Don't 'leave it' until spring

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Cindy Parker

It’s sad but true, in a few short weeks we’ll make the transition from mowing to blowing.

Before the snow blowing, there are several weeks of leaf blowing if you live in a “woodsy” area. Even if you’re in the suburbs with no trees in your own yard, it seems that the leaves come from miles away – just to land in your yard and remind you that the season’s changing.

Although the fallen leaves are a great addition to compost and can provide good, free mulch for flower beds, it is not good for leaves to remain on grass. In fact, leaves will kill a lawn if they’re not removed.

Fallen leaves create a mat that effectively smothers grass. A healthy lawn thrives on air, sunshine, water and nutrients. With a layer of snow over a mat of leaves – your green yard won’t last the winter.

To prepare your lawn for the tough months ahead, there are a few treatments that can help ensure your grass will be lush and provide many hours of mowing pleasure next summer.

First of all, don’t stop mowing thinking that long grass will somehow protect your lawn.

Remove fallen leaves. At least once during the autumn, rake the leaves and de-thatch using a heavy rake or a de-thatching rake. De-thatching removes dead grass. By removing the dead grass, more sunshine, air, water and nutrients will reach the living grass. If the soil seems compacted, you may need to aerate. Aeration opens up the compacted turf and allows better absorption of water and nutrients.

Fall feeding is important for your lawn and if you have highly acidic soil, this is the time of year to apply lime. Fall fertilizer should be high in nitrogen and low in phosphorous. Use mixtures with designations such as 3:1:2 or 32:0:10 (nitrogen:phosphorous;potassium).

Top-dressing and over-seeding are items to consider for encouraging verdant lawn growth next year. After de-thatching and aeration, top-dressing is accomplished by adding a light layer of peat moss blended with topsoil. This is a very light layer that falls between existing blades of grass, it doesn’t cover up any grass. Top-dressing adds organic mass to the lawn, helps build deeper roots, improves water absorption, helps reduce compaction – and has lots of other benefits including “smoothing” out holes, bumps and divots. Also, top-dressing provides the perfect base for over-seeding.

One of the key concerns with over-seeding is to be sure you are using a compatible grass seed. Remember that there are annual and perennial grasses – so determine which type is your goal before purchasing.

As you prepare for that change from green to white, I’ll just close with a re-cap of the “Jerry Baker Lawn Tonic.” Most of the components for this recipe are probably already in your kitchen. The amounts should be enough to cover about 5,000 square feet. Mix everything in a bucket and use to fill a hose-end sprayer.

One bottle of liquid dishwashing liquid (not anti-bacterial)
One can of regular cola (not diet)
1 cup of household ammonia
1 bottle of antiseptic mouthwash like Listerene (or store brand)
One can of beer (two if you reward yourself upon completion of the job)
10 or so drops of hot sauce like Tobasco