It’s Time to Think About Fall
Prepping Your Turf For the Next Season
It’s no secret that most people are excited for fall to come back around — the weather cools down, the bugs are less annoying, and it becomes more pleasant to spend time outdoors. But while you are excited for fall, your customer’s turf is preparing for dormancy. Even if it remains green in the next coming month, the shorter days are going to cause the turf to start storing nutrients and energy. This process is vital for your customers turf to come back healthy next spring but there are also things they can do now to help aid a smooth transition.
Keep Mowing
Your customers should continue to mow if their turf is still growing. Cool season turfgrass such as fescue, rye and bluegrass should be cut between 2 ½ to 3 ½ inches while warm season turfgrass such as Bermuda and zoysia should be cut between 1 to 2 inches. They can also take care of falling leaves by shredding them with the mower and allowing them to remain on the turf to add extra nutrients and organic matter to the soil, like grass clippings.
Aerate
In the fall, your customer’s turf is still actively growing so it is a great time to core aerate any turfgrass suffering from thatch buildup or compacted soil. Core aerating creates openings in the thatch layer which helps to reduce soil compaction and encourage root growth as water and nutrients more easily infiltrate the soil.
Fall Fertilization
Fall is also a beneficial time to fertilize turfgrass. Nutrients applied now will help turfgrass recover from summer stress by encouraging deep roots and denser growth. You will want to use a slow release fertilizer such as one of our ProScape with Mesa technology which is ideal for this time of year.
Overseed
Overseeding in the fall will help your customers turf increase thickness and improve the overall health and appearance of the turf. This can be done by using a spreader but for larger areas, we recommend a power overseeder which will slice the turf and drop in the seeds, eliminating the need to rake after. After seeding, turfgrass should be watered lightly two to three times a day until the seeds sprout — after sprouting happens, it can go back to watering once a day for 15 to 30 minutes. Wait to mow again until the existing grass has reached three inches. After the leaves have fallen, turf should be cut back to 2inches in preparation for winter.
Although these are steps that can be beneficial to your customers lawns, it is not a one-step fits all approach. Factors as the type of turf variety and location should be considered — but if you take time now to prepare for the fall and winter months your customers turf will do much better this spring.
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For more information about LebanonTurf, our products or how to improve the quality of your turf, visit our website.