12 Fall Lawn Care Chores to Check Off Your List Now

Caring for your lawn in the fall is crucial for achieving lush, vibrant green grass in the spring. Homeowners with trees are used to raking leaves during this season, but the cool autumn weather is also perfect for fertilizing, controlling weeds, and other yard maintenance tasks. For a thick, healthy lawn next year, check out these fall lawn care tips that will set your yard up for springtime success.

Adjust Your Mowing Height

If you raised the height of your lawn mower during the summer to protect your grass from heat stress, lower it back to the normal height in the fall. Cutting your grass a bit shorter in autumn helps prevent it from getting matted under leaves and snow. However, avoid cutting it too short, as this can weaken the grass and make it more susceptible to weeds.

For most grasses, setting the mower deck height to about 3 inches works best in the fall.

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Give Your Grass Plenty of Water

If a summer drought continues into fall, water your lawn deeply a few times before the first frost. Doing so will help your grass transition smoothly into winter before the ground freezes. Sometimes, nature will give you a hand with rain, but if you do need to water, do it in the morning when the winds are lighter to reduce evaporation and ensure the soil retains most of the moisture.

Apply Fertilizer

If you live in the north, fall is the best time to fertilize your lawn. Cool-season grasses like bluegrass, fescue, and ryegrass benefit from feeding in early September and again in late fall (end of October or November). Adding fertilization to your fall lawn care routine will help your grass turn green earlier and appear more lush in the spring.

If you're in the south, avoid fertilizing dormant warm-season grasses unless they've been overseeded with winter ryegrass.

Repair Dead Patches

Early fall is an excellent time for reseeding dead or thin patches in cool-season lawns. Using a mulch product embedded with seed and fertilizer is a convenient way to fill the sparse spots. Prepare the soil bed with a rake before seeding, and water regularly for a couple of weeks to ensure quick germination.

Seeding in fall means fewer weeds the following year, and the seedlings will have time to establish before the stress of summer heat hits.

Lay Sod

Fall is a great time to start a new cool-season lawn or patch existing turf with sod due to moderate temperatures and abundant moisture, which helps sod establish quickly. High-quality sod that's thick, dense, and weed-free offers an instant solution to bare spots.

If it gets dry, make sure to water new sod daily.

Check for Thatch

Thatch is a layer of dead organic matter near the soil surface. Too much thatch can lead to disease and insect problems and make your lawn vulnerable to drought and cold damage. Thatch can build up if you over-fertilize or water too often. Check for thatch by turning over a small section of turf with a spade. An inch or less is fine, but if there's more than that, your lawn will benefit from removing some.

Remove Excess Thatch

Dethatching involves cutting through the thatch layer and removing the debris. Power rakes or vertical mowers are efficient tools for this task and can be rented from hardware stores. After using one of these machines, use a hand rake to collect the thatch and then compost the debris.

Be careful with grasses like centipede grass and St. Augustine grass; use machines with appropriately spaced knives for these varieties.

Aerate

Aeration is an essential fall lawn care step that reduces thatch, improves drainage, and loosens soil. Core aerators are recommended as they remove plugs of soil (called cores), breaking up thatch and improving soil structure. The cores are left on the turf to break down naturally with rain, mowing, and foot traffic.

Aerate cool-season grasses in early fall and warm-season grasses in spring.

Attack Weeds

A healthy, lush lawn is the best way to control weeds without using chemical herbicides. Focus on proper mowing, aerating, and fertilizing to keep your lawn in top shape, which will naturally shade out smaller weeds.

For larger weeds, use tools to pull them out by the roots. If you must use a weed killer, follow the label instructions carefully and target only the weeds you want to remove.

Apply a Topdressing

Topdressing involves spreading a thin layer of soil or compost over your lawn. This improves growing conditions, reduces thatch, increases soil organic matter, smooths bumps, and decreases the need for fertilizer. After dethatching and aerating, spread a ¼- to ½-inch layer of high-quality soil over the lawn, especially in thinning areas. Work the topdressing into the soil with a rake.

Remove Fallen Leaves

Remove fallen leaves by raking or mulching them with a mower before they mat and smother your grass. A mulching mower can shred small amounts of leaves and return the organic matter to the soil. Stay on top of mulching by mowing or using a leaf vacuum every few days. If there are too many leaves, rake and compost them, or rake them into your garden to join the "Leave the Leaves" movement.

Drain Irrigation Lines

Completely drain your lawn's irrigation system before freezing weather arrives. Use compressed air (not exceeding 50 psi) or drain valves to empty the system. For best results, shut off the water to the system and drain each zone separately, including the main supply line from the house.

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the best time to fertilize a lawn during fall?

Apply fertilizer to cool-season lawns from September to November. Homeowners in the north should fertilize earlier in the fall before temperatures drop too low.

Should I seed my lawn before I fertilize in the fall?

If you're working with an existing lawn, lay seed 4 to 8 weeks before applying fertilizer. This gives the grass seed time to sprout and benefit from the nutrients in the fertilizer.