As a Fort Worth resident, you can understand and appreciate how beautiful the fall weather is here. It has its daily ups and downs in temperature, but for the most part, it’s perfect sweater weather in the mornings and evenings. Along with getting your “winter” apparel out from the back of your closet so you can enjoy the outdoors in comfort, you’re probably working on transitioning your home for any upcoming holidays. It’s pretty rare that we find our outdoor space covered in snow, but as you prepare for the upcoming season, it is vital not to overlook your lawn.
Here are some simple fall lawn maintenance tips to keep your lawn healthy throughout the winter.
1. Continue to mow your lawn.
During the hot Fort Worth summer your lawn may take a serious beating, it is important to take care of lawn maintenance with ease. With the drop in temperature, it is likely that the lawn growth will start to slow down. You don’t want to cut the grass too short, keep in mind the 1/3 rule when mowing. Meaning that you should never mow more than 1/3 of the grass length at a time. Ensure you mow your lawn regularly and adjust the blade as needed until the grass goes dormant.
2. Let your lawn breathe by aerating.
Aerating your lawn can take a lot of time and effort but is an important process as it allows your lawn to breathe. This process of core aeration consists of using an aerator tool or machine to plug and pull the soil up, creating tiny holes to expose the grassroots. As it is healthy to do this a few times throughout the year, if you’re only going to do this once a year, the best time is in the fall.
3. Water accordingly.
Just because the weather has cooled down doesn’t mean you should discontinue to water. The grass has slowed down its growth but the roots still continue their development, so in order to have a healthy lush lawn in the spring, you need to make sure that soil has a maintained moisture level. You should water so
4. Remove weeds and clean up additional debris.
Make sure that you remove any and all weeds before the temperatures really subside, the cooler temperatures can keep the weeds around affecting the grass growth in the spring and potentially spreading. This is also a great time to remove any additional debris including branches, leaves, and spent plants. To reduce waste, recycle them into your own compost pile or using certain parts as a natural fertilizer.
Composting is the most efficient way to dispose of such debris. Over time the remnants added decompose into a brown mulch that you can use for any of your landscaping needs, like repurposing your garden bed for an additional season. As leaves fall, you can do one of two things. You can make sure to rake them so that they don’t matt down on your lawn, making the lawn susceptible to disease. Or you can use them as a natural fertilizer by mowing over them to break them up, allowing them to decompose properly.
5. Update your lawn with native plant landscaping.
Transitioning your lawn care into the fall also includes your landscaping. Clean out your summer garden from any spent annuals and trim back your perennials as needed. When it comes to new additions, fall is a great time to do so, especially when adding native plants. Occasional rainfall and cooler temperatures can help promote root growth before winter comes. Adding a couple new native plants will help give you landscaping a little face lift and also add to your home’s curb appeal, all while being low maintenance.
Have any questions about lawn care? Visit our Fort Worth lawn care page for more information!
Featured image source: Zillow