10 Lawn Care Tricks Professionals Use Every Fall (Most Homeowners Never Learn), by Mower Yard on YouTube. 11 min 27 s.
- Video length
- 11 min 27 s
- Time to do it
- 2 to 3 hours spread over sever
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 10
What you need
Steps
Identify your grass type first. Cool-season grasses like tall fescue and Kentucky bluegrass green up in fall, while warm-season grasses like Bermuda and zoysia start going dormant, and the timing of every task below depends on which you have.
Test your soil with a home kit or a sample sent to your local extension lab. Apply only the fertilizer and lime the results call for instead of guessing.
Aerate compacted soil with a core aerator that pulls out plugs, not spikes. Do it while the grass is actively growing, which for cool-season lawns means early fall.
Overseed thin and bare patches with seed matched to your existing grass. Rake the seed into loose soil and keep it lightly moist until it germinates.
Fertilize at the right time for your grass. Feed cool-season lawns in early to mid fall, and give warm-season lawns their last feed well before the first frost.
Spot-treat broadleaf weeds such as dandelion, clover and plantain with a fall herbicide while the weeds are still growing and daytime temperatures are mild.
Mow over fallen leaves with a mulching blade and leave the chopped pieces on the lawn. Bag only the thick drifts that would smother the grass.
Keep mowing while the grass is still growing, then drop your final cut about half an inch lower than usual. Never remove more than a third of the blade height in one pass.
Winterize your sprinkler system before the first hard freeze. Shut off the water supply, drain the lines, and blow them out with compressed air or call a service to do it.
Prepare the mower for storage. Add fuel stabilizer or run the tank nearly dry, change the oil, sharpen or replace the blade, and scrape the grass off the deck.
Tips and common mistakes
Fall is the best window for killing perennial broadleaf weeds, because they pull nutrients down into their roots before dormancy.
Skip late nitrogen on warm-season grass, since it pushes soft new growth that the first freeze will kill.
Mist newly seeded patches daily rather than soaking them once, and keep the top half inch of soil damp until the seed sprouts.
Wear eye protection when blowing out irrigation lines, and wear gloves when handling a mower blade, which stays sharp even when dull.
Questions
When should I overseed my lawn in fall?
For cool-season grass, aim for early fall while the soil is still warm and the air has cooled, ideally at least 45 days before your first expected frost. Warm-season grasses are usually overseeded in late spring or summer instead.
Can I aerate and overseed on the same day?
Yes. Run the core aerator first, then spread seed so it falls into the holes and gets good contact with the soil. Water lightly right after.
Do I really need a soil test before fertilizing?
It is worth it. A test tells you whether you need phosphorus or lime at all, which saves money and stops you from over-applying nutrients your lawn already has.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
