Summertime can be rather intense for homeowners. Keeping a lawn healthy and green in the midst of summertime heat and drought can be an ongoing battle. But fall’s cooler temperatures, shorter days and increased rainfall all mean easier times for lawn grass. So it’s certainly natural for homeowners to relax a bit when fall rolls around.
But don’t relax too much. Though Mother Nature has turned down the heat, your lawn can still use some TLC – even during the relaxed months of autumn.
Fall, in fact, is a great time to perform two very important lawn care tasks – both of which will help your lawn to recover from summer stress and prepare for winter’s wrath.
Task #1: Fertilization
Fall fertilization gives your lawn a badly needed shot in the arm. During the severity of summer, many plants tend to grow slower. Lawn grass may even go into a state of dormancy if summer extremes are particularly harsh.
But during the milder, wetter days of autumn, plants perk back to life. Lawn grasses begin growing again. And they need nutrients to grow properly.
Fall fertilization is particularly important because fall growth helps to set the stage for next spring’s reawakening. Growth that occurs during the fall strengthens and expands the root system of your lawn grass. And a healthy root system will provide a base for next spring’s growth. The strengthened root system will also help to make your lawn grass more resistant to disease.
While you’re attending to your lawn’s fall fertilization needs, don’t neglect the other plants in your landscape. Bushes and trees will also benefit from a fall feeding – particularly so because all of the leaves that fall to the ground and are raked away at most homes represent a massive loss of nutrients from the soil.
Task #2: Aeration
Aeration is the process of perforating lawn sod with many small-diameter holes. It’s a process that many homeowners neglect, or don’t even know about. That’s a shame, because aeration can be very beneficial for lawn grasses.
Aeration helps to alleviate soil compaction. Compacted soil is very detrimental to plant health, preventing proper penetration and circulation of water, oxygen and nutrients.
A compacted lawn is far more susceptible to diseases and disorders, including lawn thatch. And though the severity may vary from lawn to lawn, compaction is virtually unavoidable in lawns because of foot traffic and regular lawn care tasks such as mowing.
If you’re growing a cool-season variety of turf in your lawn, fall is the best time to aerate. And aerating in the fall just before you apply your fall fertilizer will aid in helping the fertilizer penetrate deeper into the soil.
We Can Help With Both…
If you prefer to spend your fall relaxing and enjoying the mild weather, just give as a call. Lawn fertilization and aeration happen to be two of our specialties at TLC Inc.
But whatever you do, don’t allow the relaxed, delightful days of autumn distract you from taking care of these two essential chores. Otherwise, your lawn is likely to pay a price in diminished health and vigor next growing season.