As the temperatures drop and the days get shorter, it may seem like the perfect time to relax and stop caring for your lawn. Autumn, however, is the ideal time to prepare for spring. Take advantage of the cooler temperatures and improve your landscape with additional and new plants. Help your grass build the strength it needs to survive our long, cold, harsh Massachusetts winters. Below are some fall lawn care tips and suggestions on how to best clean up your yard and prepare it for the upcoming frigid months.
Continue to Mow That Lawn
While it may seem like you should be done mowing your lawn, grass continues to grow until the first frost arrives. Leaving your grass too long runs the risk of fungus and mold. Leaving grass too short affects its root system and makes it harder for your lawn to handle cold air in the winter. We suggest mowing at approximately a two to three-inch height every week or so until the first freeze.
Remove Those Leaves Promptly
Trees provide shade, air for us to breathe, and a beautiful display of colors. Once the leaves change colors and fall to the ground, it’s essential to keep them maintained. A large pile of leaves block light and trap moisture. They can create the perfect environment for harboring dangerous diseases, rodents, and other pests. They can also compress grass blades, making it harder for you to mow once the leaves have decomposed. Once the leaves start to decay, they can grow mold, bad for those with allergies. Barefoot Lawns suggest using a rake or leaf blower once a week to help your grass breathe.
Whether or Not to Water
As long as your grass continues to grow, you will want to keep watering. Usually, after the first frost, or by the end of October, you are probably ok to discontinue this. It is also the perfect time to disconnect hoses and flush irrigation systems, so you don’t have to worry about frozen or busted pipes over the winter.
Fall Fertilization
As crazy as it sounds, Fall is the perfect time to fertilize your grass. It helps strengthen your lawn, increasing its durability for the spring. As part of our Organic Lawn Care Program, we apply our fourth application of organic-based fertilizer in early fall. This helps to support turf density while preparing your root system for our regional winters. Barefoot Lawns’ last yearly treatment is applied in late fall to help promote root growth and allow lawns to store the nutrients needed to last throughout the winter.
Planting in the Fall
Don’t let the cooler temperatures fool you! The soil is still warm from the summer sun, and below-ground remains quite active. Roots are growing, microbes and earthworms are ferociously at work. Fall is the perfect time to plant crocus, daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, and other spring-flowering bulbs. They will put all their energy into root-building, increasing their strength and endurance in the spring. So go ahead, dig up your garden, add new plants, and shake up the look of your garden.
Barefoot Lawns is the Answer to All Your Lawn Care Needs
We offer a full-scale, year-round solution explicitly designed to help Massachusetts’ lawns thrive. Barefoot Lawns’ comprehensive proactive lawn and turf solutions use a specially formulated mix of fertilization and weed control. We offer an organic-based fertilizer in both early and late fall that promotes fall color, increases the strength of your lawn, and prepares it for the winter through nutrient storage and root growth. Call 508-281-1441 today or send us a message.
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