Time to pay a little extra attention to your lawn

Those yellow leaves are starting to make their way to the ground and now is the perfect time to pay a little extra attention to your lawn and landscaping.

Most folks figure once fall has arrived they don’t have to worry any more about their lawn, but what you do now will help keep things healthy over the winter months and springtime ready.

Grass still needs regular care during the fall and grass that is too high may attract lawn damaging field mice.

Shorter grass is actually more resistant to diseases and it traps fewer leaves, letting them blow away rather than forcing you to spend your weekend raking up pile after pile. Also, if you cut it lower, the sun will reach the crown of the grass better, meaning fewer brown areas.

Compressed soil does a number on your grass, too. Aerating in the fall punches holes in the soil, allowing nutrients, oxygen and water into the soil.

You can “kill two birds with one stone” if you mow and mulch all at the same time in the fall. This allows the grass clippings and the leaf particles to combine, leaving behind a compost mixture full of nitrogen and carbon that’s good for the soil.

Fall is also a good time to fix bald or thin spots in your lawn.

The easiest way to do this is with an all-in-one lawn repair mixture you can find at the hardware store or home center.

Use a garden rake or a de-thatcher to scratch loose soil in the area, then place the mixture on the spot and water generously.

Before the snow falls take out your trimmers or pruners and cut back trees, shrubs and plants. Most can be done by hand, but its a good idea to call an arborist if you have high branches that need trimmed or those that need trimmed around power lines.

Now, before you put that lawnmower, leaf blower and edge trimmer away for the winter, make sure you’ve done a little maintenance on them, as well. If your lawnmower or trimmer use gasoline, don’t forget to drain them for winter.

An ounce of maintenance in the fall will lead to a more beautiful spring and summer with green lawns, a cooling canopy of leaves and gorgeous flowers to enjoy.