Now that September is fast leaving us (can you believe that?) and October is about to blow in, it’s time to consider our fall lawn care strategy. Now it does not matter if you have been reading this lawn care blog for a long time, or if you just started, this advice will apply to you. It also applies to those of you who have already forked over the $7 to buy my lawn care book that gives you step by step instructions of what to put down on your grass and when to put it down.

The reason this all applies to all of you is that I know for a fact that the majority of you have NOT been caring for your lawns like you should; and that’s ok. I understand that summer gets hectic and your lawn care maintenance practices can take a back seat. But now that fall time is almost here, you can make up time and catch up to where you need to be fairly easily. With that in mind, here are some very basic tips on turning your lawn around this fall.

1) First off, your mindset needs to change, and what I mean by that is you cannot think about “starting next spring.” No Way! In fact, starting a lawn care program in the early Fall will yield much faster and long-lasting results than the alternative of waiting until next year. This is because lawns spread out and thicken their root systems in fall and we can take advantage of that by feeding the turf properly at the right time. In addition, there is less weed pressure in the fall, making our efforts that much more effective.

2) Next, you need to get my book. Seriously, it has changed the way a lot of people think about lawn care. You see, the products you put on your lawn (fertilizers, weed controls, etc) are what make the difference, but many of you think that you either need some industrial strength witches brew, or you think that some basic 4-step generic plan at the local hardware store will work. The truth is that neither of those extremes will help your lawn. My plan, which provides a balanced approach, shows you the products to use and where to get them. Of course, most if not all of my recommendations can be found at the local Home Depot, Lowe’s or Menards, but you just don’t know what to look for. In addition to that, I tell you exactly what time of year to use each particular product, and that makes a huge difference as well. Get the book ok?

3) This is in the book too, but it bares mentioning here: YOU MUST AERATE YOUR LAWN THIS FALL! This is not a choice but rather a necessity. My lawn here is as thick as Buckwheat’s Afro but you can dang skippy expect that I will be aerating my lawn this fall and every fall to come. Aeration is just one of those things you need to do at least once a year, like visiting your dentist for a tooth scraping!

When you aerate your lawn you loosen soil and allow those expanding grass roots to get in deeper and wider. You also allow the nutrients you put down in the form of fertilizer to penetrate into the zone faster, thus maximizing your results. Finally, and most importantly, you help release soil microbes that will be spread around to different areas of the lawn, making the soil healthier, Healthy soil is really the foundation for everything else ya know?

Get an estimate to have aeration done by a pro: Click Here For Estimates

So here’s what I want you to do guys: Resolve in your mind that you are going to get out starting this weekend and begin a program to revamp and rejuvenate your lawn this fall. You’ll find that a little work now will really help you have to do less work next spring, no kidding! just get out and do it guys… you will love the results… I promise!!!!

Do I weed whack first or mow? Do I edge after mowing or before? …

Today’s simple lawn care tips are mainly based on opinion: MINE. But I hafta think that other lawn care pros do it this way too because it just makes the most sense. What I’m talking about is the order in which you trim, mow, edge and blow.
Watch the video:

So, long story short, there isn’t a wrong way to do it, but there is a way that leaves things looking clean. Remember, weed whacking first allows your mower to pick up the debris created, and then edging after mowing ensures you won’t trample your nice, clean edge. Blowing always comes last, of course!

A lot of times you guys see me using a certain tool or product in the vids and you want to know more about it, so here is a list of the tools used in this one. You will notice that I don’t always use “PRO” tools in the vids. (like my cheap electric blower) That is because I try to demonstrate products that are ‘do it yourself’ AND budget friendly at the same time. Let’s face it, if you don’t do this for a living, why invest $300 in a backpack blower that you only use once per week? Anyway, here’s the stuff…

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If your lawn care ritual is different, please feel free to share and tell us why in the comments below! It’s all good in lawn care!