Control Broadleaf Perennial Weeds with Liquid TRIMEC Herbicide – As I’ve said a million times over the years, all lawns have weeds in them every fall. Weed seeds from mature plants blow everywhere around our pristine neighborhoods all spring and summer, and some of them land in your yards. None of us are exempt. At the end of the broadleaf weeds’ growing season, you can assure that your lawn will be weed-free next spring by applying liquid TRIMEC herbicide. If the lawn is full of broadleaf weeds (dandelions, clovers, plantains and many more…) apply liquid TRIMEC to the whole lawn now. If you have been keeping up with the weeds all year and don’t see many weeds now, walk the whole lawn with a container of TRIMEC solution, and spot treat any weeds you see. Be sure that there’s no rain in the forecast for 12 hours after application and don’t mow for 24 hours afterwards to ensure maximum absorption of the herbicide by the weeds. An added measure to ensure best results is to use a spreader sticker (non-ionic surfactant) to aid the herbicide in adhering to the weeds better.
Seeding Lawns in October – Without question, late August and all of September are preferable seeding times to October, but anytime in October (and even into early November) still allows for plenty of time for complete seed germination before the snow flies, and plant establishment before the ground freezes solid. Lawn Depot seed mixtures are blended to our specifications for our growing region, from the growers in the Pacific Northwest and shipped to us in truckload quantities each year. We sell a great deal of lawn seed, and we strongly believe that virtually all lawns benefit from SOME overseeding every fall. Whether it be spot seeding thin, shady areas or overseeding the entire lawn. Come in and discuss your lawn and its needs with one of our friendly and knowledgeable staff. Your lawns will appreciate the upgrade.
Fertilizing Lawns in Mid-October – It’s too early for Lawn Depot WINTERFEAST (late fall) turf food, but it’s not too late for our slow-release early fall 16-2-3 turf food if you haven’t fertilized since the spring. Lawns continued growing actively all summer due to the regular rainfall and they’re worn out by now. You can bring them back to a deep-green, lush color with a fertilizer application now, followed by the November/December WINTERFEAST root-oriented feeding. And, if you’ve already seeded (or plan to shortly), this fertilization will definitely help the seedlings to get well established. We like lawns to be fed 4 times each year: early and late spring, and early and late fall.
Liming and/or Core Aerating Lawns in October – Both of these soil conditioning activities are recommended annually (at least once) for lawns in southeastern PA. We’re blessed with great weather for growing lovely, lush, deep-green lawns, but we are also cursed with dense (high clay content), acidic (low soil pH) soil. Dense soil resists deep moisture penetration and root development, and acidic soil reacts chemically with the macro-nutrients in our fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium), making them less readily available to the grass plants. Regularly loosening the turf (aerating) and sweetening the soil (liming) improves our growing conditions greatly. Liming can be done whenever the ground isn’t frozen solid. Core aerating can be done any time during the grass growing season when the ground is soft enough to pull at least 2”-3” plugs, normally April-early June and/or September-early November. 2021 has been terrific for aeration – both spring and fall.
Mowing Lawns and Leaf Drop in October – As the nights get increasingly cooler in mid and late October, lawn growth rates will decrease significantly (regardless of whether or not they’ve been fed recently). When the days are still warm and the nighttime lows drop increasingly into the 40s and 30s, top growth of lawns slows while root and crown growth continues in the warm soil. The crown is where the blades emerge from the roots – the thickening of the plant. As growth slows and temperatures cool, we recommend that you drop mower decks (mowing height) to around 3” and that you reduce mowing frequency to every 7-10 days, as needed. However, as the leaves begin to fall in greater profusion, and right on through the completion of leaf fall, it’s critical that you keep the leaves from accumulating on lawns. You can rake ‘em, blow ‘em, vacuum ’em, or chop ‘em up and collect ‘em with the mower, but don’t let ‘em lay on the lawn long, particularly if we have rain while they’re falling. If leaves are allowed to lay on lawns for any extended period, they will mat the grass plants down and can possibly do significant damage to the lawn. So, try to not let leaves accumulate on the lawns during leaf drop.