Fall Fertilizing

I woke up this morning to a steady drizzle, the slushy kind that’s halfway between snow and rain. The mountains are covered in clouds and I’m sure that the rain down here in the valley has found success as snow up there.  The weather combined with my case of the sniffles is a reminder that warm, sunny afternoons are behind us and we have a long, cold winter ahead. 

Fall is the time to prep our gardens for an eventual spring. Planting tulips, pruning shrubs, and mulching perennials are a few important steps to ensure a successful spring.  In addition to perking up planting beds, fall is a wonderful time to prepare your lawn for a quick green up in spring.  

Heat, insects, and disease all take a toll on grass during the growing season.  During the cool fall months, grass recovers from the stress of summer.  After a late fall fertilization the grass is able to store carbohydrates.  This stored energy in the stems and stolons helps promote shoot and root growth in the spring.  Applying 1lb of Nitrogen for every 1000 square feet of lawn at the end of October or early November will increase this energy storage.