Autumn is a wonderful time in the garden – mild temperatures, colour changes and the chance of some rain to ease on irrigation needs. It’s also the ideal opportunity to get some jobs done and prepare your lawn and garden with the tools it needs to survive winter. This is our recommended autumn lawn care to-do list.
Your Autumn lawn care to-do list
Aerate
During summer you spend a lot more time on your lawn, combine this with the heat of the sun and your soil base can get quite compacted. These conditions are not ideal for turf growth. However, aeration will help improve the soil structure.
To aerate your lawn, you can use either an aerator, garden fork, or aerator sandals. Simply drive the fork into the lawn and give the fork a wiggle to help create fractures within the soil profile. By doing this, the soil will allow better root growth, water penetration and allow for oxygen to the soil profile.
Fertilise
By fertilising your lawn in autumn, you will be preparing your lawn with its essential nutrients, encourage growth and extend your lawns colouring heading into the cooler periods. Autumn fertilising will help your lawn recover quicker from any stresses that it faced over summer and will help it repair itself faster. We recommend applying a slow-release granular fertiliser, such as Lawn Solutions Premium Fertiliser, as it will break down gradually releasing nutrients for your grass for up to 12 weeks after the initial application.
If you’re looking for something a bit extra Iron Guard Plus is a liquid bio-stimulant containing iron that will maximise turfgrass colour retention and promote lateral growth, making it ideal for improved winter dormancy transition.
Tackle Weeds
Autumn is a great time to get on top of any weeds that have come through your lawn over the summer. As we start to head into winter, your grass will start to become dormant and slowdown in its growth. However, this is not the same case for weeds as many of them will still continue to grow into the cooler months.
To get control over these weeds, apply an appropriate herbicide or remove by hand. To prevent Crab Grass, Winter Grass, Oxalis, and Crowfoot in winter you can apply a pre-emergent product such as Oxafert in mid to late autumn, just before these weeds germinate, preventing them from growing in your lawn.
Manage Shade
Heading into the cooler months, it is important to ensure that your lawn will be receiving enough sunlight. We recommend that you regularly prune any trees, bushes, and other foliage to better allow for sunlight. If your yard experiences leaves falling onto your lawn, we recommend that you rake these up regularly, so they don’t prevent sunlight getting through to the grass.
Keep Mowing!
You will find that you will be mowing less frequently due to the weather cooling down. While the number of times that you are required to mow will start to reduce, it is important to not forget about the lawn completely. As the weather begins to cool down, we recommend that you raise the mower height to give your lawn the best chance to absorb sunlight and nutrients. A longer leaf will help to ensure a thicker canopy that is better able to block out weeds and retain colour in winter.
Prevent Pests
If you like to keep your lawn protected from bugs all year round, your 6 monthly application of Grub Guard Ultimate will be due in Autumn.
Applied in autumn and spring, Grub Guard Ultimate will give you year-round protection from damaging bugs – something you don’t want in your lawn!
This is autumn lawn care made easy!
Follow this advice and your lawn will be in tip-top shape to tackle the winter months ahead and come out on top in spring! If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our lawn consultants.
Purchase all the products you need for autumn in our autumn protect pack here!
