Tips for a great lawn this fall

The approach of fall means different things in different parts of the country. While leaves begin turning from emerald to crimson in Maine, gardeners in Arizona may be just plotting out the vegetable garden. For nearly everywhere in the United States, however, the cooler temperatures and increased precipitation make for an ideal climate in which to give the grass some attention.

Taking a few simple measures will kick-off fall on the right foot.

Seed:
Whether your Bermuda grass lawn in the south has turned brown and gone dormant for the season, or your Kentucky blue grass lawn has suffered due to the extreme heat of summer in the north, make repair work easy by choosing the correct grass seed for the job.

For the South:
In most southern climates, fall is the perfect time to be outdoors entertaining friends, but a brown lawn is not friendly enough for frolicking. Some of the neighbors may have scalped their lawns of turfgrass, planted ryegrass or mulched and fertilized with manure - accompanied by a very foul odor - in an attempt to grow a new lawn for winter. But who needs all that work? Everything you need to get a great winter lawn is combined into one bag, with Scotts Turf Builder EZ Seed Ultimate Winter Lawn Mix. Getting a soft, green carpet of grass is quick and easy with the Winter Lawn Mix. It contains an expandable mulch, selected seed mix, and fertilizer. Establishing a lawn has never been easier nor more successful.

In the North:
Even if your lawn is in great shape overall, fall is a great time to repair those smaller, bare spots along the driveway or under the swing. Additionally, reseeding a lawn that suffers from thinning will give it a more lush, uniform appearance and help prevent weeds from establishing

Where to start? For smaller areas, use Scotts Turf Builder EZ Seed to quickly and easily establish beautiful grass in bare spots. For all-over thickening or "overseeding," try Scotts Turf Builder Sun & Shade Mix featuring WaterSmart coating technology. Both products contain high-quality grass seed that will aggressively spread to fill in bare spots. Both options yield early seeding success with less water.

Mow:
For an established lawn, set the mower at the highest recommended setting for your grass type and leave clippings on the lawn. Doing so keeps the soil cooler, and encourages deeper root growth. Leaving the clippings on your lawn adds organic material back into the grass, enriching the soil.

Don't rake those leaves:
Leaves that have been left on the lawn and chopped up into dime sized pieces by the mower provide a natural layer of organic matter that will break down and help nourish the lawn. Once the leaf bits settle in, microbes and worms get to work recycling them. Any kind of rotary-action mower will do the job chopping up any kind of leaf. With several passes of your mower, you can mulch up to 18 inches of leaf clutter. Adding a nice layer of lawn food afterwards will help break down the mulched leaves even faster. When grass is fed after mulching leaves, it will grow better and microbes will work harder.

Feed:
Grass needs nutrients just like you do. With the proper feeding, grass will grow stronger, deeper roots that can endure harsh conditions and crowd out weeds. Use a starter fertilizer, like Scotts Turf Builder Starter Fertilizer, when planting new grass to promote root growth and seedling development.

Follow these easy tips to care for and repair your grass this fall. It will thank you by being thicker, greener and more weed-free come spring.