Fall/Winter Lawn Maintenance
Every year I make sure I am getting the needed maintenance done on my lawn in Fall and Winter so that I have a healthy lawn next Spring. The maintenance I do depends on the condition of my lawn as we head into Fall and Winter seasons. This year we have had wet Spring followed by a dry late Summer early Fall. My lawn is in pretty good shape right now. I have been watering the lawn in front and sides but not the back of my house. The lawn in the back of the house is in good shape but is now dormant. The lawn in the front is in good shape and growing. Here is what I am preparing for maintenance on my lawn.
Water
I have cut back on the water to the front and sides of the house. The temperatures have cooled and thus the lawn doesn’t need as much water. I am watering every 6th day right now. This seems to be sufficient.
I want to bring the lawn in the back of the house back to life. I have been watching the weather forecast and my plan is to start watering again right after we have a good rain. Use the initial rain water to wake up the lawn and then supplement with watering to get it growing actively. If the rain doesn’t come by the end of the first week in October, then I will start watering. I want the grass growing before Winter sets in.
Mowing
Throughout the summer, I mow my lawn on the highest setting I have on my lawn mower. The would be about 2.75 inches high. The reason I mow high in the summer is for weed control and for water conservation. The taller grass tends to choke out the weeds or helps to keep them from getting started. I also believe the taller grass tends to shade the lawn and hence water evaporation is slower. Word of caution… this is my belief, not a proven fact! However, this works for me.
I also use a mulching blade and do not pick up the grass clippings. I am paying good money for fertilizer and I want to return as much to the soil as possible. A good mulching blade cuts the grass up fine enough so that you can leave the grass lay there and add nutrients back to the soil.
I will continue to mow high in the fall and early winter. I plan my mowing so the last two times I mow for the year I mow at a lower setting. About 1.5 inch tall. The reason I do this is to cut the grass back so that sunlight hits the crown of the grass better. I also don’t want the grass getting matted down in the winter and creating areas for mold and mildew to grow.
Leaves
You never want leaves from the trees to lay on your lawn. They block out the sun to the soil and create areas for mold and mildew to grow. Having said that, I don’t like to rake leaves either. Since I mow with a mulching blade, I just mow over the leaves. This cuts them up to fine pieces that are small enough to leave them lay right on the grass. The nutrients from the leaves thus go back into the soil.
If the leaves fall into a big pile before I get a chance to mulch them with my mower, then I do rake them up. I put the leaves I raked up into my garden. They make good mulch for the garden.
There will be windy days in the fall. When there is, you can always count on getting leaves from your lawn and the neighbors into your landscaping. Don’t leave them there through the winter. Again they will create areas for mold and mildew. Your landscaping won’t like it! Rake them up. The garden will like them. If you don’t have a garden then you need to dispose of them.
When I was growing up, I liked the smell of burning leaves. However, now that I know the problems that the smoke causes to the environment and to people with asthma and other breathing conditions, I always use the leaves for the garden or bag them and dispose of then with the proper refuse bags.
Aeration
With the dry end of summer, my lawn in the back of the house is dry and hard. Aeration at this time won’t do much good. The aerator will not be able to penetrate the ground. Since I have been watering the front of the yard, I could aerate it. However, I don’t want to do just half of my yard.
The benefit of aeration is to create holes in the ground that would allow fertilizer to better reach the roots of the exiting lawn. It will also create holes for new seed to fall into and help promote the growth of new seed.
Since my lawn is thick right now and the back lawn is dry and hard, I am going to hold off on the aeration. If I had a number of problems areas, I would start watering the lawn now. I would then aerate and over-seed the lawn. This needs to happen when the temperatures are reduced and there is still 4-6 weeks of growing time to get the new seed started.
This year, I still plan to aerate the lawn but will do it later than usual. I will do it before the winter fertilizer is applied and after I start watering the back yard. The ground needs to be soft before you try and aerate, If not, the aerator will not be able to penetrate the ground. Watering the lawn will make it softer.
Fertilizer and Weed Killer
Generally speaking, my lawn is very thick but there are still some weeds there. Fall is the best time to try and kill the weeds. I am applying fertilizer and weed control to the front of my house since it has been getting water and is growing. The back of the house is dry and dormant. I am not applying anything at this time. I may be too late with the weed control on the back of the house. However, I am going to apply it right before I start watering again.
If you are over-seeding your lawn, do not use weed control. It may harm the new seed you put down. Double check with a professional before you sue the weed control.
In late fall early winter I plan to apply a winter fertilizer to my lawn. The roots of your lawn need nitrogen to promote growth. Fertilizer is generally described by 3 numbers. For example, a fertilizer may be marked as 25-3-10. This means that it has 25% nitrogen, 3% phosphorous, and 10% potassium. A good winter fertilizer will have twice as much nitrogen as potassium.
Summary
The needs of your lawn tend to dictate the lawn maintenance you need to do. It will vary from year to year depending on the weather conditions and the current state of your lawn. I always recommend talking with a lawn care specialist to get good advice on how to take care of your lawn. I enjoy working on my lawn and hence tend to do the work myself.