Is Fall the Best Time to Seed Your Lawn?
Starting now until mid October is the optimum time to apply grass seed to your lawn and have successful results. It certainly is more desirable to apply grass seed now then waiting for next spring when weeds and cold weather can really hamper your efforts.
Even though night time temperatures can be less than 60 degrees, the soil temperature is probably 5 to 10 degrees higher. Newly planted grass seed likes warm soil. The grass roots reach down deep to establish the plant before winter weather sets in. Proper soil preparation is key to growing a successful lawn. Please do not just throw grass seed over your existing lawn. Instead, rake areas to be seeded vigorously to loosen the soil or rent a seeding machine for best results. Be sure not to bury newly planted grass seed more than ¼” in depth.
A few times a year I hear from homeowners who planted their grass seed too deeply and little grew. Once seed is applied, turn your rake over and gently swish it back and forth to barely cover the seed. By this time of year, we may even experience our first frost, but lawns will still grow with sunny days ahead. The first frost is very welcome; it will kill any existing crabgrass. First the crabgrass leaves turn purple and then brown a week later when completely dead. These areas can benefit from newly planted grass seed to fill in bare spots. Remember, your lawn can only be as good as the grass seed you sow, always buy Jonathan Green grass seed!
What about your soil pH? Do you know your pH, and have you tested it? Soil test kits are available at many stores. This is critical to growing a healthy lawn. Cool-season grasses like soil pH values between 6.2 to 7.0 for optimum growth. Mostly likely your soil pH is low and would benefit from an application of Mag-I-Cal. Calcium helps to develop cell walls and prepare grass plants for winter, while reducing disease potential.
Weed control in lawns at this time of year is generally limited to broadleaf weeds. Provided weeds are actively growing and soil temperatures are above 55 degrees, you can successfully control many types of broadleaf weeds. Some of these weeds may be masked by the better looking lawn areas, scan you lawn to see where they are growing. If you only have a few weeds here and there perhaps spot spraying is best. If you have a lot weeds a broadcast application of 0-0-7 would be best. Why not give your lawn its last feeding for the season and clean out as many weeds as you can before next year? Keep mowing your lawn as long as it needs it into late fall. Be sure your mower blades are sharp and in good working order. Leave clippings on the lawn provided they are not wet or developing clumps which may kill existing grass.
Utilizing equipment such as an aerator is another way to effectively increase your seeding efforts. Lawn aeration makes sure your grass gets adequate water and nutrients as well as loose soil for proper development of roots.
If you are only repairing small areas of your lawn, a metal hand rake or spike roller will also do the trick! Make sure you loosen the soil enough to promote aeration, same as you would with a larger spike or plug aerator. Removing thick thatch will also help your seed to germinate!