Fall is one of the most important seasons for lawn care. It’s the time to help your lawn recover from summer, prepare for winter, and help ensure a lush spring. Here are 10 tips for how to help your lawn regain and maintain it’s health for the upcoming seasons.

Winter Lawn Prep Tips

Even though the air temperature is cooling, the soil is still warm enough for taking care of some essential lawn care tasks.

1. Aerating: Perforating the soil helps to relieve compaction from summer foot traffic. It also improves the flow of air, water, and nutrients to the grass roots.
2. Overseeding: Fill in any bare or thin spots in your lawn to build up more resistance to pests, disease, and weeds.
3. Fertilizing: Use a slow-release product to help grass store nutrients to sustain it over the winter. This supports strong root growth and promotes a vibrant start to spring.
4. Watering: Keep your soil hydrated to help insulate the grass roots. Proper watering is especially important if you’ve spread new grass seed.
5. Weeding: Apply a pre-emergent herbicide to prevent winter weeds. Skip any area where you’ve reseeded, since that can also prevent new grass growth.
6. Mowing: Gradually lower the height of your mower blades during the last few mows of the season. Keeping the grass short helps prevent fungal disease, but don’t cut too short or you’ll risk stressing the lawn.
7. Leaf Control: While a light layer of mulched leaves can be helpful to your lawn and garden, a heavy blanket of leaves can suffocate the grass, shield pests, and create a damp environment ideal for fungal growth. Either rake to remove large piles or use your mower to mulch the leaves into fine pieces.
8. Pest Control: If you’ve noticed beetles or more animals digging in your yard over the summer, there’s a good chance you have larvae in your lawn. These grubs continue to feed on grass roots throughout the fall and weaken your lawn over the winter.

While you can take advantage of the warmer fall days to carry out this lawn care tasks, plan on getting them all in before the first frost. Once the ground freezes and your lawn goes dormant, any product you use on your lawn may not be as effective.

What You Can Do Off the Lawn

There are some winter prep tasks that don’t require touching your lawn at all. In fact, it’s recommended to stay off your grass altogether if the blades are frosty or snow covered. Use marked paths to help prevent additional turf damage.

Before you store your lawn equipment for the winter, make sure everything is clean, sharp, and tuned-up. Not only does this help prevent rust and damage, but it ensures it’s ready to work properly in the spring.

Let Green Image Lawn Care Help Prepare Your Lawn for Winter

There may be a lot of essential lawn tasks to do this season, but you don’t have to do them alone. The specialists at Green Image Lawn Care know how important it is to maintain the health of your lawn throughout the year. We offer a number of programs—including aeration and overseeding—to promote strong grass growth as well as weed, disease, and pest control. Call 717-900-8144 today to schedule a service before the frost sets in, and prepare your lawn for a restful winter and superior start to spring.