Fall is a great time to fix any bald or thinning spots in your lawn. To fix bald or thinning spots, take a rake and loosen the soil in the place you are looking to seed. Then spread a thick layer of seed, lightly pack patch, cover with straw, then water thoroughly watering every other day for two weeks. 

 

Weed Control

If you have weeds that have infiltrated your lawn this summer, now’s the time to get rid of them. Apply a herbicide now, and the weeds won’t return in the spring. 

Insects

If you notice a pest problem in your grass, take care of it in the early fall. If left unattended, you will have severe problems in your lawn come spring-like dead patches and moles moving in. 

If you do these seven things this fall, your lawn will be looking its best come this spring.