Late Fall Fertilizing with LAWN DEPOT WINTERFEAST TURF FOOD – Late fall brings us ever closer toward the end of the grass growing season, when roots are still active but blade growth has greatly slowed. This is the most important feeding time of the year for grass plants. Roots grow deeper and thicker in the still-warm soil, while blades green up but don’t grow much. Lawns stay green longer into the fall and green up faster in the spring. Lawns that have been damaged by difficult growing conditions this summer and fall will thicken and recover better with a late fall feeding. Lawn Depot WINTERFEAST fertilizer is the most complete fertilizer available at this time of the year. It’s why our lawns, both DIY lawns and Turf Management lawns look better in late fall and early spring, and are thicker and healthier going into next year. Fertilize with WINTERFEAST now and water-in if possible for best results, before the ground freezes solid in mid-late December or beyond.
Late Fall Seeding – Because of the continued mild temperatures, we’re finding that seed which is watered regularly continues to germinate nicely as we enter November. At the Lawn Depot, we modify our seed mixes as we get deeper into late fall, adding more EVERGREEN perennial ryegrass to our hybrid Tall Fescues in our preferred SURVIVOR MIX, calling it SURVIVOR 2. The later seed is applied the more EVERGREEN perennial ryegrass should be used to the point that applying 100% EVERGREEN is the best option. At this point we’re still encouraging late seeding and/or overseeding, by adding PENN MULCH or TACK STRAW to thin/bare areas to hold the seed in place and keep it moist. We also encourage you to regularly water seeded areas through germination at this time.
Liming Lawns in the Late Fall – Liming acidic soils regularly allows fertilizer nutrients to be more readily absorbed by the growing grass plants. A soil pH of between 6.0 and 6.5 is ideal for the availability the macro-nutrients, as well as the micro-nutrients in most turf fertilizers to the plants. Cal-Turf Pro™ (a fast-acting lime) is applied at 5 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. for maintenance applications or 12 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. to increase pH. Cal-Turf Pro™ is more effective than dolomitic limestone in raising soil pH. It begins to neutralize soil acidity immediately, resulting in soil pH increases that can be measured in weeks rather than months, thus promoting better root development, vigor and growth, as well as drought and stress tolerance.
Mowing and Leaf Removal – Shaggy lawns not only look lousy, they collect more leaves, they get matted down when snow falls on them, they’re more susceptible to snow mold and other winter diseases, and they are much slower to green up in the spring. You should continue with regular mowing (although less frequently due to the dry conditions) through Thanksgiving and into December if the ground remains unfrozen. If you use a mowing service, ask them to make at least one final cut close to Thanksgiving. Similarly, as the leaves continue to fall, we implore you to remove these leaves regularly. Since heavy leaf fall has occurred sooner this year, we encourage you to rake, sweep, blow, or vacuum them up to maintain a virtually leaf-free lawn. From here on, you’ll be able to maintain a leaf-free appearance when you continue to mow as needed, chopping up any stragglers in the process.