Improve & Repair Your Lawn This Fall

As we all prepare for fall, we often think of leaves, fall clean up, and organizing our efforts to preserve our turf over the winter months. After a year of stressful conditions (warm, wet conditions, drought, and extreme heat), your lawn needs help repairing itself before the added stress of the winter arrives. The best ways to preserve the health of your lawn, and help repair any damage from this year, are aeration, overseeding, and organic topdressing applications. Read more after the jump!

Every summer, your lawn goes through cycles of turf disease, shrinking of the root system, and compacted soils. Aerating is the best thing you can do in the fall to help your lawn recover, and to best prepare it for winter. In short, aeration provides your lawn with direct access to air and water.

Dr. Jim Kerns, former University of Wisconsin professor and Extension Turfgrass Specialist says "Fall aerification (aeration) is essential to supply oxygen to turfgrass roots. This practice is widely overlooked in lawn maintenance... this practice is vital to help lawns recover."

Without aeration, lawns can become compacted over time; foot traffic, rain, and mowing are common culprits of compaction. One of the many reasons golf courses have such beautiful turf, in addition to appropriate cultural practices, is a regular aeration schedule. Homeowner lawns need to be aerated at least once annually.

Most customer we have talked to are planning some fall seeding and recovery, and for good reason! The fall is the best time of year to re-seed or over-seed. As air temps cool, the soil temps will remain warm. Also, watering will be more effective without the near-constant heat of the summer sun. Watering in the fall is absolutely necessary, but more manageable than the summer. In some cases, seed that germinated in spring may not survive the summer heat and stress.

Additionally, many customers have scheduled an organic top dressing with their aeration and / or overseeding. Think of an organic topdressing like a vitamin; you still need food (fertilizer) in order to function at an optimal level, but the added benefits of organic topdressing can improve systems below the surface. The increase in microbes, provided by the organic topdressing, is important to the health of your lawn. When paired with an overseeding and aeration, you have a great way to improve and repair your lawn each year.

If you are interested in any of these services, be sure to give

Weed Man Lawn Care a call at 866-987-9333 today!