Fall Lawncare

Hello everyone!

My husband has a lawn and landscape business on the side (as most firefighters have side jobs).  So, when the seasons change,  you can usually find him outside working in our yard to help it along for the upcoming summer. Now, I know we just got done with summer, but did you know that Fall is the best time to plant seed for new grass?  So, if you have some bare spots in your lawn, you might want to take action now.

My husband first scalped the yard by mowing it down to a low 1 1/2 to 2 inches in height.  

Then he used a core aerator to poke holes in the ground to allow grass seed to penetrate the soil.

Here is a close up of the aerator.

You can rent these at your local hardware store and pull them behind your riding mower.

Afterwards, it leaves your lawn looking like this.  See all the holes and plugs of dirt pulled up?

Next, he uses a broadcast spreader to put out grass seed.  

He simply pours the grass seed in it and walks around the yard while it sprinkles it on the yard.

After the seed is put out, he does the same thing with fertilizer.

These are the products he uses.

(Sorry the bags are open and it's hard to read them.)  But basically, you would need to put out the right types for your yard anyway.  So check with your extension agent or someone in the lawn and garden department at a store near you.  It is recommended that you invest in a high quality grass seed and a slow release starter fertilizer.

One other note:  your broadcast spreader should have a mechanism that allows the right amount of product to be put on your yard.  You would need to set that rate based on instructions found on the product bag.

After you have put out your seed and fertilizer, cover any areas that don't have a lot of grass already with wheat straw.  That will keep the seed in place in case you have a heavy rain.

Spread it out and it will look like this.

We've had a bare spot next to our driveway for a while.  My husband finally got around to fixing the problem.  Hopefully, this area will fill in nicely.

Water your grass daily unless you get rain.

Our dog, Max, decided to join us outside too.  He wasn't much help though.  

He loves his outdoor toys!

So, is your yard ready for Fall and Winter?  Working in it now will bring you a better looking lawn this Spring and Summer.

Thanks for stopping by!

~ Kelly ~