Lawn and Grass Care Tips

Nothing sets off the beauty of your home like a rich green carpet of grass and with proper maintenance you can help keep your grass healthy year round. Hi, I’m Mike Kraft. Here are some helpful tips or things you can do in fall to help improve your lawn wherever you live. Regardless, of where you live your lawn will benefit from the three basic steps in fall. Step number one is leaf control. By raking or blowing leaves out to your lawn you give your grass the sunlight and air it needs to stay healthy. And if you want to put those leaves to good use, start a mulch or compost pile. Step number two of lawn maintenance is detaching. By the end of the summer your lawn may have build up a patch of dead roots, grasses, and other debris like this. It’s a great idea to remove it so that your lawn gets all the air it needs to thrive. The tools that you’ll need are, your lawnmower and either a garden rake, a leaf rake or a thatching rake. Start by mowing the lawn shore, so it’s about one and a half inches in height. Then use a garden rake, leaf rake or a special thatching rake like this one to remove the dead grass and roots, and by the way, the thatch makes a great addition to your compost pile. If you’re looking for a tool that does more of the work for you, we carry a de-thatching attachment from most riding mowers. You can also air aid your lawn to help remove patch. An aerator punch a small holes through the layer of thatch allowing air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots. Just attach the aerator to your mower and you’re ready to go. In step number three. Your garden’s spreader becomes the hero. It’s going to help you take care of weed control, pest control, and fertilization. Crab grass isn’t a concern during fall and winter but you should eliminate broad leaf weeds like dandelion and clover while they are still growing. The good news is you can find products that let you kill broad leaf weeds and fertilized all in one easy step and specially formulated for fall. However, if you’re going to over seed your lawn, you should wait four to six weeks before you apply a weed killer. Your local laws will have the products that’s right for your area. Generally, you’ll just need that garden spreader, protective eyewear, gloves, and weed killer fertilizer. Place the spreader on a pave surface when filling. So, if you spill you can sweep it up and put it back in the bag or spreader. You want to avoid run-off into the yard or sewer. And follow the package directions carefully because when you apply weed killer more is not better. Each product also has different specification for watering, air temperature and even when you can walk on the grass again so make sure to keep an eye on children and pets. Here’s a good way to make sure your spreader gives you the best results. Before you begin, decide which way you want to run the spreader back and forth across your lawn, and then make your first two runs along the outside edges in the opposite direction. This creates a convenient turning zone so that fertilizer and weed killer aren’t spread beyond your lawn. When you’re finished don’t forget to hose up your shoes and tools. Make sure you clean up away from water sources such as upon the stream so there’s no run off. Everything we’ve talked about applies to both northern and southern lawns in the fall. Now, let’s talk about the differences between the two regions. If you live in the northern region, you’ll probably have cool season grass varieties like Ryegrasses, Bluegrasses, and Fescues. They stop growing in the winter but they generally stay green. These grasses will continue to need watering in September, October, and November so that they have enough moisture to get through the colder months to come. During the fall you’ll also continue to mow. A good height is two and a half to three inches, so that there’s plenty of surface area to absorb sunlight and water during this last growth spurt. You may even want to think about investing in a multi-mower. The clipping is not only about organic matter back into the soil. They also have nitrogen. It’s like mowing and fertilizing in one-easy step. You can find mulching mowers and mulching blades for your existing mower in our lawn and garden department at Lowes. Finally, when you make your last cut late in the fall cut your grass short about one and a half inches. This helps prevent the growth of mold, okay now it’s time for the sun is out. When the lawns can be St. Augustine grasses, Bermuda grasses, or Socio grasses, you may want to over seed your lawn each autumn because many of these southern grasses turned brown over the winter. By over seeding with an annual or rye grass you can keep your lawn looking lash and green. It might also take care of any bitter spots. To do this, you’ll need grass seed, and starter fertilizer along with your spreader. A lot of the steps are already familiar. First, cut the grass very short and de-thatch it just like we explained earlier. Apply a grass seed formulated for your region and then apply a starter fertilizer on top of it. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for spreaders settings to dispense the proper amount of seed for your lawn. The thicker your lawn develops now, the less room for weeds to surface in the spring. We’re proceeding with the rake and water lightly twice a day to keep the top quarter inch of the soil moist. You’ll have a greener lawn and a little over a week. And when next spring arrives just cut the rye grass very short, so your original grass can start taking center stage again. By the way, the same over seeding technique also works well for repairing always at north. Just use a perennial mix of Bascules, Rye and Blue grass. We hope these tips on improving your lawn will yield gorgeous results, and for more home improvement project check out Lowes other how to videos at Lowes.com/Videos.