With fall just right around the corner, you should use this opportunity to prepare your lawn for the upcoming seasonal transition.
Fall, as you may know, marks the end of summer. Temperatures typically decline and the days become shorter. These effects can stress grass and plants, leaving them to susceptible to disease or, in some cases, causing them to die.
So, consider the five following tips to get your lawn ready for fall.
#1) Aerate the Lawn
The early days of fall is the perfect time of year to aerate your lawn. Aeration is important because it allows grass to absorb more water and nutrients from the soil.
The process involves “scoring” the soil with a special aeration device, essentially poking hundreds or thousands of small holes into the ground. When you water or it rains, these holes fill with water, thereby providing grass with additional moisture and nutrients.
#2) Remove Dead or Dying Branches
In addition to aerating your lawn, you should also remove dead or dying branches from trees. Why is this necessary? Well, the temperature fluctuations in fall can stress trees.
If a tree is already stressed, cold temperatures may cause it to die, sending any loose branches plummeting to the ground below. To protect yourself, your family and your property from harm, remove all dead or dying branches from overhanging trees.
#3) Remove Leaves
A characteristic sign of the fall season is the presence of bright-colored leaves blanketing the ground. While leaves such as this are attractive, they can also restrict your lawn from getting sunlight and nutrients.
If you see your lawn is blanketed with leaves, use a rake to remove them. Assuming you have a compost bin, you can even use them as compost material for your garden or other green thumb projects.
#4) Lower the Mower Blade
Should you raise or mower your lawnmower blade during fall? Some homeowners believe that it’s best to raise it, as this minimizes stress on the grass. Others, however, believe that they should lower their lawnmower blade so that more sunlight will reach the grass.
Well, the latter is typically recommended by most professional landscapers. Lowering the blade means that your lawn will receive more sunlight during this otherwise critical time of year.
#5) Fertilize
Finally, use this opportunity to fertilize your lawn one last time for the year. Giving your lawn an application of nitrogen, phosphorus and calcium (NPK) fertilizer will strengthen its nutritional makeup, allowing it to weather the otherwise cold and stressful fall season.
Simmons Tree Care offers tree planting, tree pruning and shrub trimming, tree removal and stump grinding contact us today for a free quote.
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