Fall Lawn Care Tips for Seattle, WA

A house with lawn and trees in fall

Fall is a great time of year in the Pacific Northwest. The colors are beautiful, the weather is great and there is always something to do with your free time. Many people come to Seattle this time of year to experience just that.

For Seattle homeowners, fall is also a great season to spend a little more time and energy on your yard. With the weather, precipitation and chances for gatherings with friends to watch some Seahawk games, you may want to have an Instagram-worthy yard to extend the party to. Here are fall lawn care tips you can follow to get that picture-ready lawn for your weekend events.

Overseed

Overseed with cool-season grass if your yard is looking a little thin. You can either overseed your whole yard to start fresh with new seed, or you can just fill in the gaps and brown spots with seed to create a more even look. Fall is the best time to do this–you have the precipitation and temperatures to support good seed germination. But make sure to do this at least a month before the first overnight frost, so that those seeds can get established.

Fertilize

Fertilize your lawn in early fall, and again in late fall. Give it the nutrients it needs to grow thick and green. This helps it to get ready and stay strong through the cold winter months.

Tip for fertilizing: Fertilizer comes with three numbers on the bag – NPK, which stand for nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These three ingredients are the most important elements for your grass to thrive. When choosing a fertilizer, you’ll want to get the right amount of each ingredient to keep your lawn happy. (Getting some help from the pros can help with this step!)

Mow

Continue to mow regularly because, with the rain, lower temps and the fertilizer you just applied, the grass may grow faster than you were used to all summer. Be sure to follow the one-third rule, so that your grass stays healthy: if your grass is three inches high, only cut off one inch.

Clean up leaves

Now that it’s fall and the leaves are turning colors, they’ll also start to fall off the trees. So take some time to clean up those fallen leaves. You have two options for how to best do this: mow a few times to break up the leaves – and leave the pieces where they are – to create a mulch in the grass, or rake up the leaves and compost them to use in your garden or flower beds in the future.  Either way, you’ll be using the beneficial nutrients old leaves have to nurture your soil.

Remove weeds

Kill perennial weeds like dandelions and ivy. You’ll need to find the right herbicide for the job, or hand-pick each weed you see. Fall is a good time for this because these weed seeds are more susceptible to the chemical or organic components you’ll be using.

Check out our Seattle lawn care services for some help with your fall lawn care.

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Jennifer Klemmetson