How To Handle Fall Lawn Prep In Minnesota

Each season is different for your lawn, just as each day can vary wildly as well. When it comes to handling fall lawn prep in Minnesota, you’ll need some expert advice to make sure your lawn stays healthy through autumn and is ready to pop back to it in the spring!

Get in touch today for more information to keep your lawn healthy this fall!

Seeding

Before the middle of September, overseed your lawn if needed. After September 15 in Minnesota, seed has a hard time taking hold and lasting through the winter.

Fall Lawn Prep Tip: Get any reseeding done early, before mid-September so it has time to prepare for winter.

Watering

Continue watering your lawn as you usually do. You don’t stop drinking water in the winter, do you? Your lawn will still need water even as the days get colder. Just stop when the ground freezes.

Autumn Leaves By: Pexels

Leaves on a lawn in the fall.

Fall Lawn Prep Tip: Keep watering as usual, but drain your hoses or sprinkler system just before the freeze sets in.

Leaves

As leaves begin to fall, it’s important to compost them or mulch them. If you mulch them, it allows the leaves to stay on your lawn and provide nutrients for the grass while not causing damage. Letting leaves stay on your lawn whole can cause damage later.

Fall Lawn Prep Tip: Use your mower to mulch leaves right where they lay. Pass over them multiple times to give your lawn extra fertilizer and prevent damage over the winter from leftover leaves.

Cutting

Cutting your lawn consistently is just as important in the cooler fall as it is in the hotter summer, though for different reasons. In summer, keeping your lawn between 2” and 2-½” keeps it from dehydrating itself.

But in winter, keeping your lawn trim prevents it from matting down when the snow comes. Matted down grass can result in mold.

Fall Lawn Prep Tip: Keep your lawn cutting schedule on track, trimming grass to between 2” and 2-½”.

Fertilizing

A proper fertilizer regimen works all year-round to keep your lawn healthy, but when it comes to winter you’ll need to make sure you get in one last round in mid-October. This last bit of fertilizer will help your lawn start growing earlier and healthier in the spring.

Fall Lawn Prep Tip: It can be a good idea to test your soil for which nutrients are lacking before choosing your final fertilizer for the year.