If you haven’t done so already, here’s a short shopping list of nice things you can give your lawn before the upcoming holiday season.
First of all, we write regularly that a good fall fertilization is the most important feeding of the year. That’s true, because as your grass plants slip into winter dormancy the nitrogen you apply turns into sugars and is absorbed over the winter, in the freeze line, available come spring the moment your lawn awakes with that ravenous appetite. It will respond immediately, as opposed to top feeding then and running the risk of heavy spring rains and runoff.
Cut a pattern with your final fall mowing that leaves a nice visual all winter long.
Second, if you’re not in the habit of fall core aeration we cannot stress enough the cultural benefits of “plugging” your lawn. It breaks up the hard pan of continual foot and mower traffic over the summer, it creates better access to air, water, and nutrients, and best of all, it promotes new root growth. You can tell a difference next spring, side by side, between a lawn that has been aerated and one that has not.
Last, your final mowing of the fall is more important that you might think. If you have a zero-turn mower, in particular, take the extra time to cut a stripe pattern that will last over the winter, creating more visual interest and a pleasing design at which to look.
Look, is it too much to ask for something that over the course of the year gives most homeowners more than they take the time to appreciate? The answer is no, so, take the time now to add it to your holiday list…before the ground freezes and the snow blows.
Do something nice, and decorative, for your lawn and landscape…before the holidays.
