With fall here, many homeowners stop paying attention to their lawns until spring. However, cooler weather doesn’t mean you should forgo lawn care altogether. To prepare for colder weather, there are fall lawn maintenance tasks that will keep the soil and grass healthy so your property looks beautiful year-round.
How to Get Started with Fall Lawn Maintenance
The leaves are falling, your flowers are finished blooming, and many trees are becoming dormant until warmer weather returns. This season inspires mixed feelings because the leaves are beautiful while they last, but winter is on the way. Many homeowners enjoy the routine lawn care of the spring and summer months. If this is you, there’s no need to fret: there’s plenty of fall lawn maintenance to tend to.
Rake the Leaves
There are opposing schools of thought when it comes to leaf removal. Some experts suggest leaving them to create a habitat for microorganisms and to add nutrients to the soil when they decompose. However, raking or blowing leaves is a widely accepted practice and one that is often expected by your neighbors.
If you choose to remove the leaves from your yard, there are some benefits. Keeping the lawn tidy from leaf debris will help prevent certain types of fungi from developing in the soil, and you’ll avoid dead patches of grass that may occur when wet leaves are on the lawn for extended periods of time.
Fall Maintenance: Aerate & Lime the Lawn
Fall is an ideal time of year for aerating the lawn so it will receive sufficient oxygen and other essential nutrients. Equipment rental facilities usually have aerators that you can rent for a day at a reasonable cost. These machines pull small plugs of soil out of the lawn, loosening root structures and opening pathways for nutrients to enter. Most landscaping companies also offer aeration services. If this doesn’t sound like a task you feel confident tackling, hire a pro.
If the soil in your area leans toward the acidic side of the pH scale, spread garden lime on the lawn. Lime is available from your local hardware store, and you can purchase a walk-behind or handheld spreader. Liming the lawn is a simple task that makes a big difference in the health of your grass, staving off fungal growth and supporting increased nutrient uptake.
Cool-Weather Grass Seed
If there are bare spots on your lawn, fall is a good time for spreading grass seed. Choose a cool-weather variety and spread it at least 45 days before the first frost. The milder temperatures of fall give the seed time to grow roots before the colder weather of winter. Water the new grass if your area doesn’t get regular rainfall.
Legacy Property Inspections offers inspection services to customers in Southeast Georgia. Contact us to schedule an appointment.