Fall Cleanup
Fall lawn cleanup is an important part of your seasonal lawncare. This will prepare your landscape for a healthy beginning come next spring. Removing weeds, maintaining garden beds, and raking leaves in the fall will keep debris from building up over the winter months. Weeds, thatch and debris can rob your lawn from nutrients that it needs during the cold season. Begin your yard cleanup at the beginning of fall so you have plenty of time to deal with the leaves towards the end of fall. Better to start early before the snow falls and the holiday season begins.
Essential Tasks for Fall Cleanup
Cleanup your garden beds and remove any debris. Cut back your hosta, iris, and similar plants, but don’t cut back all your perennials in fall; they are a good home for insects and pollinators over the winter. This is the perfect time to trim your plants and remove any dead stems and branches. If you have any new plants to add to your garden, now is a good time to plant to prevent stress from the summer heat.
Adding a layer of mulch to protect your flower bed from the winter elements can be an added benefit to your garden.
Racking up the leaves is another important part of fall cleanup that you do not want to skip. Leaving piles of leaves on your lawn can cause disease and mold to grow, and provide a home for unwanted animals and rodents to nest in over winter. Mowing over your leaves and mulching them up can also be beneficial to your lawn.
Fall Lawn Maintenance
Lawn looking a little yellow, patchy, and thin in the fall? This could be from a Magnesium deficiency. Here is a simple solution that will spark some new life into your lawn this fall. Mix (1-tablespoon) of Epson salts with (1-gallon) of water. Spray on damaged parts, or the whole lawn. Apply in early October for best results. If a second treatment is necessary, you can apply late as early November. (30 days from first application). This will help rectify any nutrien deficiencies in the soil, ensuring the grass remains healthy even as temperatures drop.
Fall Lawn Mowing
We all know that mowing in the summer months is part of regular lawn maintenance, but mowing if the fall is even more important. Your lawn is still growing quickly in the fall because of the mild temperatures. It is not being stressed out by the hot summer. Mowing your lawn twice per week in the fall can help thicken your lawn and control weeds. The ideal height to mow your lawn in fall for winter preparation is between 2 inches and 2.5 inches. This keeps the grass short enough to resist disease, but not so short that it becomes overly stressed by cold temperatures. Continue to mow at that height for as long as the grass is actively growing. KEEP ON MOWING!