Autumn Lawn Care – Geltonas Karutis

The sunscreen is already on the top shelf, the swimsuits are folded, the taste of the first strawberries is already forgotten, but the end of summer does not mean the end of lawn work. If you want to maintain a beautiful lawn, help it recover from summer fun and prepare it properly for winter and next year.

DON’T STOP CUTTING THE LAWN

Even though the outside temperature has dropped significantly, the grass continues to grow. Don’t stop mowing it, because only then will it continue to grow thick and beautiful. In autumn it generally rains quite a bit, the sun doesn’t burn as much as in summer, so the lack of humidity is less and less annoying. Therefore, you can keep your lawn lush and green in the fall.

Fall lawn maintenance doesn’t end until snow covers it.

In autumn it is especially important to use lawnmowers the blades would be sharp. If they flower, the grass is torn up, cut down, the veins are torn out, they wilt while still on the plant, then the whole lawn becomes covered in brown grass tips. In spring or summer, the grass grows faster, so the overall picture recovers faster, and in autumn such a lawn looks quite ugly.

Depending on weather conditions, it is possible for this to happen the last cut will be in November. So don’t put away your cutting tools just yet. When you cut for the last time before winter, raise the blades a little higher.

COMB IF NECESSARY

In Lithuanian we call it very nice: combing the lawn. A beautiful lawn is clean, tidy and tangle-free, the same goes for hair. And in this case there is a comb leaf rake.

Use it mainly where many dead grass blades, brown leaves, etc. are clearly visible. Normally when they fall, they should decompose, fertilizing the existing soil. However, if there is too much mulch, not everything decomposes well, remnants of unbroken grass are seen, then a thick sod forms in the lower layer of the lawn, through which water, sun and air hardly penetrate, and the roots develop worse.

If there are many parts of the grass that are not rotten, those areas can be combed out with a leaf rake in the fall.

If the lawn area is small, simply rake it with a leaf rake, in other words comb it. You can also buy a special tool for this – a ripper. It is a shaft with a roller covered with blades.
If you have a lot of lawn, it will help you electric scarifier. However, it’s not really necessary to brush them every year, so carefully consider whether it’s worth the investment.

You can rent a petrol scarifier: it will cost around 10-12 EUR/hour, or up to 50 EUR per day. It is optimal to agree with neighbors and rent an instrument together for the whole day or weekend.

Specialists recommend scarifying in springbecause after this procedure the growth of the lawn is activated. For this reason, scarification is one way to reduce mossy areas in your lawn. However, even in autumn, if necessary, you can make it easier for a poor lawn to face the winter.

LET AIR IN IF NECESSARY

Aeration is another lawn care method that is necessary, but not every year. In summary, this process can be called lawn aeration.

Aeration is necessary where the soil becomes compacted over time. This clayey soil areas where the water tends to stagnate: there it is really difficult for the plants to guarantee sufficient air movement. No more serious trampled place It also doesn’t add beauty to the lawn and makes it harder for plants to get air. Therefore, at least these places really need to be helped.

To organize a small area, take the simplest ones forks. You need to make holes at least 8 cm deep, you can prick the ground every 10 cm. Through the puncture site, air and water will enter the soil more easily, the roots will have room to expand: not only laterally, but also deeper. This work is dedicated to root health.

After aeration, sand can be sprinkled so that it flows into the holes and thus performs the drainage function, improving the structure of the soil.

Special tools (aerators) can also be used for aeration, especially if you have larger grassy areas. Again, it can be purchased or rented for as long as needed.

Scarify and aerate only in dry weather.

WHAT TO DO WITH MOSS

Lawn care in autumn is often associated with the fight against moss. For this, preparations based on iron sulfate are traditionally used – now is the time for such works.

Autumn lawn care

Stop and think before you do if you are tired of fighting moss. In good conditions, grass will always win a duel against moss. Therefore, if moss appears, the conditions for the lawn are not right. Most of the time this happens due to lack of lighting. Growing in the shade, the lawn does not receive enough sun, its development slows down and the resulting empty areas become filled with moss. This is a typical situation where moss constantly appears in a certain part of the plot. Fight the chemicals as much as you want, but the situation will not be on your side.

Some ways to respond to moss in your lawn:

• One way to overcome moss is encourage lawn growth. So if you scarify your lawn this fall and fertilize it with fall fertilizer, one point is already in your favor.
• Another way is conciliate with the presence of moss. In Lithuania moss is considered an evil to be fought. In some foreign countries, especially in Scandinavia, moss is considered a beautiful plant with a unique structure, a soft and pleasant to the touch texture and a beautiful color that does not require additional maintenance and attention.
• And another way is to grow a lawn not in the shade, but shade tolerant perennials. If you don’t walk on that part of the land and grow a lawn just because there is no other use of the space, why not create a nice corner of shade plants there (what to choose, read Here AND Here). You won’t even need to mow it every two weeks.

So, before fighting moss in your lawn, think about whether it is really necessary.

IS IT NECESSARY TO FERTILIZE THE LAWN IN AUTUMN?

Forget about ordinary fertilizers with nitrogen: if you fertilize with them, you will activate growth, the lawn will be beautiful and green, but after the winter the picture will be very sad. Now the main work is not to stimulate the growth of green mass, but to prepare it strong and resistant root. Requires potassium and phosphorus. So, if you have already decided to pamper your lawn with fertilizers, choose those labeled autumn or simply carefully study their composition.

We do not encourage the use of herbicides, but if you cannot do without them, plan such work until mid-October so that the temperature does not drop below 10 degrees.

If you are friendly with chemicals, spray the lawn with fungicides (against fungi) after the last cut.

And if it’s closer to you natural methodsjust pay attention to the lawn in winter: rake the leaves in time, don’t walk on the snow-covered lawn, don’t pile snow on it and scatter the mountains of melting snow. This will significantly reduce the risk of mold and other fungal diseases.

The article was also published on the LRytas.lt portal.

If you’re about to seed or renovate your lawn, read on about what’s important when choosing lawn seed: «Meadow seeds: what’s hidden in a beautiful package«