Lawn Care: Your Complete Year-Round Guide to a Beautiful Lawn

🍂 Autumn Lawn Care

Fall is absolutely the best time to overseed and fill in those bare spots that have been bugging you all summer. Here's why: seeding now means your grass doesn't have to compete with spring weeds, and it's the perfect opportunity to establish those nice, deep roots.

Deal with Those Leaves (But Not How You Think)

You don't want leaves piling up on your lawn, but you also don't necessarily need to rake them all up. Mow them down into little chunks instead. (Actually, check out this article for more on why you might not need to rake leaves at all.)

Fall Fertilization is Key

Now's the perfect time to add a round of fertilizer to your lawn. This gives it the nutrients it needs to come back strong next spring. Think of it as setting your lawn up for success while it's preparing for winter dormancy.

Keep Mowing Until Dormancy

Don't put that mower away too early! Keep cutting until your grass goes dormant. On your last cut of the season, set your mower blade to its lowest height for a nice, short cut. Short grass is way more resilient to damage and disease during those cold winter months.

❄️ Winter Lawn Care

Good news—now that you've fertilized and seeded, you can actually relax a bit and plan for spring. During winter, your main job is just protecting your lawn by making sure nobody walks on it when it's frozen. Seriously, frozen grass is fragile!

Plan and Prep

Take some time to think about what gave your lawn trouble this past year. Make notes, research solutions, and prep for next season. This mental preparation makes a huge difference.

Equipment Maintenance

While you've got your lawn equipment stored away, it's the perfect opportunity to upgrade or fix things. Work through any issues you ran into last year so you're ready to roll when spring hits.

🌱 Spring Lawn Care

Once those signs of frost are gone and your lawn is coming out of dormancy, it's time to get back to work. Start with some light yard work—clean up any debris that accumulated over winter.

Spring Fertilization

This is when you start fertilizing again to help those seedlings wake up from their winter nap. But keep an eye on your soil's pH—you don't want to over-fertilize at this point.

Hold Off on Mowing (I Know, It's Hard!)

If you're like me, you'll be itching to fire up that mower the second you see green. But hold on just a bit longer! Wait until your grass is at least three inches tall before mowing, and honestly, waiting until it's even taller is better.

Why? Longer blades of grass let the roots grow deeper, and they also provide a place for beneficial pollinators to hang out early in the spring. Win-win!

☀️ Summer Lawn Care

Pest and Weed Management

Early summer is when you want to tackle pests and weeds before they become a real problem. Common culprits include grubs and moles for pests, and dandelions and crabgrass for weeds. Get on top of pest management early, before it turns into full-blown pest control.

Watering Schedule

Your grass needs at least an inch of water per week to stay green and healthy. If Mother Nature isn't cooperating with rainfall, you'll need to supplement. The best time to water? Early morning, between 6am and 10am, to minimize evaporation.

Establish a Mowing Routine

For the best-looking lawn, get into a regular mowing routine and keep those mower blades sharp. It's always better to mow a little grass each week than to let it grow wild and then hack off several inches all at once.

Consistent mowing with sharp blades ensures a clean cut, which helps cut down on moisture loss and prevents disease. Those ragged cuts from dull blades? They're basically an invitation for problems.