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The first step is to determine the type of lawn that you are going to be maintaining. The type of grass you have will determine the steps you will need to take maintain a healthy lawn. There are two main types of seasonal grasses, cool season turf and warm season turf. Cool season grasses include blue, fescues and rye. These grasses will typically do the most growing in the spring and fall, staying green through the winter. Warm season turf includes bermuda, Saint-Augustine, zoysia and centipede. These grasses will do most of their growing in the late spring to early fall, going dormant and turning brown in the winter.
Cool Season Turf
If your lawn is a cool season variety, fall is the time of year that you will want to fertilize your lawn. This will promote healthy root development in winter and encourage a healthy lawn in the spring. To fertilize your cool season turf, apply one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet of lawn. At Fairview, you can find our Fertilome Winterizer 10-0-14, which is a perfect blend for your fall lawn needs. Sometimes the scorching heat of southern summers will cause damage and bare patches in your cool season grasses. If this occurs, fall is the best time to rejuvenate the bare spots by re-seeding those particular areas. Be sure that you have a strong seed to soil contact to encourage strong germination of the new seed.
Warm Season Turf
With warm season grasses, avoid fertilizing your lawn in the fall. Fertilizing can interfere with the hardening off process which occurs during the fall season. This is the process of the grass going dormant during the winter season. For those of you who would like to obtain a lush, green yard during the winter season, you can over seed your yard with an annual winter rye grass. Annual winter rye grass will die back in the spring when the warm season grass begins to grow again.
Water
No matter if your lawn is of the cool or warm turf variety, there are certain measures you can take to encourage growth during its peak season. Watering your lawn is still a necessary process during the cooler months of the year. You will not need to water daily; however, if no rain is falling your lawn will need about one inch of water per week.
Soil pH
The fall also provides a great opportunity to complete a soil test to determine your nutrient and pH levels. It is a good idea to test your soil once every three years to determine if supplemental nutrients are required. Another important step is to apply a pre-emergent herbicide in the fall which will help with those pesky winter annual weeds.
Maintaining a lush lawn requires a few extra steps as the weather cools off, but the results in the coming season will be well worth the additional work and time you spend. Following these few, simple guidelines you can encourage healthy lawn growth and cut back on future problems. Fairview Garden Center has a wide variety of fall lawn care necessities and a friendly and knowledgeable staff to assist you in your fall lawn care endeavors.
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