Mow Smart this Fall for a Great Looking Lawn
Our intense summer heat can have a big impact on your lawn. We always recommend leaving your lawn taller in the heat of summer, which helps it hold on to more moisture and better shade the soil and root system. But as temperatures change, so should your mower height.
Too tall? Too short?
How you mow, including how tall or how short has is a key part of good lawn care. Mowing at the right time in early spring will help you cut back on lawn weeds. In summer, you’ll want to keep your lawn a bit taller to allow it to better shade itself and the soil (meaning you won’t have to water or mow as much). As temperatures cool in fall, you’ll want to gradually mow shorter in preparation for winter dormancy.
Drop it
As the day and night temperatures begin to cool down now through early fall, you’ll want to gradually drop the height of your mower’s blade each time you mow to the recommended height for your species of grass. But remember, you never want to cut off more than a third of the grass blade at a time. Because grass grows slower in the fall, you can also cut back on the frequency of your mowing.
Mower upkeep
Over summer when you were mowing at a more regular pace, your mower blades might have dulled. Now is a great time to do some mower maintenance. One of the most important elements of mower care is to ensure your blades are sharp. Dull mower blades can rip at the grass blades rather than cut, leaving your lawn susceptible to damage from the weather, pests, and fungi. Is the bag off your mower? Go ahead and leave those clippings on the lawn, as long as they aren’t too long or pile up in one spot. Grass clippings are nitrogen-rich and will break down into a natural fertilizer for your lawn.
More winter prep tips…
Along with the right way to mow, you’ll also want to adjust your watering as the season cools. The additional water you might have put on your lawn in the heat of summer won’t be necessary when temperatures cool down in September and October. Lawns that are overwatered this time of year typically succumb to a host of fungal diseases, such as brown patch and gray mold.
Lawns on our Soil Building program will be treated for weed control in September to reduce spring weeds; and in late fall we’ll apply a liquid foliar feeding of essential nutrients to encourage strong root growth through winter.
mowing,St. Augustine,turfgrass,lawn care
