By :
Fran Phalin
While "winter" may seem far away, September is the best month to prepare your lawn for the season's upcoming harsh weather. If you want to make sure your lawn is rejuvenated by next spring, you'll want to follow some effective methods to winterizing your lawn and as well as utilizing other helpful lawn care methods to prep your lawn for the season ahead.
Winterize Your Lawn
Mow. Start off with an end of summer mowing activity for your lawn. Raise up the mowing height one notch up and try to mow in a direction - for example, mow from north-south if you usually mow east-west.
Fertilize/Compost. This month, you can start fertilizing your lawn, focusing more on applying fertilizer with larger concentrates of phosphorous and potassium. Nitrogen is not necessary since warm-season grasses become dormant in winter. Adding organic compost to your lawn will also be beneficial by pumping in necessary nutrients for your lawn. Compost can be a combination of almost any organic material.
Control lawn insects and disease. Before you winterize your lawn, make sure you take care of any prevalent lawn disease or harmful insects to prevent them from "overwintering" in your lawn. It's a good idea to get rid of any weeds around the lawn area as well.
Rake. Use a rake to pull out dead or dying grass to let in more moisture from the season's rains. Mow monthly and use the grass clippings for your winter compost pile
Water. As your lawn begins to reflect the season's colors, that is, brown, gradually reduce watering the lawn. In dry season, water before and after applying fertilization, to make sure that the fertilization is washed down past the grass blades into the roots.
Aeration
Believe it or not, your lawn goes through a lot during the year. Your lawn may have faced heavy use and abuse from children playing, pets, and other activity. Such strains on the lawn can cause soil compaction, which significantly reduces the pore space within the soil which normally holds air. Just like we need to breathe to stay alive, your lawn's roots require oxygen to absorb nutrients and water and continue growing. Soil compaction prevents oxygen from reaching the roots by reducing total spore space and the amount of air within the soil.
Aeration involves plugging holes in the ground of your lawn and will help remedy the soil compaction among many other benefits. Aeration can help prevent fertilizer from running off in highly compacted areas and increases the activity of soil microorganisms, which decompose thatch.
To aerate your lawn, use an aerator that has hollow tines or spoons in order to penetrate into the soil well. An aerator can be purchased or rented, but be sure you are comfortable handling the machine. Before you aerate, keep in mind the following:
- Lightly water the lawn so that the soil is moist, but not completely wet.
- Water the lawn area thoroughly (1 inch of water from irrigation or rainfall) two days before aerating so that the tines can penetrate more deeply into the soil. Soil cores can then fall out of the tines more easily.
- Aerate the lawn in two different directions for overall coverage.
While it may seem like a better idea to wait until it gets closer to cold weather before taking any action on your lawn, the best treatment for your lawn starts now.
Author Resource:-
Fran Phalin is a freelance editor and writer specializing in home improvement topics. She is based in Austin, TX.
For fall lawn care help with winterizing your lawn, aeration, or other lawn project, please visit Anteater at: www.goanteater.com.
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