Fall is already upon us, which means it’s the optimal time to freshen up your lawn.

Typically, the best time to utilize lawn care renovation services is early September to mid-October due to changing ground temperatures. As the weeks cool down, your lawn will be warm in the day and colder at night, which better enables grass seed germination.

Treating your lawn in the early fall also helps it to begin rebuilding grass roots that were damaged during the hot, dry summer, ultimately buffing up your yard for the cold season. Especially if you’ve planted cool-season grass, this time of year is a prime growth season for your yard.

Here are some of the best practices we can provide for your lawn care before the winter months roll in.

1. Aerate and seed your lawn.

One of the most important things we can do to help your lawn is to treat compacted soil, which restricts root growth and limits soil oxygen. Our aerators correct this by removing plugs in your lawn and perforating the ground with small holes. The plugs then break down on the surface while the holes left behind allow for water, air and other nutrients to reach deep down into your soil and grass roots. New seed then falls into the holes, allowing fresh and healthy grass to grow.

The cores left on the lawn after the aeration process also break down to provide the grass with additional nutrients that promote growth and life. In this way, lawn aeration plants new and healthy grass while helping your old grass to breathe better.

2. Remove thatch build-up with verticutting.

Thatch is a combination of dead stems and roots that forms between the blades of healthy, young grass. While a certain amount of thatch is necessary for a healthy lawn, an excess of it can choke your yard of vital nutrients needed to preserve your grass. Excessive thatch also allows for insects and disease to reproduce in your lawn.

Verticutting, a landscaping technique that allows your grass to grow taller and retain moisture, works to remove excess thatch on your lawn and to allow turf to breathe better. The technique is perfect for yards that aren’t established or have a lot of dead areas. By removing thatch build-up, verticutting ensures that the moisture is absorbed by the fresh, new blades of grass instead of the thatch. Raking can also help dethatch your lawn, but verticutting is simpler, more effective and less labor-intensive.

Our verticutting process can take your lawn from a patch of dirt to a sea of healthy, green grass in a matter of weeks.

3. If your lawn is thin, slice or overseed.

If your lawn is thin with lots of bare patches, overseeding — the process of manually distributing seed across the surface of your lawn using a spreader — can help establish your yard. Fall weather is perfect for germinating cool-season grass seed, so you should overseed around six weeks before anticipated frost.

Slice seeding is also one of the best techniques we use to renovate the dead parts of your lawn. Our process works by using a machine that simultaneously slices and seeds the lawn, increasing the germination of the seed and allowing it to grow stronger and faster.

4. Keep mowing and watering.

Even though the driest months are over, that doesn’t mean your yard doesn’t need watering. While autumn rainfall will help to a degree, most lawns need an additional one inch of water per week to stay healthy.

Even as the heat cools down and frosts creep in, your grass will keep growing, so you should continue mowing it to its regular length until it stops growing for the season.

5. Fertilize your lawn.

The ideal time to feed your lawn is around six weeks before the season’s first frost. We offer high-nitrogen fertilizers to help establish hearty roots, which have a better chance of surviving winter weather.

Looking for a provider?

Rooted Landscape offers a team of experts in services needed to preserve your lawn through the cold season. As a local, family-owned business conveniently located in Olathe, Rooted Landscape’s lawncare services are custom-tailored to your property’s unique needs.

Ready to see your lawn thrive this fall season? Call us today for a free consultation.

Jon Johnson is Rooted Landscape’s President. Founded in 1990, family-owned Rooted Landscape serves as trusted landscaping partner for Kansas City homeowners, HOAs, property managers and home builders. From lawn care to snow removal, sprinkler systems to hardscapes, we bring a passion for the outdoors and a full-service approach to every project. Learn more at rootedland.com.