Give your Lawn some Love this Fall
by Bob Mulder

As the weather cools and the humidity drops, fall is a great time to get back out in the garden. It’s also a great time to give your lawn a little TLC to bring it back lush, green and healthy in the spring. Landscaper Bob Mulder shares some of his wisdom on preparing your lawn for its long – and rejuvenating – winter’s nap.

Emma admiring a healthy, eco-friendly lawn. Photo from www.alpenschatz.com

Feed your lawn mindfully

1) Know how many square feet of lawn you have so you can apply the correct amount of fertilizer or lime.

2) Take a soil test and send it in to the NC Department of Agriculture Soil Testing Service. Check with your County Extension Agent if you need help.

3) Apply lime and fertilizer as recommended by the soil test. Generally speaking, lawns only need two applications of fertilizer a year. Lime applications may be done even less frequently.

4) Use fertilizers that recycle animal manures. It's easier on the soils and helps farmers find a use for their animal wastes, providing them with additional income.

5) Aerate your lawn at least once per year and leave the corings. Applying lime and fertilzer immediately after aeration will help get the lime and fertilizer into the root zone.

6) Make sure all fertilizer and lime products are swept or blown off paved surfaces back on to the lawn areas. This keeps nutrient pollution out of our rivers and streams.

Choose appropriate plantings

7) If you live in central or eastern North Carolina, plant a warm season grass like centipede or zoysia. They do better in our warm climate and have fewer disease problems than fescue.

8) If you do have a cool season grass like fescue, reseed (overseed) once in the fall and once in the spring at the rate of 5 - 10 pounds per 1,000 square feet.

9) The definition of a lawn is many green plants all cut to the same size. Do some hand weeding of any plants you don't like.

Avoid pesticides

10) Don't use herbicides, insecticides or fungicides on your lawn. A healthy lawn can be had without adding to the poisons already in the environment. •

Bob Mulder practices environmentally sound landscaping in Raleigh, NC