End-of-season Lawn Care: An Industry Expert Offers Do's, Don'ts

As the final weeks of summer approach, a strong finish to lawn-growing season can set up a yard for future success, according to an expert.

"It is about keeping good habits and knowing where you need help," said William McEwen, a technical and quality adviser for Virginia Green. "There are some tasks that are better left for the professionals and others that you can handle on your own."

How can a homeowner keep their yard green and lush? McEwen offered a few do's and don'ts for end-of-season lawn maintenance.

Photo provided by Virginia Green Lawn Care

Don't: Take too much off the top

During the spring and summer months, the ideal lawnmower height is between 3 ½ and 4 inches. Keeping your lawnmower at that height promotes deeper root growth, better color and thicker grass.

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"We typically advise our customers to keep your mower on the highest setting," McEwen said. "If you are going to stay on that tall setting, maintaining a consistent mowing schedule — about once a week — is key. If you miss a week and are catching up, you might take off too much and injure your lawn. You never want to cut more than a third of your existing grass."

Do: Calibrate your watering Photo provided by Neon Ghost LLC

With typical Virginia weather patterns, water your lawn three or four times a week, with each watering totaling around 1/2 inch of water. Whether you have an irrigation system or a simple sprinkler setup, you can track your water totals by putting a dish in the area you are watering and measuring liquid totals.

The time of day when you water is also vital.

"Water in the morning before the sun comes up," McEwen said. "If you don't have an irrigation system, you can put your sprinkler on a timer."

Watering in the morning makes evaporation less likely and ensures your lawn gets the necessary hydration, said McEwen.

Don't: Wing it when it comes to fertilizer

Even as the season dwindles, fertilizer application can reap long-term benefits. With a roster of well-trained professionals, Virginia Green's staff has the know-how to put down the right products when they are most beneficial.

"We are applying fertilizer frequently this time of year," McEwen said. "I would recommend you leave fertilizer application to a professional. Misapplication can do more harm than good, and there are a lot of products out there. Our service leaders at Virginia Green apply the right products in the proper quantities to give nutrients that will help your current and future grass."

Graham Copeland - Neon Ghost LLC

Do: Consider aeration

McEwen said that late summer and early Fall are prime times to aerate your lawn. Aeration involves making small holes in your lawn to allow for air and water to penetrate the roots.

Aeration is not a task for a novice. But, according to McEwen, homeowners can help the process by cutting their lawn shorter than usual — consider putting the mower height around 2 ½ inches — prior to aeration.

"We use heavy equipment to aerate," McEwen said. "We know how to do it, and we offer a guarantee on all our work. The sooner you sign up for aeration and seeding, the better, as spots fill up quickly." Virginia Green offers its own proprietary seed blend, which is 100% weed-free, contains no other crop seeds and is comprised of 97% of Tall fescue and 3% of Kentucky Bluegrass fescue varieties. 

Click here to learn more about Virginia Green's lawn care services.

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Time To Start Thinking About Fall Lawn Care

As the summer starts to wind down, it is time to start thinking about our fall lawn care. Your actions this fall will directly impact the health of your lawn next spring.

Late August and September is the best time of the year to plant grass seed if needed. The grass seed will germinate readily, and the cooler soil will encourage it to develop a good root system that will carry it through the winter. You will need to water the grass seed on a regular basis to ensure germination. Seeding now allows for grass to establish better than in the spring when grass seed must compete with germinating weed seeds. Be cautious of seed mixtures that contain a high amount of annual seeds as those plants will not survive the winter.

If you wish to eliminate weeds in your lawn, autumn is the time to control perennial broad-leaf weeds such as common dandelion, creeping Charlie and plantain. Be sure to do a lawn assessment prior to deciding if treatment is needed. Perennial weeds move the sugars produced in the leaves to underground roots or rhizomes for the winter and to fuel next year's growth during the fall months. This movement of sugars continues as long as the plants are not killed by frost and 50-75% of their leaves are still green and actively growing. Herbicides that are systemic and move within the plant are carried with the sugars to effectively kill the plants at the root in the fall. Although the death of weeds may not be obvious in the fall, most of them will not come back next spring. Spot spraying or hand-pulling is generally better than applying herbicide to the entire lawn. Take caution when using chemicals and always read and follow the label.

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Now is also the time to consider aerating and dethatching your lawn. Compacted soils and soils with poor drainage accumulate thatch faster than well-drained soils. Aerification promotes better moisture and air penetration into compacted soils. It helps establish a deeper and healthier root system and also stimulates the microbial activity involved in decomposing the thatch layer.

For an improved lawn in the spring, use the autumn months to take care of seeding and weed control. For a full lawn care calendar, you can visit www.Extension.Umn.Edu. If you have questions or would like more information about fall lawn care, please reach out to your local extension educator. Residents in Fillmore and Houston counties can call 507-765-3896 or 507-725-5807 or email [email protected].

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