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Fall Lawn Care

Lawn care doesn't stop with the end of summer.

 
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Transcript: Fall Lawn Care

Our long hot Texas summers can really take a toll on our lawn. Areas that don’t receive adequate water can become thin, and in many areas we even lose turf all together. Wherever you have sunlight hitting the soil, nature will plant a weed, so thin lawn areas are very weed-prone.

Our cool season weeds sprout in late September in most areas of the state. As a result, if you’re going to prevent them with a product, you’ll have to get that product down ahead of their sprouting, or in mid to late September.

If you want to really prevent weeds in the long term, you grow a dense healthy turf that doesn’t allow sunlight to hit the soil. That requires water. So areas where you can’t take care of a lawn with adequate water will be better turned into a drought tolerant ground cover or perhaps a mulch shrub bed.

Another thing that happens in the fall is our full season diseases can arrive like brown patch, which creates the large circular areas in your lawn. Brown patch is better prevented than cured, so if you have a lawn that’s prone to brown patch problems, products to prevent it should be put down beginning in late September. Keep in mind that when you over water and over fertilize, it just increases brown patch problems, so don’t over do it. Wait until early October for a light application of fertilizer if one is necessary.

With your commonsense tip on fall lawn care, I’m Skip Richter.

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Last Updated: July 6, 2006