Take car of lawn now for healthy spring grass
Q. I would really like to have a nice lawn next year. What can I do now to prepare for next spring?
A. The warm summer weather will be fading soon, bringing with it climate changes that provide the best weather for lawn grasses. Cooler temperatures will help your lawn get over the heat and dry spells of summer. As days get shorter, this forces grass plants to focus on root and stem development over top growth. These changes help the lawn prepare for winter. However, if you want a healthy spring lawn, there are several things you can do before winter comes.
If your lawn is fairly healthy, you probably only need to continue mowing up until the first frost. Just make sure your lawn mower is set to keep the blade length no shorter than 2½ inches. Since fall is the best time to fertilize your lawn, consider using a slow release fertilizer. The grass will use it to promote root and shoot growth without over stimulating top blade growth. Any remaining fertilizer will remain in the soil and be frozen there. Then, it will available in the spring after the ground thaws and the soil warms. Slowly released fertilizer helps grass lawns recover from winter dormancy.
Don't forget to check your lawn for weeds, especially dandelions. Use a weeder to pop them out of the soil so they won't return in the spring.
Maybe your lawn ended summer thin, damaged or did poorly. In this case, now is the time you can correct the situation with a little renovation. If you are lucky, you may just need to overseed, or perhaps your lawn will require significant work while you allow existing grass to remain. If the lawn is thin, but has good soil structure, you can overseed in early September using a slit-seeder, which cuts slits into the existing lawn and drops seeds into the slits. An alternative method is to broadcast seed over any thin lawn areas. Just make sure there is good soil-to-seed contact.
If you have problems under the lawn, you should use core aeration to break up thatch (layer of undecayed grass between the soil surface and living grass blades) and reduce compacted soil. Thatch that is greater than one-half inch thick responds well to core aeration. Core aeration machines make holes in the lawn about the diameter of a pencil as they pull plugs of soil to the surface. The plugs of soil remain on the lawn's surface. You can then apply organic matter as a top dressing to improve the soil's structure before you overseed. Top dressing involves spreading a thin layer of topsoil, compost, peat moss, composted manure or other organic material over the soil surface.
If leaves have begun to fall on your lawn, regularly rake them off and shred them to use on the lawn as compost. Leaves that are left on a lawn over winter can smother it and kill the grass if not removed.
Taking care of your lawn in the fall for winter means you will have less work to do when the weather warms next spring. Additional helpful information on lawn care is available at this website extension.illinois.edu/lawntalk/index.cfm.
- Mary Moisand
• Provided by Master Gardeners through the Master Gardener Answer Desk, Friendship Park Conservatory, Des Plaines, and University of Illinois Extension, North Cook Branch Office, Arlington Heights. Call (847) 298-3502 Monday, Wednesday and Saturday or (847) 201-4176, ext. 14, on Fridays.