Preparing the lawn for winter and caring for it in the fall

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Perhaps every gardener dreams of a true English lawn. The best place to relax, barbecue area does not come up. A beautiful, dense green carpet becomes after regular care. Part of the work is carried out in the autumn season, they will be discussed. I immediately propose moving from theory to practice, sharing my own experience and observing my neighbors. Source: yandex.com

Do I need to mow the lawn before winter, when to do it

It’s not worth shaving the grass, a cover 6 to 8 cm high goes under the snow. The preparation of the lawn for winter is carried out with the beginning of leaf fall. Sometimes the first leaves begin to fly in late August, but this is not a signal for an autumn haircut.

When the trees begin to dump foliage en masse - it's time. The garden, garden beds are empty at this time, the main crop has already been harvested.

Mowing the lawn before winter is a must. Too tall grass will interfere with spring growth. The last time in the fall, the haircut is carried out to frost, until the grass has dried, it is well cut.

A green carpet can be badly damaged if you cut the grass too late. The roots need protection until the snow cover is established.

Grass feeding in the fall: when and what to fertilize

Fertilizer containing nitrogen cannot be introduced into the soil.

Urea, ammophoska are needed by the plant in the spring, at the beginning of growth. When going to bed, grass needs minerals.

The composition of autumn fertilizers include:

  • Superphosphate is a source of phosphorus. Up to 40 mg (2 matchboxes) are applied per m2, depending on soil fertility. If superphosphate is double, the rate is halved.
  • Potassium-containing preparations are wood ash (you need up to a glass per m2), potassium nitrate, potassium sulfate or chloride (normal 20 g per m2 / matchbox).

Calcium is found in slaked lime, chalk, dolomite flour.

All these components are deoxidizing agents that reduce the acidity of the soil.

Norm - a glass per m2, if only the soil is acidic, the norm can be increased by 1.5-2 times.

Comprehensive top dressing is applied on dry grass before watering. Minerals stimulate root growth, the formation of new growth points. Fertilize the lawn a month before severe frosts, no later.

Autumn lawn scarification

When cutting grass, it is difficult to remove all cut grass blades. When a lawn mower with a drive, the main green mass is collected. When working with a trimmer, everything scatters around the site. It is not possible to grab the cut carefully. Near the earth, a fleecy coating resembling felt is formed over time.

Scarification is a procedure for clearing straw from the lawn and prevents the buds from growing. When the green carpet is clogged, the earth does not breathe, over time the grass becomes thinner, becomes brittle. The removal of fine straw is carried out to strengthen the lawns, new vertex layering appears.

Some varieties of herbs are creeping; for them, scarification is especially important.

A completely straw layer should not be cleaned, for natural protection a 5 mm cover is considered the norm. Rake straw felt with a fan rake. Ordinary with sharp teeth should not be used, they will stick into the grass, tear out bushes. Wealthy gardeners use a verticutter - a special device with vertical knives. Fan Rake, Verticutter

Such a tool runs on mains or on a mixture of gasoline with engine oil. The mechanism cuts the felt surface during rotation with a certain frequency. After this treatment, the lawns are usually renewed - sown, mulched with a thin layer of humus, well shed.

Lawn aeration in autumn

I'll start by explaining what aeration is and why it is needed. Aeration is essentially a deep loosening procedure. In the usual way applicable on the beds, the lawn cannot be loosened, the vegetation will die, and bald patches will appear.

On lawns make piercing with a large pitchfork or a special device - an aerator. Through holes in the turf, crumpled soil layer, oxygen flows to the roots. Grass breathes, grows better.

Aeration can be carried out at any time of the year. In autumn, the soil is aerated when weather permits: it is dry and relatively warm. On a wet lawn, it’s better not to stomp once again, there will be more harm than good. Fork, Aerator

The pitchfork is stuck in the turf in increments of up to 20 cm, it is not necessary to too often. The layer of turf is slightly lifted, tilting toward itself. It is good when the teeth enter a depth of at least 20 cm. By the way, during the period of heavy rains, excess moisture goes well into the holes.

After autumn aeration, there are no puddles on the green carpet.

Aerators are needed when large areas are reserved for the lawn. In small areas with a heavy roller studded with spikes, do not turn around. The pitchfork is much more convenient.

Watering the lawn in the fall

Watering is considered an important element of lawn care. Spend it by sprinkling.

Autowatering include, when there is no rain for several days, it is undesirable to allow overdrying of the soil.

It is believed that in order to prepare for winter, the soil should be soaked to a depth of at least 30 cm, but this is not a universal norm. Much depends on the composition of the soil. In the loam, in the autumn, water stagnates with the formation of puddles, and on the sandstones, on the contrary, it goes too quickly to the lower layers. Source poliv2000.ru

Watering is stopped when frost is noticeable on the grass in the morning. Sometimes, after a cold snap, warmth comes again, the sun delights. But this is not a reason to start watering the lawn again. Condensation falling out at night when the temperature drops is quite enough for the grass. The plant is preparing for the dormant season, metabolic processes slow down.

If the lawn is not watered at all in autumn, it will be uneven in spring - grass bumps in some places where there are small lowlands will certainly bulge.

They have to be trampled in the spring, level the horizon level with the earth, do seed sowing. Occupation is tiring. So autumn watering is a must.

Rolled lawn in the fall

When the grassy grass lawn has grown, care must be taken as usual. In autumn, he needs a haircut, watering with fertilizers. As long as the root system is formed, it is worth rewinding the engraftment of the lawn.

It is not worth laying new rolls in the fall, they will not take root. Traditionally, lawn plates are laid in spring.

Over the summer, they manage to acclimatize, take new roots. They try not to walk on the young lawn, but autumn is not the case. Source: rostov.pulscen.ru

The grass dries, turns yellow when the roots rot. If necessary, make additional drainage - lift the plate, dig the soil, add vermiculite, sand, dry peat to it.

Damaged areas are best replaced for the next season. If the cover is uneven, after aeration and cleaning from felt, seeds are sown.

Planting under the winter is effective for cereals, ryegrass, bluegrass grasses.

I know from experience that it is better to choose the same lawn seed mixture that was used to germinate the rolled lawn. This is especially true for bald spots. When the seeds are scattered to thicken the coating, one kind of plant can be used.

A green artificial grass carpet (some do such a coating on the adjoining areas) is recommended to be covered with a film or cloth so that it does not fade on thawed spots under the spring sun.

Mr. Summer resident recommends: two tips

  1. A few words about the fight against moss, it grows everywhere, especially likes semi-shaded areas. Sphagnum should be removed immediately, as soon as small foci appear, otherwise the moss will quickly spread throughout the lawn. First of all, we water the lawn “Florovit”, we breed it according to the instructions. There are packages marked "M", there the concentration is higher. This is iron sulfate - iron sulfate, moss darkens from it, then completely disappears from the site. With regular aeration, bryozoans form less frequently.
  2. What to do with leaves? From my own experience I was convinced that foliage is still better to collect. I do it myself on the first snow, early in the morning, while the soil is frozen. I sweep the leaves to the edge of the lawn, and then I collect them from the track in garbage bags. The time for autumn harvesting leaves much less than in spring. The lawn thaws evenly, under the layers of frozen foliage, often rotted dark spots appear. When the leaves are single, the last, they are not so terrible to the green carpet.

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Watch the video: How When and Why To Winterize Your Lawn (April 2024).