You might think it’s far, far too early to consider spring lawn care. Actually, what you do this fall can make or break your lawn next spring. Fall is the perfect time for lawn aeration for a variety of reasons. If you do this now, your grass will thank you later.
Why Is Fall The Best Time To Aerate
It may sound counterintuitive. Doesn’t grass start growing in spring? The short answer is yes. However, fall has warm days that aren’t scorching and cool nights that aren’t freezing. These are the ideal conditions for grass to grow. Think of it as the Goldilocks scenario for your turfgrass. Aside from having the preferred temperature for your lawn, there are other benefits to adding aeration to your fall lawn care.
Aeration Breaks Up Hard Soil Before Winter
Compaction is something that happens naturally over time due to thatch build-up and foot traffic. How quickly your soil becomes compacted depends on how you use your lawn. For example, if you only walk across your lawn to mow it, your soil will take a long time to compact. If you have children or pets playing on the grass, all that foot traffic will make your lawn compact faster. Late summer is when the soil’s compaction is hardest, after all the romping around during the summer months. If your soil is already hard and goes through the winter that way, you’re really doing your grass a disservice come spring. Soil needs to be relatively loose so your grass’ roots can expand and grow. Soil that’s hard like concrete is the last thing your grass wants.
Weeds Are Going Dormant Right Now
When your lawn care services technician aerates the soil, it opens up the earth and makes it easier for weed control products to seep into the soil. The best weed control is proactive. If you can target weeds before they have a chance to germinate, you won’t have to worry about them down the road. Unfortunately, aerating in spring can kick up dormant weeds accidentally. Broadleaf weeds need a LOT of direct sunlight to germinate. If they’re buried deep in the soil, hidden beneath the turfgrass, they likely will never sprout. But if they are churned up during spring aeration, they’ll have a chance to go to seed. Aerating in the fall, however, does not have this problem because weeds are starting to go dormant for the winter.
Grass Likes To Keep It Chill
The preferred grass blend of Colorado is cool-season grass. This means that the grass blends that do best here prefer cooler weather. As mentioned above, fall is home to the ideal temperature that cool-season grass – like Kentucky bluegrass – prefers. This time of year is less stressful without the scorching summer heat or potentially freezing temps that occur on a spring night. Grass has one last growth spurt before fall, and aerating now allows them to really bulk up the nutrient levels and prepare for winter. Basically, your grass stores up its food the same way humans store up food after the harvest every fall.
Snatch The Thatch
All lawns have thatch. It’s something that builds up over time from dead leaves or blades of grass. Some thatch in your lawn is actually beneficial. It helps keep weeds at bay and can help grass retain moisture during the heat of summer. But if the thatch is too thick, it can swing the other way and be harmful to your grass. Early fall is when the thatch layer is at its thickest because of all the grass clippings and dead grass chopped during the summer mowing season. Leaving this thick layer over winter will suffocate your grass. When snow falls on top of the thatch, it creates an environment for things like snow mold to flourish. Aerating in the fall not only breaks up hard compacted soil but also relieves any thatch build-up.
Get Fall Lawn Care For Your Colorado Springs Lawn
Now’s the time to rejuvenate your lawn, so it’s prepared next spring! Green Vision offers lawn care near Colorado Springs. Our aeration treatment will break up thatch, reduce compacted soil, and allow your lawn to absorb oxygen, water, nutrients, and sunlight to get one last growth spurt in before winter arrives. If you’re interested in learning more or would like to schedule an appointment, give us a call at 719-453-2000 or leave us a message online.
