Fall is a great time for lawn care! Aerating, de-thatching, fertilizing and more tips on how to keep your lawn healthy all year long.
If your lawn is looking less than lush, overseeding this time of year will help ensure a better lawn next year.
- Mow your lawn short. 1.5 to 2 inches.
- Rake the area thoroughly. Use an overseeder rake or leaf rake taking care not to rip out existing grass. Gertens offers rental equipment for lawn & garden.
- Aerate stressed lawns to encourage good root development before winter. It helps loosen compacted soil, creating a better growing environment.
- Dethatching the lawn before overseeding will help ensure seed to soil contact. Gertens offers rentals for both aerating and dethatching. Thatch is a layer of dead and living grass shoots, stems and roots that shows up between the soil and the grass blades in your lawn.
- Broadcast starter fertilizer such as MaxLawn. Follow all label directions.
- Broadcast seed over your lawn. Gertens carries over 30 Grass Seed Mixes to fit any sun/shade/soil condition. Use a hand spreader for smaller areas and a larger broadcast spreader for larger lawns. For a more even spread, apply half in one direction and the other half in the other direction.
- Using a leaf rake, lightly rake the seed into the soil for good seed-to-soil contact. Using the back of the rake, press the seed down to avoid washout from runoff.
- Water on a regular schedule to make sure seed and soil stay moist. Sunny locations and dry weather will require you to water more frequently. Using a timer will help you achieve an even growing environment.
For seeding a new lawn read our article “Seeding a New Lawn”.
Fertilizing
NOTE: At this point in the season please make sure your lawn is green in order to ensure the effectiveness of your fertilizer application.
After over-seeding, fertilizing will give the seed an extra boost and help the existing lawn thrive through autumn. Gertens Turf Special is perfect for this time of year. Be sure that the seed is also getting enough water during the fall months. A thirsty lawn is a sad lawn. In late fall, Gertens Winterizer should be used to ensure that the work done this fall will show next spring.
Organic Options
If you’re looking to go organic, Gertens has a selection of organic fertilizers including Milorganite, Sustane and Espoma.
Fertilizing in late October builds energy in the grass root systems, forcing grass plants to push new roots and rhizomes. This process thickens your lawn and helps build deep roots along with reserves that help your lawn combat next summer's heat stress. Good roots make a great lawn.
Check out all our Lawn Care articles.
The Experts at Gertens are always available to answer your questions
