LAWN CARE
By Bryan Ostlund
Fall Overseeding for a THICK, VIBRANT LAWN M
without tearing up the turf, or the soil. It’s an easy way to fill in bare spots, improve the density of turf, establish improved grass varieties and enhance your lawn’s color. In northern areas with cool-season grasses, fall overseeding can help fill in any thin patches and ensure that the new grass develops a strong root system before winter, creating a more disease- and drought-tolerant lawn. A lawn that is already thick in the spring will also crowd out early weeds before they have a chance to become established. In southern areas with warmseason lawns, fall overseeding with a cool-season grass provides an obvious aesthetic benefit, as the lawn will remain ©TeamDaf - stock.adobe.com green through the Before you overseed, mow the lawn very short, almost winter while the warmto the point of scalping it. When the seeds start growing, season grass is dormant. you will want them to have enough access to sunlight, An actively growing and taller grass can block much of it.
any homeowners tend to view fall as the end of the lawn-care season. Mowing may continue, but most outdoor activities are winding down, and the grass naturally receives less attention than in the spring and summer. Fall is the perfect time for landscapers to overseed—a practice that can benefit both cool- and warm-season turf. Overseeding is the planting of grass seed directly into existing turf,
lawn is also more wear-resistant than dormant grass, which may be important to homeowners who use their lawns year-round. For warmseason lawns, you’ll also need to create a spring transition plan, which will vary based on the local conditions as well as the density and health of both the underlying warm-season grass and overseeded cool-season grass. The overseeding process is the same for both types of turf. The following are five tips to get you started:
1. Aerate
Many homeowners are unaware of the benefits of regular aeration— or tend to put it off because renting a core aerator is a hassle. But if the soil is compacted after a summer of heavy use, the lawn may need to be aerated before overseeding. This will help water, nutrients and oxygen penetrate more easily, allowing both the established plants and the new grass you’re about to plant to develop stronger roots and survive the winter in a healthier state.
©Daniel Guffanti - stock.adobe.com
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