Even though in Tennessee, it feels as though it stays summer until October, the skies are a deeper blue and the leaves are starting to turn. This is the time when fall lawn care helps guarantee a beautiful lawn next spring. So what steps should you be including in maintaining your fall lawn care in Kingsport? Promier Landscapes has some great tips for you to consider:
Keep Mowing
Lawn grass doesn’t die until after the first frost, so keep mowing, but set the blade to the lowest setting–shorter and shorter each time you mow. For the last mow, go even shorter.
Feeding Your Lawn
Your lawn needs to stock up on nutrients for the winter ahead, so give two fall feedings, both in early fall and about six weeks later toward the end of the summer season will give it plenty. It will rebuild grass roots. Because weeds are hungry, too, weed killer will be absorbed all the way to the roots, killing dandelions and clover.
Rake Your Leaves
Many of us love the fall leaves on the lawn, and kids love to play in big piles of them, but leaving leaves on the lawn is bad for your grass. They block out the sun and keep the grass from receiving its beneficial rays. They also trap moisture, which turns leaves and grass soggy and moldy. Rake once a week, and if possible cut and bag leaves to use later as mulch.
Watering
With the super-hot temperatures in the books, many people feel that sprinklers and extra watering are no longer necessary. After all, there is less evaporation in the fall. Early morning dews and the occasional rainstorm is enough for the grass. However, grass roots need to be thoroughly hydrated, and lawns need at least an inch of water a week. You can get a rain gauge at any nearby hardware store, and you can easily measure the rain every week. If your lawn is getting less than an inch, turn that sprinkler back on!
Aerate
Aerating—punching holes in the soil—is necessary for your lawn once every two years. This reveals the amount of thatch (roots, stems and debris) that have accumulated on the soil. This thatch blocks water, oxygen, and nutrients from reaching the roots of the grass. A core aerator can punch those holes and pull up plugs of soil. If you aerate before you fertilize the holes will allow more food and nutrients to reach down to the roots.
Fill in Bare or Bald Spots
Use a garden rake to scratch loose the soil at the bald spot in your lawn. Then spread a thick layer of the lawn repair mixture over the area. Lightly compact the mixture, then water thoroughly, and continue to water every other day for two weeks. Like filling in the frosting on a cake, the filling in of bald spots will make the lawn seamless and perfect.
Professional Lawn Aeration in Johnson City
If maintaining a beautiful fall lawn in Kingsport is important to you, but you’d rather watch football, play golf, or tour prime leaf country, please contact Promier Landscapes by calling (423) 872-2988. Having a beautiful lawn is just as important in the fall as it is in the spring and summer. We want to help you with all of your lawn care needs!
Promier Landscapes proudly serves the Kingsport, Johnson City, and Bristol areas.