Fall Lawn To Do's
If you only fertilize your lawn once a year October is the best month. Even after the grass leaves stop growing in late fall the roots continue to grow and fall fertilization insures that your lawn goes into winter in good condition and helps with early green-up next spring.
Aerate your lawn this month, as you look for, and remove weeds. Fall is the time to control certain broadleaf weeds in the lawn, such as white clover, dandelion and ground ivy.
Early October is a good time for patching the lawn. Make sure seeding patches are carefully watered and keep foot traffic away from the area.
Continue mowing as long as your grass is growing. Most modern mowers also do a good job of mulching tree leaves if they aren’t too thick. Just leave the cuttings out on the lawn to decompose. This can help protect against sudden frost and also helps to feed the lawn.
While it can be a time-consuming job, do make the effort to rake or vacuum leaves from your lawn. Leaves that are left on the lawn, especially maple or sycamore leaves, can actually smother the lawn. Raking will not only keep your lawn in good shape, but it will also provide you with inexpensive mulch for your garden beds. Save the raked leaves and run over the leaf piles with a lawn mower. This will shred the leaves and keep them from matting. Liberally mulch your gardens, trees and shrubs after the ground has frozen. If you still have a lot of leaves, then be sure to compost the rest of them.