With cooler fall weather and light rain in recent weeks, lawn growth in Greater Columbus has slowed significantly, and most homeowners are happy to leave their mowers in the garage.
As the weather gets colder, daylight hours shorten, lawn maintenance needs decrease, and the ground usually stops freezing. But cooler weather and late fall days don't mean lawn care isn't needed. In fact, late fall is one of the best times of the year to improve your lawn. With time, sweat, and a little lawn care, you'll have a healthy, green, and dense lawn early next spring. .
Fall is the time when cool grasses recover from summer stresses like drought, heat, and disease, and lawns begin to store carbohydrates in their stems and rhizomes. These carbohydrate stores help grass plants fight winter damage and disease and, most importantly, provide energy for root and shoot growth the following spring.
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Fertilization in late autumn promotes winter coloring of plants, rapid soil establishment and early spring root growth. Late fall fertilization is more important to lawn health than spring fertilization, which is common practice among most gardeners.
Fall fertilization time
The best time to fertilize your lawn in late fall is around Thanksgiving or early December when the grass has stopped growing or has slowed to the point where it no longer needs to be mowed. Although the leaves and shoots of the plant are slowing down at this stage, the roots are still actively growing, allowing the plant to use more fertilizer in the soil. Fertilizer is usually applied at the end of the season after pruning, but should never be applied when the ground is cold.
Choice of fertilizer mix
Most cold season crops require 2 to 4 pounds of nitrogen (N) per 1,000 square feet per year, and most of this nitrogen should be applied in two fall applications, one in September and one in November. If you missed the September application window, don't worry, just apply this month.
A complete fertilizer with a high content of nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) is important for root growth, winter hardiness and disease resistance. A good fertilizer mix for production should have a nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium (NPK) ratio of 24-4-12.
When purchasing lawn fertilizers, some fertilizer manufacturers completely remove phosphorus (P) from some Ohio fertilizers, and excess phosphorus leaches into surface waters such as streams and lakes due to overuse and environmental damage. If you can't buy a complete lawn fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, opt for a fertilizer that contains only nitrogen and potassium, as grass plants need these two nutrients in excess this year.
Grass Weed Prevention
November is also a good time to deal with many annual lawn weeds. In recent years, populations of winter annual weeds such as purple bindweed, bittersweet hairy, whitefly, and mites appear to have increased in Greater Columbus. These cold hardy weeds are now in the Greater Columbus seedling stage, and treating them with insecticides at this growth stage can be an effective way to get rid of them before planting next spring. Other annual weeds such as dandelions, bananas and clover can also be treated in late fall while these plants are still actively growing.
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Herbicide application on lawns is best when daytime temperatures are 50 degrees F or higher, so check the weather forecast when planning your application this month. Always use essential lawn care products in the fall, as they are more effective than amine forms in cold weather.
So put on your warmest hat, set up a compost spreader in your backyard, and fertilize your lawn as needed most of the year—late fall and early winter.
Mike Hogan is an Associate Professor at The Ohio State University and Lecturer in Continuing Education at The Ohio State University.
hogan.1@osu.edu
This article was originally published in The Columbus Dispatch: Fall Fertilization and Lawn Care Tips to Keep Spring Yards Lush.
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