When's The Best Time For Lawn Care? Right Now

When it comes to taking care of our lawns, most of us are doing it wrong.

We water too often and too shallowly, rather than less frequently and longer. We cut the grass too short, instead of leaving it a good 4 inches (which benefits pollinators). And we fertilize in spring, when Fall is the prime time to set your grass up for the best growth.

Why? Jon Trappe chalks it up to human nature.

"A great lawn begins in the fall," says the turf grass expert with the University of Minnesota Extension, "but people are often tired of taking care of their lawn by fall."

Come spring, after a long Minnesota winter, we're raring to go. Too many of us double-down, overdo, then wonder why our efforts don't pay off.

Trappe has some welcome advice for us: If we take a few simple steps in autumn, we'll have a healthier, better looking lawn come spring.

Why now

Without getting really technical (and Trappe can), fall is the best time to fertilize because the grasses we grow tend to be less stressed by heat. They are actively growing in autumn, but they're storing more energy in their roots for winter and the next season.

Another plus to fall fertilization: We tend to have fewer weeds to soak up the feed.

"Fall," Trappe says, "is the best time for the plants we want to grow and the best time to avoid feeding weeds."

How often

Whether you need to fertilize depends on how you use your lawn.

"If you've got three kids and a golden retriever, you're going to need some fertilizer," he says. "If you're retired empty nesters and walk across the lawn only occasionally, you probably need less fertilizer."

Trappe recommends one or two fall fertilizations, in early to mid-September and early to mid-October (no later than the 15th). That'll eliminate the need to fertilize in spring.

Growing greener

In recent years, grass has gotten a bad rap for being a water hog and a monocultural wasteland that fails to foster bees and other pollinators.

But it does have its benefits: it prevents erosion, helps with flood control, assists in breaking down organic chemicals and can create a cooling effect, as the U's extension site details. And it's hard to play a cutthroat game of croquet in your flower beds.

There are some easy ways to make our grass greener, so to speak.

One is to introduce lower maintenance grasses — fine fescues — that are specifically adapted to Minnesota. They need less water, less fertilizer and less mowing.

Most shady lawn seed mixes have fine fescues, but Trappe recommends buying a mix that has fine fescues on the label. Most local garden centers carry low-input mixes. (If you want to geek out on fescues, go to the extension's website.)

Catch a buzz

If you can give up the golf course look, consider moving toward a more pollinator-friendly lawn. Often called bee-friendly, these mixes typically contain creeping thyme (not to be confused with its evil cousin creeping Charlie), yarrow and white clover.

A bee-friendly lawn doesn't look a whole lot different from a traditional lawn, because these tiny flowering plants grow at the same height as grass plants.

Going to seed

Guess what time of year is best to seed your lawn?

Yup, fall.

Early September is good time to add seed to sparse spots or introduce low-impact and bee-friendly mixes. Later is even better.

From late October into November, you can "dormant seed." Before the ground is frozen, mow the grass shorter (to about 2 inches), rake to allow the seed contact with the soil and cast the seed. The sure-to-come snows and freeze-thaw cycle will work the seed into the soil.

And give you one less thing to do in spring.

Here's Your Fall Lawn Care Checklist

This story was originally published in September 2020.

Giving your lawn a little tender love and care before winter in Maine is essential to making sure that it looks healthy and vibrant come spring. With the seasons changing so quickly, though, it can be difficult to know where to start.

Get your rake and your lawnmower ready: here are the steps you need to take to keep your land looking fresh and ready for cold weather.

Manage foliage

Colorful autumn leaves carpeting your lawn are a fall hallmark, but they can also cause aesthetic problems for your lawn. Removing foliage in the fall when it is dry is much easier than doing so in the spring when it is wet and matted down.

"The leaves up off your lawn in the fall make dead spots on your lawn in the spring," said Chaz Longmuir, owner of Maine Lawn Pros in Brewer.

However, there is a case against removing fallen leaves in their entirety because leaf litter provides habitat for wildlife as well as benefits to your lawn like fertilization and weed suppression. Leaving a thin layer behind, or mulching leaves with a lawnmower to prevent thatching, will keep those ecosystem benefits while preventing potential dead spots from cropping up after the thaw.

"Why would you spend money on mulch and fertilizer when you can just make your own?" said Sarah Kern, community engagement specialist at the Center for Wildlife. "The leaves are packed with trace minerals that the trees take up from the soil. A lot of people start small with one section of that lawn that they leave, or if you want that front yard to stay pristine, maybe your backyard you can try experimenting with leaving leaves."

Of course, leaving fallen leaves isn't an option for all homeowners, especially those who must follow homeowners' association guidelines. Find what works best for your lawn and your land.

At the very least, though, avoid bagging and tossing your leaves to languish unused in a landfill. Fall leaves make excellent mulch for raised beds as you prepare them for the winter. Some municipal recycling centers may accept leaf litter for compost, or local farmers may be interested in leaf litter for their own planting plots.

Weed your gardens

The cold will kill the weeds, right? Not quite. Some weeds that go dormant during cold weather will build more resilient subsurface systems during that time. In fact, fall is the best time to manage some more difficult weeds like dandelions and white clover to prevent them from wreaking havoc come spring.

Keeping your yard weed-free goes beyond your actual yard, too.

"Make sure that beds around the house or landscape plants are free of weeds," said Matthew Wallhead, assistant professor and ornamental horticulture specialist at the University of Maine Cooperative Extension.

Mow (but not too much)

Properly mown lawns will stay healthier through the winter — but if cut too short, the grass may not be able to get the nutrients it needs in colder months.

Ben Goodall, founder and president of Goodall Landscaping, said that one of the most consistent problems he sees is that homeowners feel they need to cut their grass too short.

"That promotes a host of issues with shallower root growth, less dense turf and turf that's more susceptible to disease," he said. "Typically we encourage people to cut [to] between 3 and 4 inches."

The task isn't one-and-done, though. The frequency of mowing depends on the season, but in the fall, Goodall said you should be mowing about once a week during the fall to maintain the idea length before the snow settles in.

Aerate & fertilize

Aeration is the process of perforating the soil with small holes to allow air, water and nutrients to more easily penetrate the grass roots. This helps the roots grow deeply and produce a stronger, more vigorous lawn while alleviating soil compaction.

Aeration can be done by the homeowner if they have the proper equipment. A homeowner can rent an aerator from a hardware store or purchase one, though Longmuir said that latter doesn't make much financial sense in the long-run.

"They're kind of expensive," Longmuir said. "For the price, they can probably have their lawn aerated [professionally] 50 times."

Goodall said that it is "a very involved effort" that most homeowners will hire professionals to do.

"Certainly the service providers do an awful lot of that as well," Goodall said. "We buy our products in such bulk and we're so efficient at it we can even provide the service for what the homeowner can buy the materials for. There's good value in having a service provider."

Once you aerate your lawn, you may also want to add fertilizer in order to feed the grass throughout the winter season (especially if you removed leaves that would act as a natural fertilizer). Make sure you are not overfertilizing your lawn, and choose products that are healthy for the ecosystem in and around your property.

"You have a ton of organic fertilizers that are available," Kern said. "The one that I love best is the Coast of Maine."

Fix the thinning bits

Fall is the best time to conduct any maintenance that your lawn requires, especially in the Northeast.

"If you're doing lawn renovations, fall is the best time to do it," Longmuir said. "If you're going to plant a lawn or do some lawn repair it's always best to do it in the fall because the ground temperature is high from the summertime but you still get the cool nights and warm days."

Address the patchy spots in your lawn by adding more seed. Try to choose grasses that are native to or adapted to the area so they can more hardily survive the extremes in weather for years to come. A lawn with a mix of seeds rather than a monoculture will also be more resilient, as well as a more hospitable place for all different kinds of wildlife

"Seeding starting in late August through about October 15 is an extremely important way to help get a healthier and more attractive lawn," Longmuir said. "Our best lawns have that done every fall."

Consider rewilding, and plan ahead

If you are concerned about your lawn's impact on the environment, take this time to plan for rewilding your lawn. Naturalizing your lawn by skipping the pesticides and herbicides and instead letting plants like clover, dandelion and ground flower throughout the season will create opportunities for pollinators all season long. Over time, these lawns also require less maintenance and fewer resource inputs like fertilizer.

Prepare lawn equipment for winter

Once you are done tending to your lawn, it is time to put the equipment away. If you care about the longevity of your tools, though, stashing lawn equipment for the winter involves more than just tossing it into the shed.

Whether you recently purchased a lawn mower or have been using the same equipment for years, making sure that your equipment is ready for winter will prevent costs in the next season. Aside from regular cleaning and spot treating maintenance issues, Mainers should add fuel additives to prevent clogging for any gas-powered equipment. For electric equipment, either remove batteries or hook them up to a trickle charger.

"Batteries stored in cold locations that aren't turned out periodically tend to deplete themselves," Wallhead said. "Save yourself $50 by bringing it into the house."

More articles from the BDN

How Often Should You Fertilize A Lawn? Experts Share Their Tips For The Healthiest Grass Possible

Fertilizing a lawn is a must, but are you doing it often enough and at the right point in the season? If you want luscious green grass then getting these things right is essential, but according to gardeners, it's something many of us - woe betide - are doing wrong.

After a long hot summer, the grass in your modern garden is probably crying out for some attention. As we near fall (yes, really) now is the perfect time to get outside in the garden and give your lawn a bit of TLC. Does that mean fertilizing, we hear you ask? We asked some experts to find out.

How often should you fertilize your lawn?

healthy front lawn

So we should all be fertilizing our lawns often, but just how often is the question. According to experts, it might not need to be as regular as you'd think...

'I generally stick to the guideline of fertilizing twice a year, once in spring and again in fall,' explains Ryan Farley, founder of Lawn Starter. 'This should be enough to keep your soil rich with the nutrients a healthy lawn needs to sustain itself.'

If you're not particularly green-thumbed, that might come as a reassuring surprise, but there is a caveat. It all depends on the size of your lawn, its health, and of course, your local climate. Larger lawns might require more regular fertilization, and extreme weather - like intense heat - can lead to risks like burning your lawn if you fertilize during this period.

That said, a few feeds during the growing season (roughly May to July) probably won't go amiss. 'It all depends on the type of fertilizer you're using,' notes Craig Elworthy, lawn care expert and founder of Lawnbright. 'Generally, it's common practice to fertilize three to five times during your growing season, spreading out the applications six to eight weeks apart.'

In short, then, there is no exact number to live by when it comes to how often you should fertilize your lawn, but you can at least take winter out of the question. One spring feed, a few summer feeds, and a final one in fall is a good rule of thumb to live by. If you have signs of an unhealthy lawn, you might want to make this more regular, or perhaps less if you notice signs of overfertilization.

What's the best time of year to fertilize your grass?

As touched upon, there are key points in the year when fertilizing your lawn is advised, but according to Craig there's one particular season that should be the priority.

'That's fall, without question,' he says. 'Cool season grasses are growing vigorously in the fall, putting on root mass over the winter, and weeds are dying off. Your lawn will respond well when it's fertilized in September and early October, but a close second would be spring.' A good feed in the coming months will also ensure your lawn stays healthy during winter.

What's the best method for fertilizing a lawn?

lawn edging ideas for front yard

So, we should fertilize the lawn several times a year and prioritize fall, but how should we be fertilizing? Some people believe an organic lawn care routine is best, but this is a decision only you can make. 'I use organic, liquid fertilizers with a hose-end applicator,' says Craig. 'It's super easy to apply, and in most cases the fertilizer is foliar absorbing, so the grass blades directly absorb the nutrients.' This means you don't even need to water the fertilizer in, and there's almost no risk of burning your lawn.'

When it comes to chemical fertilizers, make sure you know your grass type and determine the nutrients your grass needs (you can do this with a soil testing kit like this one, from Amazon).  If your main goal is just to make your lawn grow faster and greener, look for a nitrogen-rich fertilizer. 'When it comes to methods, I would say either using your hands or a spreader works just fine, though spreaders tend to be best for larger lawns,' says Ryan. ''Find a route around the edges and middle of your lawn to ensure you're giving it equal cover with the fertilizer.

Should you fertilize before or after mowing?

It might not be the first thing that springs to mind, but you'll want to make sure you fertilize and mow in the correct order for the best results. 'Plan to mow before you fertilize to help with absorption,' says Ryan. 'I also tend to recommend watering the lawn first to help with absorption, too.' You should do this after you've mowed, of course, to prevent the risk of rut damage.

Ryan also suggests raking to ensure the absolute minimum of debris and dead grass that may prevent fertilizer from reaching the soil.

If you do this in the wrong order, don't worry - it isn't the end of the world. In fact, Craig treats his grass the other way around. 'I tend to fertilize first and then wait a couple days before mowing to allow the grass to absorb all of the nutrients,' he says. Find a method that works best for you and your lawn.

On that note, Craig is keen to point out that patience (and a good deal of trial and error) is the single most important aspect of lawn care. 'I've learned that nothing happens immediately - or even quickly - when it comes to lawn care,' he says. 'Plus there's always time to correct any mistakes!'

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