Fall Lawn Care Tactics

The leaves are beginning to fall and a slight chill is entering the Colorado air. You may find some relief that your lawn care care season is over. Well according to lawn care experts, that isn’t true. Fall is just as vital to your lawn care health as spring. This post highlights some of the tactics that will set your lawn up for success next year.

Managing Leaf Drop

This section used to be called raking leaves but recently, lawn experts have begun to have a more nuanced opinion about what to do with leaves.

If your property has several deciduous trees, it’s likely best to rake the leaves because they can pile up in to several layers which when snowed on can form a packed layer of material blocking the sun from the lawn during an important time of root growth. However, leaves have also begun to be seen for what they are; an important and natural and free fertilizer. Mowing your leaves on it’s highest setting actually can create short term leaf residue but this will sink into the soil strengthening the overall biology of the yard by preserving naturally occurring microbes in the soil.

Scattered fallen leaves on short grass in a small forest.

Fall Lawn Fertilization

Before the winter moisture moves in fertilization will help promote root growth and create a robust underground network for a fuller and richer lawn to emerge. Cool season grasses in particular recover from the heat of summer, during the fall. The store carbohydrates in the stems and root stalks. In addition to promoting root growth the next year, carbohydrates also help prevent  winter injury, caused by road deicing materials, vole activity and mold. 

Over Seeding

This is a new idea for some but has been an effective way to fill in bald spots in the fall and help crowd out weeds before they start. Like many lawn care innovations, this practice of simply seeding existing lawn started with the golf course maintenance industry, but has become a regular maintenance practice for many lawn care companies.  Lawn planting or sod installation is also best down in late summer early fall gives time to establish the root system and prevents burning by the hotter mid summer sun. 

 

Other Lawn Care Topics

When is Lawn Fertilizing Service Effective?

Should I Aerate My Lawn? 

Use Revive and Get That Greener Lawn