One of the biggest gardening headaches at this time of year is falling leaves. Do you rake every day or wait until all the leaves are down before clearing them off the grass? The answer as always is somewhere in between. If you wait until the trees have dropped all their leaves then your grass will be struggling to survive underneath a suffocating cap of rotting vegetation. If left, this 'thatch' promotes the growth of bacteria in the grass and can encourage disease. However, raking every day is a little too 'extreme gardening' for most people, so during the autumn months try to rake at least once a week. Use the right tools for the job to rake the thatch off the top of your still-growing lawn such as a spring-tine rake, garden rake or, if you want to make the job even easier, a powered rake.
Let your lawn breathe. Autumn lawn care is all about knowing your lawn. What kind of soil is your lawn growing on? What kind of grass seed forms the basis of your lawn? For those lucky enough to have loamy soil, very little in the way of feeding needs to be done, although every lawn appreciates a bit of extra nutrient now and then. For those on heavy clay, compaction can be a real problem. Because the particles in clay soil are much finer than those in loamy or sandy soil they tend to stick together, suffocating your lawn from the ground up. Lawn sand will also help and sprinkle a good feed mixed in with sand to help keep the soil aerated and to improve drainage.
Feed up your lawn for the winter to help it survive. If your soil is sandy then aeration and drainage may not be a problem. However, retaining nutrients is a different matter, as sandy soils tend to leach nutrients at a much faster rate. All autumn lawn care should include giving your lawn a good feed before the onset of winter and the grass's dormant stage. Choose a lawn feed that contains a good balance of nutrients and some slow-release nitrogen. This is also the time to add a moss killer to the mix before the wet weather encourages moss patches to spread and suffocate the surrounding grass. If you have a large lawn, then the quickest way to spread an even coverage of lawn feed is to use a wheeled spreader. Rotary spreaders are quick and easy to use if you have a large space to cover. Ensure that you do your feeding on a dry day to allow the nutrients to sink into the soil rather than being washed away by rain.
Now is great time to repair any damaged lawn areas. A dry summer or one where young children have given your lawn lots of punishment can leave the grass looking tired and in need of some help. Take advantage of any 'Indian Summer' weather to repair unsightly dead patches by reseeding or, if the weather doesn't allow seeding, try re-turfing. Alternatively, there are lawn repair kits available that are specifically designed to tackle tough patches of dead grass and bring them back to their former glory.
Some well-timed autumn lawn care will set things up nicely for the winter and make sure your lawn is all ready to spring back to life as soon as spring re-appears.
Author Resource:-
Mark says making time for autumn lawn care is one task that all gardeners should do once the summer is over and even if you just do the basic tasks you'll be well on the way to a stunning lawn next year.
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