Get your lawn ready for winter

When the leaves change and the days get cooler, you might think that lawn care is done for the year. But fall is actually the best time of year to strengthen and beautify the yard.
The first thing to do is remove all the leaves and debris. Leaves left on the lawn prevent sunlight and air from reaching the grass, and therefore encourage disease. Rake the leaves and add them to a compost pile or go over them with a mulching mower, chopping them into fine mulch for the grass.
Next, evaluate the lawn – find bare spots and weedy patches that need attention.
Seeding. Early fall is the best time for planting grass seed in thin and bare spots because the ground temperature is still warm. Some time around Labor Day is good for most areas – the new grass has time to become established before the ground freezes. Seed should be planted while temperatures can be expected to be warm for another six to eight weeks.
Seed germination requires regular moisture as well as warm soil temperatures. Natural rainfall is best, but if the weather is dry, manually water for proper germination.
Water with a fine mist spray to avoid pooling. Once the seed starts to sprout, the moisture supply must be constant or the seedlings may die.
Feeding. Cool-season grasses such as ryegrass, fescue, and bluegrass should be fertilized in September, October, or November. Fall feeding strengthens the roots, building a foundation for long-lasting health.
Winterizing fertilizers also have more potassium than regular lawn food. This boosts the lawn’s disease and drought resistance, and strengthens it against wear and cold weather.
Weeding. Fall is a great time to tackle next year’s weeds. Broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions, broadleaf plantain and ground ivy, can be pulled out by hand anytime. But autumn is when they’re most vulnerable to weed killers.
A double duty winterizer will not only feed your lawn, but take care of future weeds. If you have just a few areas with weeds, consider using a weed and feed only in those places and a regular winterizer where there aren’t any problems. It won’t hurt to use the weed control on the whole yard, but it’s not necessary.
To get even an application, use a quality spreader. There are two basic types: rotary and drop. Rotary spreaders broadcast over a wide area beyond the wheelbase. When you use a rotary spreader, overlap your strips to make sure you don’t miss a spot.
A drop spreader puts lawn food down between its wheels. It lets you maneuver around tight spots and avoid spilling lawn food into flowerbeds or fishponds. Make sure to overlap the wheel marks you leave in the grass as you make your strips.
Finally, for the last mowing of the season, cut the grass about two and a half inches high. Tall grass encourages a deeper, stronger root system. Leave the grass clippings as mulch because they can return as much as 25 percent of the nitrogen back into the soil over the winter.
With a few simple steps now, you can see to it that your lawn will spring back healthier than ever.
Courtesy of Family Features