Fall is a few short weeks away and with warm days and cool nights on Long Island now is the best time to make improvements to your lawn. Most Long Island lawns are comprised of three types of grass; bluegrass, fescue, and rye. Our lawns are cool weather grasses and thrive this time of year. They do not like the heat and suffer even with irrigation and proper fertilization. During this past summer many lawns were hurt due to high heat and humidity.
With the cool weather many will recover and restore to their natural beauty. Some lawns and some areas of the lawn will not recover and this is the optimum time of year to make those improvements. In addition to ideal weather conditions there is much less competition from weeds and crabgrass (an annual) will begin dying off soon. My recommendation is to begin to working on your lawn as soon as possible. Follow these helpful hints for improving your lawn this fall:
- Test your soil pH and adjust accordingly. Most Long Island soils are acidic and grass does not grow well in acidic soils. If your soil pH is very low e.g. 5.0 or lower then it cannot absorb nutrients and fertilizing will not help. Apply lime 2 to 3 times per year to increase the pH. Keep in mind that this requires repeat applications each year as rainfall and irrigation are slightly acidic and will drive down soil pH. Synthetic fertilizers also cause the soil to become more acidic.
- Core aerate your lawn at least one time per year especially now and in the fall. Core aeration opens your lawn and relieves soil compaction. It allows water, air, and nutrients to reach the root zone where it is needed most.
- Power rake to remove dead material that may have accumulated over time and prevented water and nutrients from entering the soil-root zone.
- Top dress with compost. Compost is great for lawns as it contains organic matter, beneficial bacteria and fungus, and particles that all contribute building a healthy soil. Compost helps prevent soil compaction and also has great water holding capacity. During the summer when the weather is super-hot it helps to destress the turf. Many Golf courses use compost every fall on their fairways and tee boxes.
- Fertilize with a high quality brand fertilizer. Slow release fertilizers work best as there is very little waste and the plant receives the benefit without being overfed. Too much nitrogen released to fast causes plant to grow too fast and weakens its health. Consider fertigation as an alternative.
- Apply a quality blended grass seed from a reputable grower that has been produced for Long Island weather and soils. Consider different seed for special areas on your property e.g. sunny vs. shady areas, hard clay soils vs. sandy soils. A preferred blend that looks great and is relatively easy to care for is a bluegrass/ tall fescue mix.
- Mow your lawn with a sharp blade each week to a height of 2.5” – 3.0”. The longer the grass leaf the healthier your lawn and less problems with disease. The longer length of your grass provides more nutrients for the plant and healthier root system.
- Keep leaves and debris off your lawn! Sunlight is critical and wet leaves lying on top of your lawn and new grass seedlings will cause damage and undo your hard work.
- Make sure your sprinkler system is working properly and there are no broken pipes, damaged sprinkler heads, and coverage is uniform. Proper programming is essential to growing new seedlings. Now that the hot weather is behind us reduce watering and consider “cycle & soak” method. Cycle and Soak is a strategy to provide the right amount of water without overwatering. Watering occurs several times per day for a few minutes per zone. This way you are not overwatering and keeping the seed moist to get the most germination.
Keep in mind that all the work we do now provides great benefit next spring and summer! The Rain Rich Program is customized to your specific property and guaranteed to your satisfaction. Rain Rich can provide all or part of the program. We recommend an organic approach for long term benefit and to care for our environment. For a free analysis and quote please click here or call us at 631-423-2211.
