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| It's time to overseed to fill bare and dead patches in your lawn. Image courtesy bobvila.com |
First, it’s time to show your lawn a little love. Whether
you’ve let your grass go brown over summer or kept it somewhat green with
regular watering, now is the time to feed. Especially if you haven’t fed your
lawn since spring, once your grass starts to grow again this fall, it’s going
to be hungry!
Chances are, you’ll soon start to see ads for winterizing
fertilizer, but like I’ve written before, it’s still way too early for that.
Right now, your lawn is waking up from summer dormancy, so give it a hearty
feeding with Scotts Turf Builder or Turf Builder with Moss Control. Later this fall—anytime from late October
until early December—you can apply winterizing fertilizer, but given the stress
of this summer, your grass needs the extra nutrients that a spring and summer
fertilizer like Turf Builder offers.
Second, September is the time to overseed your lawn to fill
in bare, dead or thin spots. Typically, homeowners who choose not to water
their grass during summer still have healthy lawns come fall; even during dry
summers we usually get enough rain to sustain a lawn’s root system. This year
was different, however, and as your lawn starts to green up with the milder,
wet weather, you might be surprised to see areas of your lawn that don’t come
back.
If entire swaths of your yard stay brown this fall, you may
have to consider replacing your lawn altogether. If the brown spots are
minimal, though, you can overseed. In those areas, use a stiff landscape rake
to remove as much of the dead grass as possible and expose some soil. Spread
grass seed and starter fertilizer and then crumble a light layer
of peat moss over top to hold in moisture. Lightly water the areas you’ve
seeded regularly to avoid wide swings between wet and dry and in approximately
a week you should see grass sprouting.
At Vander Giessen's, we carry all the supplies you need for reseeding your lawn, including our own Vander Giessen Mix grass seed blend, as well as starter fertilizer, peat moss, and if you need it, topsoil. And if you're planning to redo your yard entirely, we rent out large landscape rakes and lawn rollers to help you get the job done right.
As autumn approaches, now is also the time to start planting
shrubs, trees and perennials around your yard. Autumn’s cooler weather is ideal
for transplanting just about anything into your yard, so take advantage of the
changing seasons to get some new plants in the ground.
Whatever you’re planting, remember that the soil you plant
in will make a huge difference in the longevity of your plants. Whether you
have heavier clay soil or very sandy soil, your plants will benefit from some
organic compost or Black Gold soil conditioner mixed in the hole around each plant. Both
compost and soil conditioner help to loosen clay soils and hold moisture in
sandy, porous soil.
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| 'Cool Wave' pansies come in several colors and with their impressive trailing habit bloom all winter long |
Finally, add some fresh color to your porch or patio! If
you’ve kept your flowers going strong through the heat of summer, kudos to you,
but even the best care is no match for a windstorm or heavy rains like we’ve
had. Replant your pots with winter pansies—or better yet, Cool Wave trailing
pansies—and be rewarded with an abundance of flowers through fall, winter and well
into next spring.
At Vander Giessen's, our greenhouse is full of fresh color for autumn, whether you're looking for pansies, mums, asters, cabbage, kale or ornamental grasses. Stop in, pick out a pot and let us help you fill it to make your front porch look beautiful.
A new season is upon us, so make the most of it this fall
and enjoy the opportunity to work in the yard and garden without the risk of
heatstroke!
