Weekend Project: Start your fall lawn care during the Labor Day break
Sep 3, 2009 7:30 PM
Investing part of this Labor Day weekend in your yard could pay off handsomely next spring. During this “second spring,” air temperatures can be favorable, weeds are less active and more vulnerable to herbicides, and the still-warm ground gives seedlings lots of time to germinate. Here’s how to master fall lawn and yard care:
• Start with a soil test. The video (right) describes how doing so will help you amend your soil so plants will fare better and your fertilizer will work better and last longer.
• Match mowing to your grass. Cool-season grasses like fine fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass grow fastest in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall, when they need more-frequent mowing (follow these mowing tips). If you skipped this midseason maintenance on your mower (especially these engine-killing omissions), do it now.
• Don’t put off fertilizing. September is also the best month to fertilize both cool-season grasses and warm-season varieties like Bermuda grass, St. Augustine grass, and zoysia grass. We recommend two applications—the first soon after Labor Day, the second around the last time you mow for the year. Fall is also a good time to reseed or use sod to replant or repair grass.
• Fix these common problems. Check out our interactive gallery of weeds, insects, and diseases and smart solutions to other pitfalls and pests like moss, dog urine, grubs, and moles. Remedies for regional problems are also on tap.
• Water with winter in mind. If rains have been sparse recently, apply plenty of water, even if temperatures are cool. Lawns that enter winter stressed from drought are likelier to be damaged by cold weather.
• Plant but don’t prune. Fall is also a good time to plant (though not prune) trees and shrubs. It’s the time to plant crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, and other spring-flowering bulbs throughout most of the country.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums
Essential information: Find answers to your specific questions in the fall yard cleanup section of our lawn & garden forum. Find ratings and maintenance advice for a wide variety of lawn and yard equipment on our main lawn and garden page.
• Start with a soil test. The video (right) describes how doing so will help you amend your soil so plants will fare better and your fertilizer will work better and last longer.
• Match mowing to your grass. Cool-season grasses like fine fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and perennial ryegrass grow fastest in the cooler temperatures of spring and fall, when they need more-frequent mowing (follow these mowing tips). If you skipped this midseason maintenance on your mower (especially these engine-killing omissions), do it now.
• Don’t put off fertilizing. September is also the best month to fertilize both cool-season grasses and warm-season varieties like Bermuda grass, St. Augustine grass, and zoysia grass. We recommend two applications—the first soon after Labor Day, the second around the last time you mow for the year. Fall is also a good time to reseed or use sod to replant or repair grass.
• Fix these common problems. Check out our interactive gallery of weeds, insects, and diseases and smart solutions to other pitfalls and pests like moss, dog urine, grubs, and moles. Remedies for regional problems are also on tap.
• Water with winter in mind. If rains have been sparse recently, apply plenty of water, even if temperatures are cool. Lawns that enter winter stressed from drought are likelier to be damaged by cold weather.
• Plant but don’t prune. Fall is also a good time to plant (though not prune) trees and shrubs. It’s the time to plant crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, and other spring-flowering bulbs throughout most of the country.—Gian Trotta | e-mail | Twitter | Forums
Essential information: Find answers to your specific questions in the fall yard cleanup section of our lawn & garden forum. Find ratings and maintenance advice for a wide variety of lawn and yard equipment on our main lawn and garden page.
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