The fall lawn is decided in August.
Aerate and overseed now, or start next spring thin and behind.
The best-looking lawns in October don't happen by accident. They get decided in late August. Cool-season grass spends the summer just trying to survive, and early fall is when it finally wants to grow again.
That is the window to aerate and overseed: open up the compacted soil and drop seed into a lawn that is hungry for it. Do it now and you head into winter thick. Skip it and you start next spring thin and behind.
August is the planning month. Keep watering through the heat so the lawn is healthy going in, knock down the late-summer weeds before they seed, and pick your week for the overseed.
A few weeks of attention now is the whole difference between a lawn that fills in this fall and one that limps into spring.
Don't dump heavy fertilizer on the lawn in peak August heat. You're mostly feeding the weeds and stressing the grass. Hold the real feeding for the fall reset, when the lawn will actually use it.
- NutsedgeSpiking up faster than the grass in the wet, low spots.
- Dormant lawnsThe brown ones greening back up after the rain. They were sleeping, not dead.
- Fall planningThe sharp yards are already booked for a September overseed.
That's the ticket. See you in the yard.
Pamela and the YardMasters crew
Need us in your yard? Get a free estimate, or text the crew at (804) 744-4733.
Midlothian, VA · since 2009
