Late Fall Fertilizing with LAWN DEPOT WINTERFEAST TURF FOOD – Late fall brings us ever closer to the end of the grass growing season, when roots are still active but top 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. 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 stay green longer into the fall, green up faster in the spring and are thicker and healthier. Fertilize with WINTERFEAST now for best results, before the ground freezes solid
Late Fall Seeding – By now, all serious seeding/reseeding should have been completed. Although soil temperatures are still well above 45°F, they are cooling. As overnight temperatures fall more regularly, seed germination becomes more challenging even when seeded areas are kept moist. The Lawn Depot recommends that the only seeding that should be considered from now on (early to mid-November) should be done with our fastest-germinating seed mix, certified A-LIST GLS Resistant PERENNIAL RYEGRASS BLEND (Trifecta). Any seeding done going forward (as well as seed sown earlier that hasn’t yet fully germinated) should be irrigated regularly (daily). New grass doesn’t have to be mowed before winter dormancy sets in. Newly germinated grass isn’t adversely affected by cold. So, let your objective in late fall be to get all the seed germinated. Then roots will continue to develop in the warmer underground, and by next spring the new grass will be ready to burst forth.
Liming Lawns in the Late Fall – Liming acidic soils regularly allows fertilizer nutrients to be more readily absorbed by the growing grass plants. In addition to providing a readily available source of Calcium and Magnesium. A soil pH of 6.5 is ideal to provide for the maximum availability of the macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients in most turf fertilizers. Our fast-acting Enhanced Lime with Humic Acids and beneficial biological soil microbes is applied at 4 to 5 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. for maintenance applications or 10 to 12 lbs./1,000 sq. ft. to increase pH. It is more effective than traditional limestone products in both maintaining and 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, increased overall plant vigor, as well as drought and climatic stress tolerance.
Mowing and Leaf Removal – Grass is still growing. And leaves are still falling. We strongly encourage you to continue managing both through the end of the growing season, later November or early December. As soil temperatures are still warm coupled with any rain we get, lawns will continue to grow. It’s imperative to not let leaves accumulate on lawns, or let lawns get ragged from lack of regular mowing, so we’re recommending that lawns still be mowed as needed, every 7-14 days. Bear in mind that grass won’t completely stop growing until the soil nears the freezing point. At that point, we’d like lawns to be leaf-free and mowed at a height of about 3”.