Tip of the week: 5 ways to prepare your landscape for fall
Even with the grass slowing down and temperatures cooling, you still need to give your landscape a little TLC to keep it healthy as we head towards its winter "hibernation".
You can follow a few of these steps to build a hardier lawn for the winter that will return to its full green glory for next spring.
You can follow a few of these steps to build a hardier lawn for the winter that will return to its full green glory for next spring.
- Apply a final application of fertilizer. Using the same fertilizer formulation you used earlier this season is fine. If you need to buy more fertilizer, look for one high in nitrogen and potassium which are good for healthy roots.
- Core aerate the lawn before winterizing the sprinkler system. Aeration pulls plugs of soil and sod out of the lawn and these holes open the soil so that roots can take in maximum moisture during the winter.
- Zap weeds. Here's your last chance this year to get after weeds. The weeds you eliminate this fall are weeds you won't see at the start of next season.
- Get expert help if you have had fungus or other turf disease or insect problems this summer.
- Adjust the sprinkler timer to water less. Daylight hours are growing shorter, overnight temperatures are getting cooler and day-time temps will become more moderate. The combination of these three factors means your landscape will be needing less and less water as we move into fall. Don't stop watering, but do adjust watering frequency and length. Make changes according to the temperature -- not by the date. Keep in mind that if you add any new plants this fall, those will be the exception as they are still becoming established.