How to take care of your lawn in late fall?
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During the months of October and November, the grass is still growing, and, as the months progress, the grass is growing more underground than aboveground. At some point, you will put the lawn mower away for the season, but life still goes on below the surface.
Why it is too late for grass seed
This time of year does provide moisture for new grass seed, but it is becoming progressively too cool for the plants to mature in time for winter. Survival is not likely, unless you have an unusually warm November. Best to wait until spring to do any seeding.
Why it is important to clean up leaves
You need to keep the leaves from matting down and smothering the grass. It is not always necessary to rake or blow every single leaf off. If you are using a mulching mower, you can make several passes to shred the leaves. If the leaves are dime-sized and loosely scattered without smothering, you are recycling organic matter and this will eventually return some nutrients for the lawn.
Can you fertilize your lawn in late fall?
This is what lawn care experts suggest for good winter survival and early spring green-up. Essentially, this entails applying your spring dose of high nitrogen fertilizer (e.g. 30-0-3) in the late fall, after you have put your lawn mower away for the season.
The grass is no longer growing on top, but the roots continue to grow. The nitrogen fix enhances the cycle: darker green equals more chlorophyll content, which increases photosynthesis, and that leads to increased sugars stored in the roots.
These stored sugars not only improve winter survival, but also spring recovery. What is very interesting is that in the spring, your lawn will be the first on the block to green up, and it is green without excessive top growth. You skip your application of fertilizer next spring with this activity.
How to prepare a lawn mower for storage
It is recommended that you use gas with a fuel stabilizer additive for all your gas-powered equipment. This way, you don’t need to drain all the gas out of your lawn equipment for the winter.
And when you were cutting the grass at the end of the season, did you notice if the leaf blades had a shredded appearance on the tips? If so, this is a good time to sharpen the mower blade(s). Make sure you clean the equipment before winter storing, especially under the deck of the mower.
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