How to prepare your lawn for fall
September is an excellent time to address your lawn and prepare it for the colder months to come. If your lawn is properly winterized, it has a better chance of surviving the colder temperatures, and it will be more likely to flourish when spring arrives.
Tips to protect your lawn
Begin with a basic cleanup. Rake leaves, remove branches and clear flower beds. Move cans of paint indoors to keep the paint from freezing.
Clear leaves from the yard. Fallen leaves will deprive your grass of crucial sunlight during the fall months. Leaves can also accumulate and get wet, leading to mould growth and attracting pests, such as termites. Cover the grill and any patio furniture.
Mow grass until it stops growing. Keep it about 7.5 centimetres tall to minimize weed growth.
Put away lawn equipment and hoses. Drain gasoline and dispose of it properly, or run lawn equipment until gasoline is empty. It can gel over winter and cause problems with engine starts.
Aerate your lawn in the fall for good root development. Aeration allows for air, moisture and fertilizer to travel to the roots of the grass more efficiently. If your lawn includes bald spots, sow grass seed to fill them in.
Plant flower bulbs in late fall to establish strong roots before winter. Add a five-to-seven-cm layer of mulch around your plants.
Fall is the best time to plant trees. Water newly planted trees and bulbs with four centimetres of water every week. Trim tree branches away from the roof and gutters.
How to fertilize your lawn
For cool-season grasses, fall lawn fertilization helps promote healthy roots, which translates to a more verdant and pest- and disease-resistant lawn for spring. If you’re not interested in doing the job yourself or are concerned you’ll harm your grass, consider hiring a lawn-care treatment professional to spruce up your greenery for you.
If you’d like to take on the task yourself, first find out what type of grass you have, with the help of online research.
Most cool-season grasses can be fertilized in late spring or late fall. Warm-season lawns are best fertilized in the late spring or summer.
For cool-season grasses, experts generally recommend fertilizing twice in fall: once in early fall with a high-nitrogen fertilizer to strengthen blade growth, and again in late fall with a highphosphorus fertilizer to promote root growth.
Choose your fertilizer carefully and read the labels to make sure they’re compatible with your grass type.
Ideally, wait for a cool day and some rain. Spread the fertilizer carefully, using gloves. If you’re using a granular fertilizer instead of liquid, use a fertilizer spreader, which you can buy at your local hardware store.
Water after fertilizing. Most dry fertilizer products require water to be effective, but you can usually wait a few days for rain after fertilizing. However, if kids or pets will use the lawn soon after treatment or temperatures are above 29 C, water the lawn shortly after fertilizing.
Be sure to maintain your mowing after fertilizing, as your grass will grow faster. Paul F. P. Pogue is a reporter for Angie’s List, a provider of consumer reviews and an online marketplace of services. AngiesList.com