Fall Lawn Renovation
Fall and early winter are a great time to repair/renovate your lawn for the best looking yard in the neighborhood next spring. Lawns rejuvenated in the spring are more susceptible to drought, heat, fungal diseases, and weeds. Thus fall and early winter are proven to be the best season for renovating your Mooresville lawn.
Tall Fescues or a blend is a good choice for the typical lawn in our Mooresville/Lake Norman areas. The high quality of the fescue blend is less susceptible to brown patch, an issue every homeowner dislikes. Many prefer a mixture of Kentucky bluegrass with the Tall Fescue for a slightly darker coloration and finer texture for their lawn. Do not mix Ryegrass with this blend. Before seeding, aeration is strongly recommended to reduce compacted areas, getting good soil to the seed works miracles and will maximize the available moisture in the soil. 5 to 6 pounds of grass seed per 1000 square feet of lawn is recommended. The germination process will typically be in 1 to 3 weeks depending on the soil moisture and temperature.
Fertilize
Unless you already had your soil tested, it’s a good idea to test it before fertilizing. Approximately 1.0 pounds of nitrogen fertilizer per 1000 square feet is the normal recommendation. Phosphorus and potassium fertilizers may be suggested from your soil tests. If you forego the soil test, a 16-4-8 or similar N-P-K ratio fertilizer could be utilized in the upcoming spring.
Irrigation
Controlled irrigation will obviously yield a better lawn. Irrigating early in the morning will aid in reducing the water loss from evaporation as the sun rises. In the fall, ¼ to ½ inch water per week from rain or your irrigation system will suffice to meet the grasses water needs. Many irrigation systems enable herbicides to be distributed through their system, since seeds and seedlings may be damaged by some herbicide applications, fall seeded grasses should not have any herbicides applied.
Adam Taylor
704-213-9974
Taylor Lawn Care, Inc.
