It’s pumpkin time again! And the damage done by summer may have your lawn looking like its seen better days. Take the time to complete these four fall tasks and your landscape will serve as a stunning backdrop to your outdoor fall décor.
Dethatching:
While doing the ritual raking or blowing of leaves this fall, if you see the tell-tale signs of thatch, go one step deeper to remove it now, before the matting is made more permanent and your soil is further compacted by the upcoming winter. With thatch less than an inch, a good garden rake will do the trick. However, if the thatch goes deeper and you have a very large piece of property, you may want to invest in or rent a power dethatcher. If the thatch is minimal, you can probably skip right to the next step: aeration.
Aeration:
Addressing compaction now will get your lawn ready for winter dormancy and ensure a healthy revival in spring. Aerate your lawn in September with a core aerator that has hollow metal tubes or tines that remove plugs of soil from the ground, penetrating the soil to a depth of two to three inches. When your work is completed, you’ll have approximately 20 to 40 holes per square foot. For the do-it-yourselfer, aerators are often available at rental agencies or you can obtain aerating services from most professional lawn care companies. After you aerate, mow or rake your lawn again to break up the soil cores.
Overseeding:
Your lawn goes dormant in winter year after year and, and when it re-emerges in spring, it could eventually appear tired and lackluster. Overseeding will keep your lawn healthy, strong, green, weed-free and disease-resistant. Fall is the best time to overseed because the soil is warm and the air temperatures cool, encouraging seeds to germinate.
When overseeding or repairing your lawn, be careful not to scatter the seed over grass clippings or leaves. The seed must have good contact with the soil to take hold. One way to achieve good results is to use a slit-seeder to plant seed through existing grass and debris right into the soil.
Finally, be sure to overseed with the right grass. GreenView Fairway Formula Grass Seed products provide a wide variety of quality grasses that increase stress tolerance. Kentucky Bluegrass, often mixed with Perennial Ryegrass, is best for full sun. In shady areas, fine fescues (like the ones found in GreenView Fairway Formula Dense Shade Grass Seed Mixture) are preferred. After overseeding, water often if rain is not abundant until the seeds germinate.
Fertilizing:
The most important time to fertilize is in the fall to help your grass develop a strong root system. In early fall, that’s September through mid-October, we recommend that you apply GreenView Fairway Formula Fall Fertilizer. Your lawn will be thicker and the resulting healthy root and shoot growth will give you an early green-up next spring!