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Fall Care for Healthy Lawns
By Melinda Myers |
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Summer can be hard on our lawns. Fall is the perfect time to help your lawn recover from the stressors of summer and prepare for winter. The warm soil and cooler temperatures promote root growth and thickening of the lawn.
Continue to mow the lawn as long as it keeps growing. Mow high to encourage deep roots and leave clippings on the lawn. They add nutrients and organic matter to the soil and do not cause thatch. There's no need to cut the lawn shorter for winter unless you are in an area subject to winter diseases.
Consider core aeration if your lawn is suffering from compacted soil and thatch. Core aeration machines remove plugs of soil in the lawn, allowing air and water to reach and nourish the grass roots while promoting the breakdown of the thatch. Overseed thin lawns after core aerating. This will enable you to get good seed to soil contact and ultimately enjoy a thicker more lush lawn.
Fall fertilization helps lawns recover from summer stress, encourages root growth, thickens your grass stand, and prepares the lawn for winter. Use a low nitrogen fertilizer like Milorganite to encourage slow steady growth and prevent damage to already stressed lawns.
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Four Simple but Important Steps to Prepare Your Garden for Fall
By Joe Lamp'l, Gardening Expert and host of Growing a Greener World®
Towards the end of summer, many plants, especially edibles, have worked very hard over their relatively short life. They've grown from seeds or seedlings to full size productive plants, bearing a bounty of fruit in a matter of weeks. That's a lot to ask. Moreover, they've dealt with pests and diseases, brutal heat, torrential downpours, depleted nutrient supplies, and yet they power through it as long as they can.
Your lawn and other plants around the landscape have endured the same fate. So you can't blame any of them for looking pretty tattered by this time. In fact, by now I feel (and look) a lot like my plants. We all need a break.
But what re-energizes me this time each year is that I know it's time for a fresh start all around my yard. So as I prepare for my fall garden, I know the work I do now will pay huge dividends over the next few months and beyond. Read More...
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Checklist for Fall Landscape Care
By Horticulture Expert Melinda Myers.
You can see and feel the change of seasons. Fall color is starting to appear, pansies, mums and asters are in the garden center and your thoughts are turning to preparing your landscape for winter.
Those in warm climates are switching to winter annuals, while those in colder regions are fortifying their landscapes for the cold winter ahead. No matter where you live, invest some time in preparing your landscape for the change in seasons. Dedicating some time now will pay off with healthier more beautiful plants next spring. Read More…
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