You will always create grass clippings when mowing a lawn. There is an alternative to bagging them up, though. Savvy households can reuse the clippings to create a healthier, more hydrated lawn during the summer.

‘Grasscycling’ means leaving grass clippings on the lawn after mowing. Doing so gives the lawn nutrients, reduces the need to water, and saves you the time and effort of dealing with them. It is a simple, effective way to maintain a healthy lawn.

If you find yourself wondering what to do with grass clippings after mowing, this could be the answer you are looking for. (And this electric battery-powered lawn mower from Amazon has a built in mulching mode.) However, there are circumstances when you still need to bag the clippings. To avoid any confusion, I spoke to lawn experts to find out when and when not to leave clippings on the lawn to help you have healthy, beautiful summer grass.

Why Leave Grass Clippings on the Lawn

Leaving the clippings on the lawn is an easy, effective way to help keep your grass healthy throughout the summer.

The clippings are full of nutrients, especially nitrogen, and will return these essential nutrients to the soil as they break down. It is a natural way to add organic matter and fertilize a lawn. It also helps cut lawn care costs, as it is free fertilizer.

Jason McCausland, Technical Coordinator at Weed Man, always recommends leaving grass clippings, as it helps promote a healthy lawn.

He says: ‘By leaving the clippings to decompose on your lawn, you’re adding valuable nutrients back into the soil. Follow a regular mowing schedule, skip the raking, bagging, and disposing of these clippings. Use them, and your lawn will thank you.’

In addition to providing nutrients for strong grass, leaving clippings helps retain moisture in the soil, reducing how often you need to water the lawn during the summer.

Brandon Seymour, owner of Granuly Organic Lawn Care, explains how it acts as a natural mulch to conserve vital moisture.

‘They [the clippings] shade the soil surface, reduce evaporation, and help the root zone stay cooler during hot weather,’ he says. ‘It's not a substitute for proper irrigation, but it can help the lawn use water more efficiently, especially in sandy soils where moisture drains quickly.’

To leave the cuttings, you need to mow the lawn often. You can only leave clippings if they are short, less than an inch. A regular mowing regime is pivotal if you plan to leave grass clippings on the lawn.

‘The key is mowing often enough that you're following the one-third rule, meaning you never remove more than one-third of the grass blade in a single mowing,’ adds Brandon.

‘When the clippings are short, they settle into the canopy and recycle valuable nutrients back into the soil. If you're investing time and money feeding your lawn, it doesn't make much sense to bag them.’

It can be simple to leave grass clippings on the lawn. Many modern lawn mowers have mulching modes, or you can use a mulching plug that blocks the chute on standard mowers. You can get mulching plugs at Amazon for different types of mowers.

Shop Mulching Lawn Mowers

When Not to Leave Grass Clippings on the Lawn

With all the positives outlined above, you may be chomping at the bit to mow and not collect the grass on your next time out. However, there are a few exceptions where you shouldn’t leave grass clippings on the lawn that you need to be aware of.

As mentioned, the clippings need to be short if they are to be left. If you have long grass that clumps together when mown, it is better to bag and remove the clippings. Long clippings won’t break down quickly, and heavy clumps can smother the turf. You could end up with unsightly bare patches in the grass.

It is the same if you are cutting wet grass. The damp clippings stick together and form thick mats that will smother the lawn if left on the surface. These clumps are not only unpleasant to look at but prevent light and air reaching the grass underneath and encourage fungal diseases.

If the lawn is showing any signs of disease – the likes of dollar spot, rust, and summer patch are common issues during the warmer months – it is always best practice to remove any infected grass clippings rather than leave them.

The same advice applies if you’ve recently treated the lawn for weeds or disease. ‘If you’ve used any weed killer, pesticide, etc, anything that isn’t natural that you’d not want biodegrading back into the lawn, I wouldn’t recommend using the clippings as mulch,’ advises Chrissie Handley from Online Turf.

‘You can put that chemical straight back into the ground, which may stunt your grass growth.’

If you can’t get out and mow regularly enough to produce small grass clippings, don’t despair. You don’t have to leave clippings for healthy summer lawn care. Having longer grass does protect your lawn in a heatwave.

Jonathan Davis, grass expert at Lawnsmith, explains: ‘Letting your grass grow slightly longer ahead of a heatwave can help shade the soil and retain moisture.

‘And watering your lawn a few times a week, ideally early in the morning, will help hydration reach its roots. These are safe and effective ways of caring for it in summer.’

Mowing is a typical summer task, but did you know there are temperatures at which you shouldn’t mow? If you mow the lawn in a heatwave when temperatures are 90°F or above, you can put extreme stress on the grass. It is advisable to mow at the cooler parts of the day, or leave the grass longer during extreme heat to retain moisture.

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Mowing is one of those classic summer jobs. However, taking the lawn mower out in a heatwave can actually damage your grass. So when is it too hot to mow? When the temperatures hit 90°F, lawn care experts warn homeowners not to cut their grass, as doing so places extreme stress on the lawn. Mowing when the temperatures reach dangerous levels can lead to heat stress, brown patches, or even kill the grass.

It is important to resist any urge to mow when temperatures reach such critical levels. You don't want to put lots of effort into lawn care over the rest of the year, only to undo all the hard work with risky mowing in summer.

You can get an all-weather iron outdoor thermometer from The Home Depot. Homeowners can stake this in a lawn and see when it is too hot to mow. Along with monitoring local weather patterns, a thermometer offers an easy way to make sensible judgements on cutting grass in hot weather.

What Temperature Is Too Hot to Mow the Lawn

When the temperatures spike during the summer, it reaches a point where it is too hot to mow, and you’d only be doing more harm than good by heading out with the mower. That critical point is when the temperature dials hit 90°F (32°C).

Taylor Olberding, the co-owner of Heroes Lawn Care, warns homeowners: ‘Do not mow your lawn if you are experiencing a huge heatwave. Once that thermometer goes above 90 degrees‚ you really need just to leave your mower in the garage․’

That advice is reiterated by Roger May from TruGreen, who says that temperatures of 90 and above ‘add stress to already compromised turf’. He tells gardeners to steer clear of mowing at such dangerous times if they want to protect their lawn in a heatwave.

‘Avoid mid-day mowing when temperatures are in the 90s, as this is when heat stress is most intense,’ the lawn expert advises. ‘The best approach is to mow during cooler parts of the day and avoid mowing during the hottest portion of the day.’

Steering clear of mowing during the scorching parts of the day and adjusting how often you mow the lawn in summer benefits both you and your grass.

Theresa Smith from NaturaLawn of America advises mowing in the early evening during a heatwave. She says: 'Evening mowing means your grass can recover in the coolest temperatures of the day.’

‘A good rule of thumb is that if it’s too hot for you to mow the lawn, it’s too hot for your lawn to be mowed,’ adds Theresa.

How Mowing in a Heatwave Damages Lawns

When temperatures reach the levels where it becomes too hot to mow a lawn, blindly heading out with a lawn mower puts additional stress on already-stressed grass. As any growth slows in extreme temperatures, it is advisable to wait until it resumes.

‘It may be tempting to head out there and get the chores out of the way‚ but you are doing way more harm than good because your grass is already completely stressed out from the heat,’ warns Taylor.

‘If you start pushing the mower across a water-starved lawn‚ the wheels and the cutting blades will literally squash the wilted blades‚ and they won't bounce back․’

He adds: ‘Every time you mow‚ you're leaving an open wound that allows the moisture to evaporate․ Your yard may end up looking like a patchwork of dead brown spots that will take forever to heal․’

If that doesn’t sound bad enough, Theresa warns: ‘Mowing during the heat of the day, especially in a heatwave, shocks the roots and makes it vulnerable to disease, which can ultimately leave you with unsightly brown spots or even kill your grass.’

The advice is clear. Cutting when it is too hot to mow a lawn will leave you with a stressed, patchy lawn.

A lawn can recover from summer heat stress once the temperatures cool and it gets some much-needed moisture. However, homeowners who heap extra stress on the grass by mowing in a heatwave may not see their lawn bounce back so quickly.

Longer Grass Is Better in a Heatwave

There may be homeowners who shudder at the prospect of not mowing for long periods during the summer. Those who love their perfectly manicured summer lawns won’t like the idea of leaving the grass taller.

But the reality is that longer grass is highly beneficial during a heatwave, as it keeps essential moisture in the soil for longer.

‘Longer grass blades can help shade the soil, meaning moisture doesn’t get evaporated from the ground as quickly in the direct sun,’ explains Chrissie Handley from Online Turf. ‘The shorter the grass, the more moisture it will likely lose, as the soil is more exposed to the sun for evaporation.’

Keeping the grass longer, which includes raising the mowing height if you do opt to cut during the cooler parts of the day, provides a valuable barrier between the precious grass roots and the harmful sun’s rays.

‘The taller the grass‚ the more shade it provides the ground under it‚ saving your roots from the heat,’ adds Taylor.

Longer grass and stronger roots make any grass more tolerant to drought. On the other hand, shorter grass means less moisture in the soil and parched roots. This makes any turf more susceptible to heat stress, weed pressure, pests, and diseases.

What to Shop

Knowing the dos and don’ts of caring for a lawn in the summer months helps your grass stay healthy and looking good, rather than ending up stressed or brown. Our guide to summer lawn care has six important tasks you should be doing at this time of year to keep your grass in good shape.

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To maintain the lush, green lawn of your dreams is challenging during a heatwave. When the soil is dry in the summer, any moisture there is can struggle to soak into the ground. That is where a lawn wetting agent makes a huge difference.

Never heard of one? Wetting agents actively help water to penetrate deep down into the lawn, hydrating the roots and helping the grass get the moisture it needs to survive hot, dry summers. It means any rainfall or irrigation stays available to the lawn, and reduces how much you need to water when you do turn on your sprinklers.

Professionals swear by lawn wetting agents, and homeowners should use them as part of their annual lawn care regime, as they can offer short-term summer relief or long-term proactive benefits. Let’s look at how they work and when you should use them on your lawn to get the most benefit. (This lawn wetting agent, available at Amazon, comes with a sprayer that connects to your garden hose to apply it across the lawn.)

What Does a Lawn Wetting Agent Do?

Lawn wetting agents, also known as soil surfactants, are chemical compounds that help water to penetrate the grass and spread evenly throughout the ground. The product reduces the surface tension of the water, helping it infiltrate and spread through the lawn.

Jonathan Davis, a grass expert at Lawnsmith, explains how water can often ‘just run off the soil’ when the ground is parched and hard during a hot, dry summer. But altering that surface tension makes a huge difference in helping moisture penetrate the turf.

‘By disrupting the water’s surface tension, a wetting agent immediately allows it to filter down through the soil, right to the roots where it’s most needed,’ he says.

‘A perfect example of water’s surface tension at play is the old party trick where you balance a coin on top of a glass of water. And when you put a drop of washing up liquid in the water, the surface tension has broken, and the coin immediately sinks.’

When moisture penetrates deeper into the soil, it reaches the root zone, where your grass needs it most. The water won’t run off or sit on the lawn only to be lost to evaporation, which is crucial during hot summers.

Plus, it helps you reduce water waste in your yard. A lawn wetting agent doesn’t replace any need to water a lawn, but it cuts down how much water you need to apply.

‘If grass has entered a dormant state, recovery can be patchy; some areas remain brown while others return to a vibrant green. A wetting agent can revive the whole lawn,’ Jonathan said.

‘So whether it’s a dry lawn that needs reviving, or one that needs protection, a wetting agent is worth every penny.’

When and How to Use a Lawn Wetting Agent

For the best results, it pays to plan your usage of a lawn wetting agent carefully. Whether you want to cover an entire lawn or use it to treat stubborn dry, brown patches in the grass, Jonathan has one key tip for using the product.

‘To get the best out of your product, apply it to your turf before watering or rainfall,’ he says, as this ensures the product is active and working before any moisture hits the lawn, whether courtesy of natural rainfall or gardeners watering their grass.

‘If just treating specific dry areas, spread it further than the initial patch to ensure thorough coverage,’ adds Jonathan.

Fast-acting liquid lawn wetting agents can provide immediate relief, usually less than 30 minutes. These products are perfect for immediate results and can be applied before any summer rainfall or irrigation.

For a longer-term plan to avoid dry summer lawns, Neil Stubley, Wimbledon’s head of courts and horticulture, advises applying a lawn wetting agent earlier in the season.

He told The Guardian newspaper: ‘I’d recommend using a wetting agent to prepare your lawn for dry, summer conditions, supporting its hydration ahead of warmer weather.’

Granular lawn wetting agents can be applied to release their compounds slowly over an extended period. These are usually applied with a lawn spreader over larger areas – like this push broadcast spreader at The Home Depot. They take longer to activate, but their benefits can be felt for longer, up to six months.

Such products can be used as part of a spring lawn care regime. This ensures the wetting agent is established in the soil to protect your lawn in a heatwave.

Shop the Best Wetting Agent for Lawns

One thing to avoid is watering the lawn at night. It may be convenient to set the sprinklers going overnight, but it creates ideal conditions for fungal diseases to thrive. The best time to water a garden is in the morning. If you can’t do it then, early evening is OK as the grass has time to dry before nightfall.

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Many homeowners envision the perfect summer lawn, but may look at theirs in dismay during June, as it can look worse than it did earlier in the year. If this sounds like you, the clear message is relax. There are reasons this happens, and it can be rectified.

The three main causes of a struggling lawn in early summer are heat stress, disease, or mowing too short. Any or all of these can stress a lawn, causing it to shift from a vibrant green to shades of yellow or brown.

To help turn your fortunes around, I spoke to three experts about what to do with a lawn in June if your grass is struggling with any of these issues. Their tips for summer lawn care can help transform a stressed, discolored lawn into a healthy, green carpet for the rest of the season.

The 3 Top Issues Affecting Lawns in June

Heat Stress

The temperatures vary across the US in June, from lows of 60°F in the Northeast to highs of 90-100°F in the Southwest. Depending on where in the country you are, your lawn may be struggling from too much sun and heat and too little water. This combination triggers it into ‘survival’ mode.

This issue can be exacerbated in transition zones, where two different climates meet, and the variable weather leaves lawns more susceptible to drought. ‘Typically, your grasses in the transition zone are not necessarily the best for an increase in heat and humidity,’ explains Matt Cline, COO of HillSide Lawn Service.

‘They start to go into kind of a drought-type setting, where you start seeing grass just looking a little bit thinner, not growing as much, not showing as much color as it did in the spring, it's basically going into a survivability type mode, where it's just trying to get through until the heat breaks.’

You may think that water can solve all these woes, but even if you do get some water, a lawn can still suffer from heat stress.

As Brian Feldman, Senior Director of Field Operations at TruGreen, claims: ‘Up to 40% of water evaporates before it even reaches the root zone if you're watering at the wrong time. This leaves turf thirsty precisely when it needs hydration most.’

We’ll reveal the ‘right’ time for watering a garden later to avoid this happening to you this summer.

Mowing Too Short

In the drive for a lush, green carpet, many homeowners fall foul of a mowing faux-pas, cutting the grass too short when the temperatures rise.

Many people believe this is the best approach for a perfect-looking lawn in summer. However, in reality, all this does is further stress the grass, especially if it is already struggling with heat, pests, or weed pressure.

‘When in doubt, mow high,’ recommends Theresa Smith at NaturaLawn. ‘Many homeowners will mow their lawns too short, which can encourage the turf to shorten its root systems and make it more difficult for the grass to retain the nutrients it needs.’

Matt Cline advises a better approach is reducing how often you mow your lawn in summer to avoid a stressed, browning lawn. ‘Let the grass grow a little bit, let it recover on its own without mowing it on the same frequency that you normally would in the spring,’ he says.

Increased Disease

Stressed lawns are vulnerable to disease. Along with potential heat stress, there is an increased risk that lawn diseases such as brown patch, pythium blight, summer patch, and dollar spot can take a toll on lawns during hot, humid weather.

‘Warmer temperatures create ideal conditions for disease, weeds, and damaging insects to thrive,’ warns Brian Feldman. ‘If your lawn's soil health has been neglected - whether as a result of compacted soil or pH imbalances - you will also see restricted root growth, which can compound the stress your grass can experience now.’

To reduce your chances of an unhealthy lawn struck by disease, avoid watering the lawn in the evening or at night. Grass sitting wet overnight is a perfect environment for fungal diseases to take hold. Instead, water the lawn in the morning so the moisture has all day to evaporate.

3 Ways to Fix a Lawn in June

The first thought is often that watering the lawn is the sure-fire way to fix many of the issues outlined above, but water in itself is not the golden answer to everything. So, what advice do the lawn experts suggest could be done this month to perk up struggling turf?

Give It a Summer Feed

Firstly, consider fertilizing a lawn. ‘For warm-season grasses, fertilizing now is the ideal window,’ says Brian Feldman.

Those warm-season grasses, such as Bermuda grass, Zoysia grass, and St Augustine grass, are widely used in the southern US as they tolerate heat and drought better.

A well-fed lawn has stronger roots and a thicker density. This boosts its drought and disease resistance, and helps naturally crowd out weeds.

‘We give a little bit of a shot of fertilizer and nitrogen in the summer,’ adds Matt Cline. ‘When we get a little bit of rain, it helps perk the lawn back up when it's struggling in the summertime.’

This liquid lawn food at Amazon is high in nitrogen and is perfect for delivering nutrients to all types of grasses during the summer.

Change Your Mowing Habits

The experts already touched on mowing at a higher height when you cut grass in hot weather. In addition, when you head out with the lawn mower in early summer, consider leaving the grass clippings after mowing rather than collecting them.

You can mulch a lawn with grass clippings (provided they are less than an inch) as they are full of nutrients and moisture. The lawn benefits from more moisture being retained in the ground rather than being lost to evaporation.

‘The only time grass clippings should be removed is when there is disease activity or the lawn is so long that the clippings begin to clump,’ advises Theresa Smith. ‘This will smother the plants underneath and can kill the grass. ‘

Make Sensible Watering Choices

There is no hiding that water is a key aspect of summer care if you want a green, thick lawn. Most turfgrasses need one to two inches of water per week at this period of the year, and the important thing to get right is when and how you water the lawn in summer.

‘The best window for watering is between 5 am and 10 am, when temperatures are mild, winds are calm, and the sun hasn't fully intensified,’ recommends Brian Feldman. ‘Morning watering allows grass to retain moisture longer and prepares it to withstand the day's heat.’

And when you do water, water deeply. ‘Be sure to avoid short, frequent waterings, as these can lead to several turf problems,’ insists Theresa Smith. ‘Instead, prioritize infrequent but long waterings, as they encourage roots to grow deep into the soil.’

Deep, infrequent watering helps support stronger, deeper roots, which make any lawn stronger against rising temperatures. Shorter roots, often caused by light sprinklings, make the grass more susceptible to drought.

When you need to water will depend on temperature and recent rainfall, but Brian has a simple trick to help you judge. ‘I recommend using a simple rain gauge or empty cans placed around your lawn to confirm you've hit your one to two-inch target. This prevents both overwatering and underwatering - both of which can damage your lawn,’ he says.

You can get a rain gauge at Walmart with large numbers to easily tell how much rainfall you have had and whether you need to water the lawn.

What to Shop

Protecting the grass when the temperatures spike is often an underappreciated aspect of lawn care. Lots of homeowners worry about plants in flower beds or containers during a heatwave, but don’t have the lawn at the forefront of their thoughts.

But, as we’ve covered here, hot temperatures can all too easily stress a lawn. Protecting a lawn in a heatwave must involve keeping it hydrated. It should include proactive action to water deeply a few days before the temperatures are forecast to rise.

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Meet the Experts

After winter, it's not uncommon for our lawns to look a little tired and damaged from freeze-thaw cycles, improper drainage, and general damage from harsh conditions. But, if your lawn still looks yellow in May and hasn't quite recovered, it's a sign a big adjustment is needed.

Even if you have done everything on your spring lawn care checklist, it's likely your lawn will still looks yellow in late-May if there's a bigger health issue, such as a drainage problem or even a pest infestation. But don't fret, it is possible to recover your lawn before scorching summer temperatures arrive.

Lawn care experts say the best thing to do is diagnose the issue and act with care to nurture it back to life. Here, they talk through four possible causes and how to fix them.

1. Drought

One of the main causes of a yellow lawn in May is drought. With spring temperatures fluctuating and temperature spikes towards the end of the season, it can be tricky to properly manage watering your lawn.

'If your entire lawn (or most of it) is yellow or brown, you should suspect heat or drought. Both of these problems are actually the same – not enough water is getting to the roots of your grass,' says Chris Ramos, lawn care expert from Blain's Farm & Fleet.

'In very hot weather, the sun can evaporate most of the moisture from rain and light watering before it’s had enough time to soak into the soil around the roots of your grass,' he explains.

To check the moisture levels of your lawn's soil, use a soil moisture meter (like this from Amazon).

You should then think about how long to water your lawn and how to protect your lawn during a heatwave.

You should water early in the morning and late in the evening to hydrate your lawn, avoiding watering it in the middle of the day during hot spells as this can scorch it.

'For better long-term protection against heat and drought, use a fertilizer mix with high phosphorous and potassium levels (like this from Amazon)' Chris suggests.

'This will strengthen your lawn and help it grow deeper roots, which will allow it to resist lawn problems like drought and heat in the future,' he explains.

2. Drainage

Drainage is another common cause behind yellow lawns, and with irregular and sometimes unpredictable rainfall patterns in spring, it may be that your lawn is struggling with excess water this season.

If your lawn is quite compacted from winter and you're yet to aerate your lawn, then there isn't much room for water to drain away. This results in grass roots becoming oversaturated and rotting, causing discoloration like yellowing.

This can be the cause behind brown patches on lawns, too, where specific areas have particularly bad drainage.

To fix this issue, use a lawn aerator tool (like this from Lowe's) to punch holes in the soil, creating air pockets for water to drain. You can also use methods to loosen compacted soil to improve the structure of your lawn's soil.

You may also need to dethatch your lawn if there's a lot of debris and moss on the surface, which you can do with this thatch rake from Amazon. This will provide more light and oxygen to the grass.

Adding organic compost can also help improve lawn soil health and structure.

You can then overseed your lawn to help it recover before summer settles in, or even use this Scotts patch magic lawn repair from Amazon for specific areas in the garden.

Going forward, water your lawn carefully as to not overwater it, paying attention to rainfall. You may even want to install a French drain to help reduce water surface run-off.

3. Pests

If drainage and watering aren't an issue and your lawn is yellow in May, Chris recommends taking a closer look at your grass.

'If you see any holes or brown, yellow, or orange spots on the blades of your grass, you may have an insect infestation,' Chris says.

'Also, check the dirt between your grass blades for small holes or insect eggs. Insects can damage your grass by chewing and eating the blades or roots,' he explains.

There are lots of spring garden pests to look out for when it comes to your lawn. Lawn grubs, leatherjackets, anthills, and sap-sucking grass insects can all weaken your lawn and leave it looking patchy and discolored.

Luckily, there are plenty of natural pest control methods you can use to resolve this issue.

One of the most reliable is turning to the help of beneficial nematodes – microscopic organisms that prey on a wide range of destructive pests, taking care of the issue for you.

You can purchase beneficial nematodes at Walmart.

4. Nutrient Deficiency

Another cause behind a yellow lawn in May is a nutrient deficiency. In particular, a lack of nitrogen (the essential plant nutrient responsible for green vegetative growth) can result in discoloration and a lack of new growth.

If you're yet to fertilize your lawn in spring, this is a likely cause.

'Lack of nitrogen fertilizer or a fertilizer application that runs out of steam won’t keep the lawn deep green,' explains Dr. Roger May from TruGreen.

'Likewise, when soil pH is too high (alkaline), essential nutrients like iron and manganese become harder for grass to absorb, resulting in yellow turf spots, stunted growth, and weak root systems,' he adds.

To be sure of what is happening in your lawn's soil, use a soil test kit (this one from Amazon is highly recommended).

You can then use things like turf boosting lawn fertilizer (like this from Lowe's) to encourage your lawn to become green and thick before summer.

Just watch out for lawn fertilizing mistakes, like applying fertilizer during a heatwave which may burn the roots and cause further damage.

What to Shop

As we move into June, don't forget to read up on summer lawn care. This includes watering deeply in the morning to keep your grass hydrated during hot spells.

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Some of the best tools for transforming your lawn are common gardening tools. You don’t need fancy technology or gadgets for a glorious summer lawn. A lawn rake perfectly exemplifies this, as it offers a multi-purpose, budget-friendly way to complete many essential lawn maintenance tasks.

It is particularly beneficial in the spring, as among all the tasks this essential gardening tool is useful for, dethatching makes a huge difference to your lawn and can be done quickly and easily with a rake. It means more air and water reach your grass, helping it to be lush, green, and thick for the summer.

Lawn professionals agree that a simple lawn rake is often an under-appreciated tool that comes highly recommended for all homeowners to have in their shed. If you have yet to start your spring lawn care, there is still time, and owning a lawn rake will help your lawn look fabulous.

You can get a strong 24-tine steel lawn rake with a fiberglass handle at Lowe's.

What You Can Do With a Lawn Rake

It might not win any awards for fashion or technological advancements, but a lawn rake is a valuable, budget-friendly tool for maintaining a green, thick lawn. And every homeowner should have one in their shed.

Indeed, Todd Huffine, the owner of IMPACT Lawn Service in Cincinnati, says that a lawn rake is ‘easily the second-best investment of money most homeowners could apply for a beautiful lawn’ as it is inexpensive, durable, and multi-purpose.

(If you are interested, Todd named a soil meter capable of testing PH and moisture as the best tool, as many lawn issues come from less-than-ideal pH or moisture levels. You can get a 4-in-1 soil meter at Amazon that tests for pH, moisture, light, and temperature.)

So, how can a lawn rake be used in lawn care? Let us count the ways.

As the name suggests, a lawn rake is good for raking. This can be getting rid of leaves from a lawn in the fall (allowing the lawn to breathe) or dethatching in the spring (removing moss and debris to allow air and moisture to reach the roots). Both of these are crucial tasks across the seasons for keeping a lawn healthy and attractive.

Also, a spring-tine lawn rake can be used to lift and loosen matted grass, a condition which can be caused by winter snow or foot traffic and affect the lawn’s overall health.

When grass condenses into a matted carpet, moisture is trapped under the blades, and air circulation drops – this makes the lawn susceptible to fungal diseases, including snow mold in the winter and red thread and blight in damp, humid summers.

Thankfully, a few minutes spent raking affected areas will lift the matted grass and make an instant difference.

When overseeding a lawn, raking the area beforehand is recommended to remove thatch and moss. Raking also roughs the soil surface, which helps guarantee good contact between the ground and the grass seed to aid germination.

Finally, a lawn rake can be used to disperse compost or topsoil on a lawn, flatten mole hills or worm casts on a lawn, and spread soil plugs when a core aerator is used to aerate a lawn.

Overall, it is quite a list of lawn care tasks for which one tool comes in handy – you can understand how a lawn rake can see a lot of action throughout the gardening year.

The Best Job for a Lawn Rake in Spring

A lawn rake comes to the fore in spring, when looking after the grass needs to be on any spring gardening checklist. The ideal window to give your lawn some TLC in spring is from mid-March to the start of May, depending on your location and grass type.

However, Chris McIlroy, lawn expert at The Grass People, claims to ‘not be disheartened’ if you haven’t gotten around to it by late May, as there is still the opportunity to head out with the lawn rake and help the garden ahead of summer.

‘Don’t put it off until next year, there is still time to get your lawn in great shape,’ he says.

Firstly, the rake can be used to clear the lawn ahead of getting started. As Chris recommends: ‘Before starting any lawn care, remove all the debris that has made its way onto your lawn, such as stones, twigs, branches, leaves, and even litter.’

The core task for the lawn rake is dethatching, as excessive thatch in the grass leads to unhealthy lawns with shallow root systems that are more susceptible to pests and diseases.

Todd Huffine claims you don’t need an expensive rake to make a big difference to the overall health of a lawn in spring. He says that a ‘once-per-year thatching’ with a rake benefits any lawn as there is ‘less dead debris on the soil surface, preventing air and nutrients from entering.’

‘For under $20 and less than 20 minutes of effort, you can massively improve the health of your lawn by letting more air get into the soil and making pathways for additional morning moisture to reach the grass,’ adds the lawn expert.

Depending on the size of your lawn, it may take longer than 20 minutes. It might be a workout you can break up into smaller sections, but the rigors are worth the results.

You can get plastic or metal spring-tine lawn rakes, and the latter are the best to add to your tool shed. The tines are strong yet flexible, and perfect for raking up debris. A metal-tine lawn rake is a more multi-purpose tool, while a plastic one (like this plastic lawn and leaf rake at Lowe’s) is suited to gently raking matted grass and collecting leaves.

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You can get a dedicated thatching rake (such as this thatching rake at Lowe’s) with sharp, rigid blades specially designed to rip and pull out dead grass and moss from a lawn. Whether you need one of these specialist tools depends on how often you dethatch a lawn, and if you’d rather have a tool you can use for many other jobs as well.

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Meet the Experts

You need the right kit for any aspect of gardening. When it comes to lawns, those who worship these green carpets in their yard can have sheds full of tools and equipment. Others may not be so well stocked, but quality can be better than quantity.

The truth is that you don’t need lots of tools for a beautiful lawn. This is especially true if you can get one piece of equipment that you can use again and again for different lawn care tasks. That is why experts all agree that any homeowner who wants to upgrade their lawn needs to consider a lawn spreader as an essential piece of kit.

A lawn spreader is a tool designed to distribute materials consistently over the grass. It can be used throughout the year to apply fertilizer, seed, or weed control over the lawn more effectively than by hand. Those consistent applications help you enjoy the best results and have a lush, healthy lawn to be proud of.

Why You Should Have a Lawn Spreader

The takeaway headline is that a lawn spreader provides consistency and saves you time. To some, lawn care can be confusing and time-consuming, but it needn’t be the case. A lawn spreader offers efficiency, makes tasks easier, and there are types suitable for any-sized lawn or budget.

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1. You Use It for Lots of Tasks

Versatility is a huge reason to invest in a lawn spreader. The range of potential uses includes fertilizing a lawn, applying seed (to overseed or start a new lawn from scratch), weeding a lawn, top dressing, or adding other amendments (such as lime or iron) to your grass.

It is quite an exhaustive list of spring, summer, or fall lawn care tasks – plus you can use it in winter to spread de-icer or grit onto driveways.

Sean Dwyer, Senior Product Manager for Wheeled Products at Husqvarna, says there are lots of key requirements for a lawn to be green, thick, and healthy over the course of a season – which is where having a lawn spreader comes in handy.

‘There are spreader-tailored products that meet all these steps,’ he adds. ‘A spreader is an important tool for those who want to have a great-looking lawn. It can be used to apply everything from fertilizer, lime, or pest control products.’

Think how much use you will get out of the kit. If you look at a list of ideal spring lawn care tasks, for example, it can overseed and fix bare patches in the grass, apply a weed-and-feed product, and top dress the lawn.

2. It Gives Reliable, Consistent Applications

‘The biggest advantage of a spreader is that it can give a more reliable application of the product,’ claims Sean Dwyer. ‘This is particularly important when using things like fertilizer to get a consistent-looking lawn.’

Any fertilizer must be applied at the right rate to have the best results. Under-fertilize, and you won’t get the benefit from the nutrients. Over-fertilize a lawn, and you risk burning the grass.

To avoid fertilizing mistakes, all products have recommended rates, and you calibrate the lawn spreader to apply them correctly. To make it easier, quite often, if you use products and spreaders made by the same company, they’ll list the recommended lawn spreader settings on the back of the bag of feed, seed, or weed products.

Using a lawn spreader is always more reliable than spreading products by hand, which can save you money but comes with many potential risks.

‘Whether you are applying fertilizer, seed, or weed control, even coverage is everything,’ says Chelsea Morris, a Lawn Love pro who owns High-Class Grass in Virginia Beach.

‘Doing it by hand almost always leads to uneven growth, missed areas, or over-application.’

‘I would absolutely recommend homeowners have a spreader, especially if they are serious about improving their lawn,’ adds Chelsea.

3. It Saves Time and Money

Lawn spreaders don’t have to be expensive; you can get budget-friendly versions that will become essential gardening tools year after year. After the initial investment, a spreader can last you for many seasons, regularly coming out of the shed throughout the year to boost the lawn.

Over time, repeated use offers significant savings compared to some alternative routes to getting a beautiful lawn. ‘Proper application of fertilizers, granular herbicides, and pest control is expensive to have done professionally,’ says Sean. ‘A spreader is a key item in making the process simpler and less time-consuming.’

The cost-saving continues with each usage. As you apply your fertilizers, grass, weed products, or moss killer at the recommended rates, you are not wasting money using more than you need to or spending extra money fixing issues that arise from over-usage.

Plus, time is money, and using a lawn spreader means you complete tasks quicker than you would do by hand.

This is crucial at peak periods of the gardening season, when there is lots of planting, watering, pruning, or feeding to be done elsewhere. You have time to look after flower beds and container gardens, without the lawn taking up all of your time.

The Different Types of Lawn Spreaders

There are three types of lawn spreaders homeowners can choose from: broadcast, drop, and handheld spreaders.

First is a broadcast spreader, such as this mini broadcast spreader at Amazon. It has wheels and a handle to push around the garden, and it spreads using an in-built spinning disc turned by the propelling motion. There are mini broadcast spreaders for smaller or medium-sized lawns, and larger versions for bigger lawns.

You can also get types of lawn spreaders that precisely drop product the width of the tool for more precise applications. Like this drop spreader at Amazon.

A handheld spreader also has a spinning disc, but this type is smaller and human-powered, with a handle to turn the whirler. These types of lawn spreaders (such as this hand-powered spreader at Amazon) are more suited to smaller yards.

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Most households with a lawn will have a lawnmower. However, it can get confusing if you want to buy a new lawnmower, as new models often come with lots of features – it can be hard not to be perplexed by the jargon.

Our guide to buying a lawnmower cuts through the confusion, revealing the five key aspects to look for when choosing the best lawnmower for your yard.

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Last year, I was disheartened to see brown patches lingering on my lawn in May, so I set about looking for a product to quickly fix it before backyard hosting season. That's when I tried a patch repair treatment, which transformed my lawn in just a few weeks.

Don't worry if your lawn has brown patches in spring; it can be caused by many common issues, from compacted soil to spring pests. You can usually repair patches in grass with a bit of TLC, and the product that saved mine was the Scotts Lawn Seed Patch & Repair, which is available on Amazon. Unlike using seed alone, this treatment is packed with fertilizer, mulch, and more for faster and stronger grass growth.

I'm not the only one impressed by this lawn care essential, as its 7K reviews reveal shoppers have had lots of success with it. 'I used this to fix some bare spots in my lawn, and after about two weeks, I started to see new grass growing. It was easy to apply, just spread it and water as directed,' one person writes.

Why Is My Lawn Patchy in May?

There are a few reasons why your lawn may be patchy in May.

It could be lingering problems from winter damage, such as compacted soil from freeze-thaw cycles, heavy rain, and poor drainage.

It may also be that you haven't yet dethatched your lawn (with a thatch rake from Amazon), meaning the grass beneath the debris is suffocating.

Another cause is that spring garden pests have woken up. The likes of leatherjackets and beetle grubs feed on grass roots and can cause bare spots.

If it's been a particularly warm and dry start to spring, drought can also cause a patchy lawn. Or, it might be that your lawn has a nitrogen deficiency.

It is important to diagnose the issue (you might find this soil test kit from Amazon helps with identifying low nutrient levels).

If it is a pest or disease problem, it's important to first eliminate it (see how to get rid of leather jackets) before trying to repair the patches. Likewise, poor drainage should be improved by aerating your lawn.

You can then apply a repair treatment, like the Scotts Lawn Patch & Repair.

Why Shoppers Love It

For me, the patch repair treatment worked quickly and restored my lawn to a lush green carpet in a few weeks, just in time for hosting friends and family in my backyard.

The Scotts Lawn Seed Patch & Repair is easy to use. You simply clear the patch of dead grass, moss, and debris, aerate the soil for better seed contact (I just used a hand fork, like this from Burpee), apply the treatment evenly, and then water.

The blend includes a mulch that expands to surround the seed, a controlled-release fertilizer, a tackifier to help keep seed from washing away, and a protectant to help keep seedlings safe while the grass establishes.

'It is easy to use and very effective, making the grass grow quickly and thick,' one five-star reviewer shares.

'I have beautiful grass growing within two weeks. It’s my spring go-to for my yard every year,' they add.

'The grass is coming in nicely,' another person writes.

I particularly like that the bottle itself is a shaker, making it convenient to apply an even layer on brown patches.

Something to note is that this treatment does require regular watering for success, just like overseeding your lawn and getting seeds to germinate.

Plus, the description notes the seeds germinate best 'when daytime temperatures are between 60°F and 80°F'.

This treatment is designed to work in both sun and shady spots, but of course, it might not be the best option if you require more drought-tolerant grasses (e.g., USDA zones 7+).

The seed mix of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fine fescue grass is considered moderately drought-tolerant, but it requires some consistent moisture during hot spells in summer to keep it looking green and encourage active growth.

For these reasons, some shoppers have had mixed results: 'It works a little, but the results have been pretty inconsistent,' one person notes.

But, for those living in milder climes, it's the perfect quick (and affordable) fix to rescue your lawn in time for summer.

What to Shop

Not sure what else to do with your lawn this month? Our spring lawn care checklist has everything you need to know, including advice on fertilizing your lawn.

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Spring showers usually provide enough natural rainfall to give a lawn the water it needs to strengthen itself for the summer. However, as large parts of the US are experiencing drought conditions this May, lawn experts recommend watering your grass to give it the moisture it needs this spring.

It is estimated that almost two-thirds of the US is seeing drought conditions this May. As early-season watering is key for ensuring deep root growth and a lawn that can survive warm summers, giving your lawn at least one inch of water once or twice a week this spring can stand it in good stead for the rest of the season.

For some, lawn care won’t top their priorities at this time of year. However, many homeowners aspire for a neat, healthy summer lawn and will want to start watering their lawns in spring to make those dreams a reality. I spoke with professionals about May lawn care and why they consider watering a crucial task for this month, especially this year.

Why Is It Important to Water a Lawn in May?

A lush, healthy summer lawn is the result of good spring lawn care. A good regime often includes aerating, dethatching, feeding, weeding, and starting mowing the lawn in spring.

Watering also ranks among the most important factors, as it has a large overall impact on lawn health. However, sufficient moisture is often provided naturally through spring showers, depending on your location and climate.

This year, though, more homeowners across the US may need to water their lawns this month due to the widespread drought, which is especially affecting the West and the Southeast.

‘In May, as much of the country is experiencing worsening drought conditions, it’s most important to supplement the small amounts of rain with long, deep waterings,’ claims Theresa Smith, SVP at NaturaLawn of America.

‘Not only does this give your lawn the water it needs at that moment, but it also encourages deep root growth, which will strengthen it for the summer weather conditions,’ adds the lawn expert.

Supplemental watering may be needed to give a lawn the inch or two of water it needs weekly. Even if you get some rainfall, it can be beneficial to check the moisture levels two inches under the soil surface to see if the grass needs more water.

You can get a soil moisture meter on Amazon that will give you instant results on the moisture levels in the ground. Or get a rain gauge (like this outdoor rain gauge at Walmart) to tell you how much natural rainfall you have received.

How Often Should You Water a Lawn in May?

A lawn needs at least an inch of water per week for healthy growth. A lack of moisture or irregular watering can cause thinning or bare patches, crushing any dreams of a green, thick lawn.

Taking time to water the grass as required this month offers long-term benefits. As Justin Wilson, the owner of American Irrigation, claims: ‘Proper irrigation coverage and scheduling can help restore healthy grass growth while preventing future patchy spots.

‘This is helpful in the maintenance of lawns, especially in May, before it gets too hot and scalds the grass.’

The inch of water is best provided through deep, infrequent soakings once or twice a week. Avoid shorter, more frequent waterings, as this causes the lawn to have a shallow root system, and come summer, the grass is more vulnerable during periods of heat and drought.

‘Longer but infrequent waterings encourage deep root growth, which strengthens the root system and allows the grass to store the nutrients and water it needs to survive summer’s high temperatures,’ explains Theresa.

‘An added benefit of these longer waterings? Your grass gets water instead of the weeds,’ she adds. ‘Because weeds typically have more shallow roots, they reap the benefits of short, frequent watering sessions. If you water longer and less frequently, your healthy grass will be better equipped to choke out the weeds in your lawn.’

Justin Wilson recommends sprinklers as the ‘best solution’ for the lawn, because ‘they’re designed to evenly water large turf areas’. To ensure even, widespread coverage when you water your garden with a sprinkler, he advises checking that sprinkler heads are not clogged and ensuring they reach all sections of the grass.

Two Other Key Parts of May Lawn Care

A good May lawn care regimen needs to incorporate other regular tasks, as well as watering. So, what tasks do lawn maintenance professionals think are a must for your spring gardening checklist?

Jason McCausland, National Technical Coordinator at Weed Man, says that mowing the lawn in spring ranks up there with watering as a crucial May lawn care task to encourage a lush, healthy lawn.

‘I think having a regular watering and mowing schedule, mowing to the proper height for your area, and keeping your mower blades sharp are the most important maintenance habits you can adopt to set your lawn up for success for the year ahead,’ says Jason.

‘Mowing and watering can have a huge impact on the overall health of the lawn. A lack of water or mowing too short might leave you with no lawn at all.’

If you haven’t done it yet this year, May can also be a good time to fertilize a lawn. Brian Feldman, Senior Director of Field Operations at TruGreen, says the combination of ‘proper mowing, watering, and fertilization’ reaps rewards.

‘This trio of tasks helps create a dense lawn that makes it hard for weeds to root and thrive on their own,’ he says.

‘Fertilization is a key task to encourage strong growth before summer heat,’ adds Brian. ‘It gives your lawn a critical nutrient boost as it comes out of dormancy and promotes new blade and root growth to increase grass density and crowd out weeds naturally, improving your lawn's drought and disease resistance.’

The best fertilizer for grass in spring is a slow-release product that will provide lots of essential nutrients to the lawn for several months. One example is this Greenview lawn food at Amazon that can be applied in spring and will feed for eight weeks.

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Theresa Smith from NaturaLawn of America advises watering early in the morning. Not only does watering in the cooler periods of the day stop water from being lost to evaporation, but it also prevents water from sitting on the grass overnight, which can cause disease.

While it may seem convenient to water the lawn at night, there are potential consequences, as damp grass can be an ideal environment for fungi and bacteria to thrive.

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Meet the Experts

Early spring offers an ideal window for a range of April lawn treatments that can make a big difference to your summer lawn. Ideally, you’d do them all. But, in reality, homeowners are busy and can only dedicate so much time to lawn care. So what is one quick fix that can help a lawn thrive come summer? Dethatching.

I chatted to experts about what they think are the most impactful April lawn treatments and dethatching was highlighted as a simple fix that will help your lawn thrive come summer. This is because gently raking out thatch and debris from your lawn puts it in a perfect position for healthy growth.

If you are planning your April lawn care but are short of time, this is one job you should do in the upcoming weeks. A little bit of vital attention can make a marked difference to your summer lawn. Along with this, the experts also revealed a few other important lawn care tasks you can do this month that will help your lawn stay healthy and beautiful for summer parties and family gatherings.

The One April Lawn Fix That Makes a Big Impact

If you want a thick, green lawn to enjoy come summer, you need to add dethatching to your spring gardening checklist.

It is a spring lawn care task I have always done when maintaining turf in public gardens, and at home, and a vastly experienced lawn expert highlights it as an impactful, quick fix to get done this month.

Jason McCausland, National Technical Director at Weed Man, recommends ‘a good fan raking’ in April to get the season off to a great start. And this simple April lawn treatment can make a big difference come summer.

‘This will remove a lot of the thatch and debris that has accumulated over the winter,’ says the lawn expert. ‘This ensures your lawn is ready and able to soak up the sun, water, and nutrients it needs to thrive in the summer.’

You can get a fan rake with a carbon steel head containing 22 teeth and a sturdy wooden handle at Walmart that makes an ideal tool for dethatching a small lawn by hand this month.

Thatch is a natural layer that occurs in all lawns. It comprises dead material, decomposing grass stems, and moss, and sits between the soil surface and the visible top of the grass blades.

You expect all lawns to accumulate thatch. A thin layer is beneficial, but when it builds up too thickly, it becomes a problem. A thick thatch layer acts as a barrier, stopping water and nutrients from getting down to the grass’s roots. The result is a spongy, unhealthy lawn.

All lawns will benefit from being dethatched at least once a year. The best time to dethatch a lawn is when the grass is actively growing. Cool-season grasses will always benefit from a light dethatching in early spring, but whether April is the perfect time will depend on your location.

‘April is the perfect time in many northern and central areas because the lawn is just coming out of dormancy,’ adds Jason. ‘But April is a bit late in warmer and more southern areas. Their lawn care season usually kicks off in late January, so timing is key depending on where you live.’

Dethatching and scarifying both remove thatch and debris from a lawn; the difference is that scarifying is a deeper, more aggressive approach.

Dethatching is recommended for lighter maintenance, but you may need to scarify a lawn if you have a severe build-up of thatch that potentially jeapordizes the health of your grass.

Other April Grass Treatments That’ll Make a Difference

Dethatching alone will help any lawn perform better during the summer, as it improves how much moisture, nutrients, and air get to the grass roots. If you want to improve your summer lawn further, which other April lawn treatments do experts recommend?

Before doing anything this month, Theresa Smith, SVP at NaturaLawn, hails the importance of doing a lawn soil test at the start of the new growing season.

She says ‘a beautiful lawn starts with the soil’ and a soil test will tell homeowners vital information for the year ahead.

‘It will help you understand your soil (soil pH, nutrient levels, organic matter content, and soil type) and what nutrients and treatments will help it thrive all summer long,’ adds Theresa.

‘April is a great time to do a soil test because it should inform every other task. This will help you use the right type of treatments and right amounts – saving you from wasting products and money.’

You can get a soil test kit at Amazon that provides laboratory analysis of your lawn's soil pH and the availability of 13 nutrients.

In many climates, April is when homeowners start watering their lawns in the spring. When temperatures rise and regular rainfall is absent, it becomes time to implement a healthy watering schedule

Don Chouinard, a lawn irrigation expert from Irrigreen, says optimizing watering of lawns is ‘one of the simplest and most impactful’ things homeowners can do in April.

‘April is an ideal time to establish this routine as your lawn enters its active growing season,’ he says. ‘Maintaining consistent moisture early on helps prevent common issues like disease, root rot from overwatering, and weak root systems caused by inconsistent irrigation.’

Lawns need around an inch of water per week to stay green and have strong roots. How long you water your lawn for can make a big difference, as it is more beneficial to do deep, infrequent watering rather than daily light applications.

Jason McCausland also advises fertilizing the lawn this month, saying of the April lawn treatment: ‘It is time to apply a slow-release granular fertilizer to give the lawn a boost and help ensure a green and lush lawn all summer.’

The best fertilizer for grass in spring is a slow-release product that provides a lot of nitrogen to the lawn. A good example is this premium lawn food, available at Amazon.

What to Shop

When you should start lawn care in spring depends on the soil reaching the right temperatures. It differs across the US hardiness zones and whether lawns have cool or warm-season grasses. This guide to the ideal soil temperature to start spring lawn care reveals the markers for a host of seasonal maintenance tasks.

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Early spring is an important time for lawn care, and for learning how to wake up a lawn. But over-fertilizing a lawn in spring can do more harm than good, often just as the grass is coming back into active growth. Applying too much feed – particularly high-nitrogen fertilizers – can result in soft, weak grass that looks green initially but is more prone to stress, wear, and drought later in the season.

It can also lead to fertilizer burn, where excess salts draw moisture out of the grass roots, leaving yellow, brown, or scorched patches. In spring, when soils are often still wet, any surplus nutrients are more likely to be washed away, leading to uneven feeding. At the same time, this surge of soft growth creates ideal conditions for fungal diseases and can even encourage weeds.

If you are overseeding, over-fertilizing is especially problematic. High nutrient levels can inhibit seed germination and cause existing grass to grow too quickly, shading out new seedlings before they have a chance to establish. For the best results, it’s far better to take a gentle approach to lawn care in spring. I advise you to take your time and do what’s needed as it’s needed. Follow these four steps and your lawn will thank you for it later.

1. Weed Your Lawn

Without being overly dramatic, early spring is a crucial time for tackling weeds in the lawn. Get rid of them now and you may well be free of weeds for the rest of spring and into summer too.

This weeder from Amazon will make light work of a lawn that’s become over-run with perennial weeds such as dandelions, plantain and creeping buttercup.

Larger roots will leave vacant plugs of soil in your lawn, which are best filled with garden compost, topsoil or a specialist lawn mix like this one from Ace Hardware. If your lawn has a tendency to compact, add sharp sand to aid aeration.

Not too bothered by the odd daisy, buttercup or dandelion in your lawn? Then know that you’re in good company, joining a growing band of biodiversity champions.

Dandelions are one of the best plants for early-spring pollinators, which will thank you for leaving them nectar-rich treats at a time when food sources are scarce. Simply deadhead, or mow, your dandelions before they set seed and they won’t take over.

2. Remove Moss and Thatch

Let’s face it, few lawns are perfect, and most contain at least a little moss or thatch. But what exactly is thatch and how do you dethatch a lawn?

This mixture of decomposed and partly decomposed grass clippings, roots, stems and rhizomes is actually beneficial when it’s less than half an inch (1-2cm) deep, as it brings with it insulation and protects the soil from compaction. It’s this thin layer of thatch that helps to give a lawn a soft, bouncy feel.

If it builds up, however, as a result of too much fertilizer or poor soil conditions, it can stop water and nutrients from reaching the soil and your lawn, encouraging diseases and moss growth.

A small word of warning: if it’s early in the season and thatch is a big problem, give your lawn a couple of weeks after its first cut before you tackle the thatch as it can be a heavy-duty job and you want that grass to be strong and thriving before you go in with a solid rake (you can get a specialist thatching rake from Lowes).

If there’s just a little to be dealt with, then rake it out by hand with a fine metal-tine rake like this rake from Lowes.

3. Re-cut Lawn Edges

The edges of your lawn, where they meet flower beds and borders, can be looking uneven and weathered in spring.

Early spring is a good time to straighten them out and give them the definition they need to shine – again, as long as the soil’s not overly waterlogged. For nice crisp cuts, a sharp edging tool is what’s needed here.

For straight lines – and those inclined to pinpoint accuracy – bamboo canes and a taut line of twine will help you to achieve perfection.

You can shop edging tools at Lowes.

4. Feed Your Lawn Gradually

Provide a steady and consistent supply of nutrients now, without overwhelming your lawn or causing fertilizer burn.

Use a balanced, slow-release fertilizer, such as the Andersons fertilizer with micronutrients from Amazon, which will kickstart new growth steadily.

As with so many gardening jobs, successful lawn care hinges on timing. So get to know your wider area and, within it, your backyard, and its microclimate, then act accordingly. If it’s still wet and cold, hold off a while before tackling jobs like mowing and reseeding.

Once your lawn is showing signs of life, you can begin to give it the care it will thank you for after a long, wet winter in dormancy.

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You can do more harm than good if you rush your spring lawn care. Best practice is to wait until the soil reaches a specific temperature. Here, lawn professionals reveal what that is, and which seasonal maintenance tasks should be done at certain temperatures.

When lawn temperatures reach 50°F, the grass starts growing, and so do weeds. That is the level after which to start mowing, fertilizing, overseeding, and using pre-emergent treatments to combat weeds.

Going too early with your lawn care poses many risks, and you can damage the lawn. If you are planning your spring lawn care, checking the lawn temperatures ensures you don’t do anything you’ll later regret. I spoke to turf experts about lawn temperatures and how they must dictate when you perform certain maintenance tasks.

The Lawn Temperature to Look For

You can do some real damage if you start doing any lawn care before the ground is ready. Even walking on frozen grass breaks the blades and compacts the ground, so you can only imagine what would happen if you tried to aerate, scarify, or mow in this scenario.

An interesting point to consider: snow doesn’t damage a lawn itself. In fact, it can insulate the grass, but human activity does do damage – so stay off your turf until it defrosts when the temperatures rise.

The best way to know when to start lawn maintenance is to monitor the soil temperature and look out for signs that the grass is starting to grow again for the new season. But what is the perfect lawn temperature to look out for that signals it may be time to start thinking about spring lawn care?

Mike Goatley, Virginia Cooperative Extension turfgrass specialist, identifies 50°F as the temperature when both grass and weeds start growing in your lawn.

‘When soil temperatures reach 50°F as we head into spring, we have a biological temperature in place that is going to result in the growth of both cool-season and warm-season turfgrasses,’ says the lawn expert.

‘Cool-season grasses will respond to the temperature first, but warm-season grasses will eventually also respond to the consistently warming temperatures and longer days.’

Once the grass starts actively growing, it is the best time to think about essential maintenance tasks like aerating, dethatching, mowing, and fertilizing your lawn in spring.

You can monitor the temperature with a lawn soil thermometer, such as this 4-in-1 soil meter from Amazon that tells you temperature, moisture levels, pH, and sunlight. Simply place it into the soil, and it reveals key information on a large LCD screen.

When it comes to cutting the grass, mowing a dormant lawn or wet winter grass is a winter lawn care mistake that risks harming the grass’s health, and you may be left with bare patches come later in the season. Don’t start mowing the lawn in spring until it is dry and actively growing, which it will do once the lawn temperature reaches 50-55°F, depending on the type of turfgrass you have.

Even if the temperatures reach the right levels, you don’t want to do any work on a waterlogged lawn. If you have puddling water and mud patches, stay off the affected area until the water drains or evaporates away, as you’ll cause more damage and make a mess if you try to repair the lawn while it is still in that condition.

Pros Reveal the Best Temperatures for Seasonal Lawn Tasks

When the ground has defrosted and the soil warms in spring, it is time to aerate and dethatch the lawn as part of any seasonal regime.

There are also three other key jobs to do promptly once the soil temperature reaches a specific level that will help you have a luscious lawn to enjoy come summer.

The Ideal Lawn Temperature for Treating a Lawn for Weeds

Once the lawn temperature hits the ideal for grass to start growing, so will weeds. If you want to use pre-emergent treatments for common lawn weeds, like crabgrass, tracking soil temperature helps you apply them at the perfect time.

‘Pre-emergent treatments should be applied just before soil temperatures reach about 55°F for several days in a row, as this is when summer weeds - like crabgrass - start germinating,’ advises Brian Feldman, Senior Director of Field Operations at TruGreen.

If you want an indicator other than lawn temperature, Mike Goatley recommends looking in your yard or others in the neighborhood for one flowering shrub. He says: ‘Homeowners should never forget one of the best predictors to watch for in the landscape is the forsythia.

‘When this plant is near full bloom, that is a strong indicator that conditions are right for crabgrass germination.’

To get rid of crabgrass, homeowners can use a pre-emergent weed killer in spring, like this one at Amazon that prevents a long list of common lawn weeds, including crabgrass, chickweed, foxtail, and more.

The Ideal Lawn Temperature for Fertilizing a Lawn

As the lawn temperature wakes the grass from its winter slumber, the window opens to fertilize the lawn. If you want a thick, green summer lawn, feeding the grass early in the year provides all the essential nutrients it needs, but you don’t want to go too early with any product.

‘As soil temperatures begin to warm, it creates the ideal conditions for applying slow-release granular fertilizers, says Jason McCausland, Technical Coordinator at Weed Man. ‘Applying fertilizer too early, before the grass is actively growing, can place unnecessary stress on the lawn and reduce its effectiveness.’

The soil temperature for fertilizer is between 50°F and 70°F. If you want to feed the lawn just once, this full-season lawn fertilizer, available at Amazon, contains nitrogen for lush growth and iron to green the lawn, which it slowly releases over four months.

The Ideal Lawn Temperature for Overseeding a Lawn

Brian Feldman adds that ‘soil temperatures should reach 50°F–65°F for optimal spring overseeding’ if you want to fill bare patches and thicken up an existing lawn.

When the soil temperature for overseeding hits, you can seed and then fertilize if you are using a starter fertilizer (such as this starter food for new grass, available at Walmart) designed for use when sowing grass seeds.

But avoid using weed-and-feed products when overseeding, as they contain ingredients that stop the seeds from germinating.

What to Shop

Once the lawn temperature hits 50-60°F, the window to start watering a lawn in spring also opens. Many climates get sufficient seasonal rain from Mother Nature to keep a lawn hydrated and ensure it grows healthily.

But the occasional watering in a warm spring may be required, especially if you have laid turf in spring or plant seed grass to establish a new lawn or overseed an existing one. Keep a close eye for signs of a dehydrated lawn, which may have a dull green color, and on the forecasts to assess the need to water in spring.

Meet the Experts

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Have you ever wondered how professional gardeners seem to have the most perfect edges between their neat lawn and productive flower borders? Well, now you can get the look too, using the 3-inch garden rule for edging – a trick that involves digging a narrow trench to keep the two areas separated.

Even the most carefully planned garden ideas can lose some of their impact if the boundary between lawn and border becomes a little blurred as grass creeps over your once-clean outline. While many gardeners turn to metal or plastic edging ideas to keep things neat, the 3-inch rule is a simpler (and traditional) technique that uses nothing more than a sharp spade (like this from Lowe's) to create a clean, defined boundary between lawn and border.

The rule refers to the depth of the trench that is cut between turf and planting bed. Three inches is enough to sever the grass roots that spread into borders, leaving you with an elegant, almost architectural line between border and lawn. Because the technique relies on spadework rather than buying in and installing materials, it is actually quite easy to maintain once established. Here's how to do it.

What Is the 3-Inch Garden Edging Rule?

The 3-inch garden edging rule is essentially a technique where you dig a narrow trench between your lawn and border to keep grass from creeping over.

The ‘three inches’ refers to the depth of the trench that separates the lawn from the border. Not only is this deep enough to sever most grass roots; it also creates a small gap between lawn and soil, casting a shadow that makes the border line more defined.

'We usually opt for a clean cut of around three inches depth once the lawn becomes established, as this offers greater flexibility in terms of shape of the lawn, it is often easier in terms of maintenance, (as stolons often creep over or under edging), and to top it off, is much cheaper,' says Alexander Warren-Gash of Mashamba Garden Design

'Once the edging cut is done, maintenance is relatively easy and can usually be done by a strimmer, with occasional detail work required,' he adds.

Well-sharpened essential gardening tools are required for this job. A half-moon edger (like this from Amazon) is ideal since its curved blade makes it easier to follow a curved border.

A flat spade (like this one from Lowe's) can work just as well, if not better, in a straight-edged bed. The cleaner the cut into the soil, the neater the finished edge will be.

Having sharp tools will make the difference between a clean cut of turf and a ragged one, so make sure to sharpen your tools when they become dull.

How to Do It

There are just four quick steps to implementing the 3-inch rule when edging your flower bed.

1. Mark Out the Area

If you are creating a new lawn edge, you need to mark out the shape first.

A dusting of sand or a garden hose laid out in the required shape can be used to outline where you intend to cut the turf. You can also use rope (like this rope from Lowe's).

Remember to step back to assess your shape before you take that first cut. A smooth, flowing line will be easier to maintain than irregular or complicated curves.

2. Make the First Cut

To make your first cut, position the edging spade along your marked line and press your foot on the spade firmly.

The cut into the turf should be to a depth of around three inches (for precise measurements, use this shovel with a depth marker from Burpee for the first cut)

Keep the blade straight, so the face of the lawn edge remains crisp and aligned. Working along the border, repeating a continuous and smooth line that separates the lawn and the planting bed.

3. Create an Angled Trench

This is the essential cut to ensure the grass doesn’t spread back into the bed.

After you have established the vertical cut, angle your spade slightly back toward the lawn and remove a narrow wedge of soil from beneath the turf.

This hollow is essentially a shallow trench that prevents the grass from spreading back into the bed and what produces the ‘shadow line’ that emphasizes the edge, making it look sharper and well-defined.

4. Tidy Up Loose Soil

Once the trench has been cut, use a trowel or small shovel to remove loose soil and tidy up the line you have dug.

You should aim for a clean, vertical face on the border side and a neat strip of soil sitting above the cut. Brushing away soil or trimming uneven sections will give a finished appearance.

How to Maintain Your Lawn Edge

With your 3-inch trench now in place, it's important to keep on top of maintenance so it stays neat and defined.

1. Use Edging Shears to Tidy Overhanging Grass

After mowing your lawn, you’ll want to neaten the edges of your border to keep it looking crisp.

Use long-handled edging shears (like this on Amazon) to snip back the blades of grass that the mower didn’t reach.

Regular mowing will help keep the grass in an upright growth and there will be less chance of the grass flopping over your carefully cut border.

2. Re-Cut the Edge Regularly

If you need to neaten the soil edge, simply place your edging spade back into the original line and refresh the cut of soil.

Doing this every few weeks during the growing season will keep the boundary defined.

3. Remove Weeds

Small weeds and occasional grass seedlings can spoil the look of your trench and if left untended, will begin to blur the boundary between lawn and border.

There are lots of ways to get rid of weeds. Regular hand-weeding (for example with this Fiskars hand weeding tool on Amazon) and light hoeing will keep the trench clear.

Our guide to keeping weeds out of flower beds has more advice.

4. Keep the Trench Clear of Soil

Soil from the border may gradually fall into the trench, reducing the gap between lawn and garden bed. Removing the soil periodically with a hand trowel will help keep the trench neat.

In addition, if you are adding mulch to your beds, take care to ensure there is a gap between the mulched bed and your lawn edge to help maintain a clear boundary.

5. Give it a Seasonal Refresh

Even with careful routine maintenance, it is still useful to re-define the edge in spring and then repeat later in the growing season.

Simply follow the original line with an edging spade (you can also find them at Walmart) and tidy along the trench, removing a sliver of soil as you go along to restore the neat finish.

What to Shop

This simple technique can make a surprising difference to the appearance of a garden. Think of your crisply edged lawn as a frame for your flower and vegetable borders, allowing the shapes of the beds to stand out.

If you want to enhance your border even more without lots of effort, take a look at our guide to low-maintenance garden border ideas.

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If your lawn isn’t impressing as much as you’d like, the problem may be hiding underneath the surface. That is why lawn care professionals all recommend carrying out a lawn soil test in spring as the key to having a healthier summer lawn.

A luscious, green lawn is the result of careful attention. It needs the right balance of nutrients, thanks to healthy soil and the right pH level. If the nutrient levels aren’t right or the pH is too high or too low, issues can arise. That is why a lawn soil test reveals vital details and gives you the chance to rectify problems and adopt the right fertilizing approach.

Consider a lawn soil test a vital cog in your lawn care. Testing the soil every few years tells you all you need to know about your lawn and helps you tailor your maintenance to guarantee a beautiful summer lawn to enjoy. Here, we look at why a lawn soil test is crucial and how to do it.

3 Benefits to a Lawn Soil Test

Lawn care experts all recommend getting your soil tested for the following reasons:

It Shows Nutrient Deficiencies

A lawn soil test gives you a great overall indication of your soil health and the levels of essential plant nutrients in the ground. For a lush, green lawn, it needs a balance of the vital macronutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, as well as micronutrients, such as iron, magnesium, calcium, and more.

The lawn soil test will show you which nutrients are lacking and which are in excess. As a lawn requires a specific balance, this information is crucial to any aspirations for a healthy lawn that can withstand the rigors of summer.

‘Soil testing can help prep your lawn for summer by showing you exactly what nutrients your soil is missing, says Jason McCausland, Technical Coordinator at Weed Man. ‘This lets you apply the right fertilizer and amendments before summer stress, leading to stronger roots, better drought tolerance, and healthier growth during heat.’

A plan to boost soil nutrients can be put in place using this information, which leads to a beautiful, healthy lawn to enjoy in summer.

It Tells You Your Soil pH

Testing the pH of soil can make a difference to how your lawn looks in the summer. As John Gualtiere, President at Hudson Landscape Contractors, says: ‘A lot of summer lawn issues are due to pH levels that are too high or low.’

This is because soil pH directly impacts how efficiently your grass absorbs nutrients. If the pH is off, the roots won’t take in the nutrients as well, even after you fertilize a lawn.

A typical lawn wants a slightly acidic to neutral pH of 6.0 to 7.0. At this ideal level, the grass can take in all the nutrients it needs to grow strong and healthy.

It is when the pH gets outside of this range that issues can arise. Whether too acidic or alkaline, certain nutrients are ‘locked up’ and the lawn cannot absorb the nutrients. This can lead to a yellowing lawn, bare patches, increased susceptibility to diseases and pests, or weeds taking over due to weak grass.

There are ways to raise or lower the pH highlighted during a lawn soil test so your lawn can access all the nutrients it needs. For example, you can make soil more acidic by adding sulfur or iron sulfate (you can get iron sulfate at Amazon), or make it more alkaline by adding lime.

It Helps You Tailor Your Lawn Care

With the findings of a lawn soil test in hand, you can adopt a tailored approach to your spring lawn care. There is no point in wasting money on products that your lawn doesn’t need when you fertilize your lawn in spring.

‘Soil testing is really important so that you know what's going on with your soil, so you know what to actually apply,’ advises Matt Cline of HillSide Lawn Service. ’Without knowing what your pH is, without knowing what your macro and secondary nutrient levels are, it makes it really difficult to get an effective lawn care program.’

A more targeted approach ensures you supplement any missing nutrients so your lawn gets all it needs to grow strongly, is more resilient, and looks its best for the summer.

It also reduces the likelihood of over-fertilizing a lawn, which can leave patches due to fertilizer burn and make the grass susceptible to pests and diseases. Excess nutrients can also run off into the environment or groundwater, and a tailored approach stops unnecessary applications of fertilizer from troubling the local environment.

How Often Should You Do a Lawn Soil Test?

You don’t need to do a lawn soil test every year. However, if you have long-term issues and want to conduct regular checks to get on top of the problem, or need to track improvements year-on-year, regular checks can be beneficial.

In most cases, a test every few years is sufficient for a healthy balance and a happy lawn. Mike Goatley, Virginia Cooperative Extension turfgrass specialist, says: ‘The first thing to do for top-notch turf is get a soil test done.’

‘If you haven’t performed a soil test on your lawn within the last three years, we recommend you have your soil tested,’ he adds.

You can do a lawn soil test at any time of year, but it is advisable to wait at least three months after applying lime, fertilizer, or organic matter (such as compost or manure) for conclusive results.

Early spring is an ideal time to do a lawn soil test, as it provides you with vital information to make amendments and tailor your spring fertilizing to give strong results come summer.

How to Test Your Lawn Soil

There are different testing methods to pick from, ranging from at-home test kits to sending samples to a soil-testing laboratory. For a conclusive test, you want to collect soil samples, each four inches deep, from 6-8 different areas of your lawn and mix them in a bucket ready for testing.

Each state in the US has an agricultural extension service, usually tied to a university, to which you can send soil samples for analysis. This option offers detailed results and often costs between $10 and $30. Check your local extension offices to find out more about services and costs.

There are commercial companies that offer laboratory analysis tests. Just like with the extension officer, you mail in soil samples and get in-depth results. This MySoil soil test kit, available at Amazon, is an example of such services. It measures 13 nutrient levels and soil pH, and gives you tailored recommendations.

The most basic option is home test kits, which offer quicker, but less accurate results. A test like this Rapitest soil test kit, also available at Amazon, gives you an indication of the nutrients and pH levels, and is suitable for beginners. However, they are not as thorough or reliable as laboratory results.

Shop Spring Lawn Fertilizers

March is traditionally when many gardeners start cutting the lawn again after winter. Once the frosts have passed and the temperatures warm in early spring, the grass starts to grow again for the new season.

This often means it is due for a first cut to keep it neat. The key is to set the mower height high on spring lawns and avoid removing more than a third of the grass blades.

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Aerating is one of the best ways you can help your lawn in spring. If you wonder how desperate your lawn is for aeration, this quick and simple screwdriver test will reveal whether your ground is compacted and will benefit from this spring lawn job.

Once you understand when and how to aerate a lawn, your grass can put down strong roots, and you’ll have a more resilient lawn. When the grass begins to grow as temperatures increase, it's prime time for spring lawn care.

At the core of this is a five-second lawn screwdriver test that shows when a lawn is compacted. It is a quick test I have used many times over the years, and turf experts all reveal how vital it can be to help you have a strong, healthy, and beautiful lawn. Let’s look at how easy it actually is.

How to Do the Lawn Screwdriver Test

Many gardeners aerate every spring to make a lawn green and thick so that they can enjoy it every summer. However, not all homeowners are as meticulous with their lawn and may skip a year or two.

This is perfectly OK, but there comes a time when it pays dividends to give their grass some TLC. If your lawn gets a lot of use from children, pets, or family gatherings, then compaction will occur. This can lead to patchy growth and water pooling after rainfall.

To judge when to aerate a lawn, there are a couple of methods. But the lawn screwdriver test is the most straightforward of them all. All you need is a common household tool and a few moments of your time. (And just in case you don't have a screwdriver, you can pick up this great value multi-bit screwdriver from Amazon.)

Mike Goatley, Virginia Cooperative Extension turfgrass specialist, describes the lawn screwdriver test as ‘the simplest, most effective way to assess compaction where most of the turfgrass roots are found’, which is in the top four inches of the soil profile.

The lawn screwdriver test is done after a good period of rainfall, though you can water the lawn in spring beforehand to get the right conditions.

‘Make sure the soil is moist and probe it with a screwdriver,’ explains Mike. ‘If you can push the screwdriver in three inches, you probably do not need to aerate.’

When it comes to what you are looking for, Jason McCausland, Technical Coordinator at Weed Man, adds: ‘If it goes in easily, the soil is loose and healthy. If it’s hard to push, the soil is compacted or too dry.’

Why the Lawn Screwdriver Test Is Crucial

Knowing how to check for compaction helps you maintain a healthy, strong lawn. If you wonder why to aerate a lawn, it offers many benefits that help your grass grow vigorously, get the water and nutrients it needs to prosper, and can withstand the rigours of heavy usage and challenging conditions.

Compaction reduces the pore spaces in the soil that hold air and transport water and essential nutrients around the lawn. It also reduces the beneficial activity of microorganisms within the soil. All this combines to leave households with a weaker lawn more susceptible to stress.

Jason McCausland advises: ‘Aerating your lawn in spring improves grass health by relieving soil compaction, allowing air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots more easily. This encourages deeper root growth, better water absorption, reduced thatch build-up, and a stronger, more resilient lawn overall.’

Mike Goatley adds how aerating helps to ‘prevent fertilizer run-off from overly compacted areas’. You should aerate a lawn before fertilizing to ensure it reaches the root zone where it is needed, rather than running off into local water supplies.

Compaction causes issues when homeowners spray weed killer, as the pesticide can run off and damage local biodiversity and get into water sources. Checking a lawn and reducing compaction means you have a nice turf to enjoy, and no damage occurs to the local environment.

You can aerate a lawn with a garden fork, like this Fiskars fiberglass and steel garden fork at Walmart. This is perfect for smaller spaces, but for anything larger, a mechanical aerator, such as this 24-inch rolling lawn aerator at Amazon, can do the job more efficiently than a fork and without the physical exertion.

Simple Alternatives to the Lawn Screwdriver Test

Beyond the lawn screwdriver test, two other easy-to-spot indicators will show when a lawn needs aerating. These are worth knowing to ensure any lawn remains healthy, you avoid bare patches in the grass, or a waterlogged lawn during wet winters.

Jason McCausland says one sign of deep compaction is if the ground feels ‘very hard’ when you walk on it. At the opposite end of the scale, he adds: 'If it's really spongy to walk on, that's an indicator of excessive thatch, and aerating your lawn can help reduce that thatch layer.’

Another crucial lawn care task to remove that layer is to dethatch the lawn in spring.

Aerating Tools to Shop

Spring is also a perfect time to overseed a lawn and combat any thin or bare spots. If you want to fix winter lawn damage and fill in any patches, it is recommended to aerate before seeding. This is because the small holes caused by aerating provide ideal conditions for the seeds to quickly grow stronger roots, compared to being sown on a lawn that hasn’t been aerated.

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With spring in the air, I can't be the only one looking longingly at my yard and wishing that the grass didn't look quite so bare. I'm desperate for warmer days to arrive, but I need to get my lawn in better shape first. And according to experts, your spring lawn care might be missing one thing: a 'penguin shuffle'.

Like me, you might be focusing on tending to your grass and ensuring that it's in the very best shape before temperatures rise. This hack might sound frivolous, but it's a brilliant way to start off your spring lawn care before you begin sowing seeds.

Once you have cleared away debris like moss and dead leaves (and added a layer of topsoil, if necessary), you'll need to even out any bumps or air pockets, which is where penguin shuffling comes in. It simply means taking small steps across your lawn to create a smooth surface – and experts say that it's a brilliant alternative to simply raking the soil.

What is the Penguin Shuffle Lawn Trick?

The secret to a picture-perfect lawn is a strong foundation, and this means preventing anything that could cause uneven growth.

First, you'll want to remove weeds and debris (and mow first, if you're overseeding your lawn to repair bare patches of grass).

This will help you create a clean, level area on which to plant your grass seed, but you'll also need to smooth out the top layer – and shuffling is a brilliant way to do it.

'One of the things my Dad (who takes immense pride in a lush, green, weed free lawn) always loved to teach me as a child was how to tread the ground before you overseed in the spring to get rid of air pockets,' says Rachel Bull, Head of Gardens at Homes & Gardens.

So-called because it involves narrow, inching footsteps reminiscent of penguins moving through snow, the penguin shuffle method will help you level out the surface of your lawn with ease.

How to Use the Penguin Shuffle Trick For Better Grass

To try out the shuffling method yourself, you'll want to lightly drag your feet across the soil with small, careful steps.

'My Dad would get me and my sister to take small steps over the surface to even out the soil, essentially shuffling like a penguin,' says Rachel.

'Presumably our lighter, smaller steps (and boundless energy levels) were ideal for this job. We would go up and down in neat rows to make sure all the areas were covered.'

Once the ground is even, you'll be ready sow.

You can find plenty of grass seed varieties at True Leaf Market, or pick up a bag of rapid-growing grass seed from Lowes.

You can either sow by hand, if your garden is small enough, or use a spreader like this one from Amazon.

Then, it's simply a matter of pressing the seeds down to ensure adequate contact with the soil.

It can be tricky to know when to start watering your lawn in spring, but after overseeding, you'll need to keep the soil consistently moist until germination. Investing in a soil moisture meter, like this one from Walmart, will stop you from second-guessing.

With a careful watering schedule and regular mowing, the seeds are sure to thrive – and you can be safe in the knowledge that the humble penguin shuffle has helped to prevent any unevenness. Come summer, your lawn will be picture-perfect.

What to Shop

If you're not struggling with a bare lawn, you might still be battling brown grass – which is never ideal. Wondering why your grass is brown but your neighbor's is green? We explain why, and what to do about it.

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March is the garden’s quiet turning point. Evenings stretch a little longer, the first warmth returns, and lawns that looked tired through winter begin to stir back to life. It’s tempting to tackle everything at once, but early spring rewards a lighter touch.

Rather than major overhauls, focus on gentle revival. A little tidying, clearing winter debris, and giving the grass space to breathe will help it bounce back and prepare for the growing season. Knowing what to do with lawns in March is less about dramatic fixes and more about small, well-timed tasks that support healthy growth.

With the right spring lawn care now, you’ll set the foundation for the months ahead – and before long, your garden will reward you with that lush, fresh green every outdoor space deserves.

1. Give Your Lawn a Light First Mow

If the ground is dry and free from frost, March is often the moment to start cutting the lawn again. Set your mower to the highest setting and take off no more than a third of the grass blade – a gentle cut that encourages fresh growth without putting the lawn under unnecessary stress. Early-season lawn care is all about restraint, giving the grass a nudge back into life rather than forcing it into action.

One golden rule: resist mowing when the lawn is muddy or waterlogged. It may seem harmless, but heavy foot traffic and mower wheels can compact the soil and damage delicate roots just as they’re beginning to recover from winter.

For tidying up the edges, I also like to use the BLACK+DECKER Weed Wacker with Auto Feed from Amazon to remove pesky weeds where the lawn meets flower beds. It’s a quick way to keep borders looking neat while giving the grass a clean, defined finish.

2. Clear Away Debris and Lift the Grass

Winter often leaves behind a layer of fallen leaves, twigs, and thatch that can smother your lawn and trap excess moisture, making the grass look dull, tired, and patchy.

A gentle rake (this Expert Gardener Rake from Walmart is my go-to) or stiff garden brush will lift away this debris and allow light and air to reach the soil again. Improving airflow around the roots is one of the simplest ways to make your lawn greener and thicker as growth picks up in spring.

Hold off on heavy scarifying for now, though – it’s best done later in the season when the grass is stronger and actively growing.

To make clearing up easier, Amazon Basics Lawn & Leaf Drawstring Trash Bags are ideal for gathering leaves and garden waste without creating extra mess.

3. Deal With Moss and Compacted Soil

If your lawn feels spongy underfoot or stays soggy long after rain, it’s usually a sign that the soil has become compacted over winter. A little light aeration can make a real difference. Push a garden fork into the soil at intervals across the lawn, then gently rock it back and forth to open up the ground.

For an extra boost, try the gardener’s 'penguin shuffle' technique: once the fork is in the soil, shuffle your feet from side to side to widen the holes slightly and help release trapped air pockets. This simple step allows air, water, and nutrients to travel down to the grassroots more easily.

It’s also a good time to start tackling moss. A gentle rake will help get rid of moss that has built up over winter and stop it from spreading further across the lawn. Hold off on stronger moss treatments for now, though – these are best used later in spring when the grass is actively growing and can recover more quickly.

4. Feed Your Lawn Carefully

March is an ideal time to fertilize a lawn, particularly once you start to see the first signs of fresh growth. A gentle spring feed high in nitrogen will encourage vibrant green shoots and help the grass regain strength after the slower winter months. Apply the feed evenly across the lawn, and if you can, time it just before a light shower so the nutrients are naturally watered in and can begin working their way down to the roots.

Miracle-Gro Pour & Feed Plant Food is something I reach for in my own garden when plants need a quick, reliable boost. The ready-to-use formula makes feeding effortless – simply pour it directly onto the soil, making it a convenient way to support healthy growth without any mixing or measuring.

5. Neaten Edges and Repair Bare Patches

March is also a great time to refresh the overall look of your lawn with a little lawn edging and some attention to bare patches. Taking the time to edge a lawn with a sharp half-moon edger or spade instantly creates crisp, clean lines that make the entire garden look more polished and well cared for.

While you’re there, lightly overseed any thin or worn areas to help fresh grass establish before the warmer weather arrives. It’s a small job, but these simple touches can make a surprisingly big difference to how neat, full, and healthy your lawn looks.

6. Prepare for Bigger Jobs Later

While it can be tempting to launch straight into a full lawn overhaul – overseeding, heavy scarifying, or even laying fresh turf – March is often a little too early for major renovation work. Grass is only just beginning to wake up, and cooler, unpredictable weather can slow its recovery. It’s usually wiser to save the bigger jobs for April or May, when the soil is warmer and growth is more consistent.

By waiting just a few weeks, your lawn will be far better placed to bounce back quickly and reward your efforts with stronger, healthier growth.

Why March Matters

The work you do in March isn’t about quick fixes or instant transformation – it’s about setting your lawn up for success in the months ahead.

A little gentle care now helps strengthen roots, improve drainage, and encourage the kind of dense, healthy growth that creates a truly beautiful lawn by late spring. Rush into heavy jobs too early, and you risk weakening the grass just as it’s beginning to recover from winter.

Think of March as your lawn’s gentle wake-up call: take steady, thoughtful steps now, and you’ll give your grass the healthiest, strongest start to the growing season.

Shop Lawn Care Essentials This March

Have you ever wondered why your lawn looks brown but your neighbor's doesn't? This has left me scratching my head before, until I had a realization: they have a completely different type of grass to mine, meaning seasonal weather conditions affect our lawns differently.

Even if you do everything right for lawn care over winter, early spring can leave it looking brown from overly wet and cold winter conditions. This is especially true if you have poor soil structure and your lawn sits in shade, making it harder to bounce back from winter stress. It might also be that you unknowingly have a warm-season grass in your yard, while your neighbor has a cool-season grass that stays green in the colder months (you can explore different grass seed varieties at True Leaf Market).

All of these factors can cause two lawns sitting next to each other to look completely different at any point in the year. But, don't fret, it doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong with your lawn and there are plenty of ways to help brown grass in late winter recover. Here, I explain more about why your lawn looks brown, when to be concerned, and what to do to fix it.

Why Does My Lawn Look Brown?

During winter our lawns can take a beating.

Oversaturation mixed with poor drainage can result in a waterlogged lawn and rotting roots, causing discoloration. Likewise, the constant freeze-thaw cycle can damage your grass.

The reason why your neighbor's doesn't look this way, however, is due to a few factors.

There are some grass varieties that cope better with wet and cold conditions.

For example, you may not realize you have a warm-season grass like Bermuda (you can purchase seed on Amazon) which prefers drier conditions and goes dormant and brown in winter, while your neighbor has a cool-season grass like Fescue (these seeds are also available on Amazon) which is much more resilient to wet conditions.

The same goes for if your lawn looks brown in summer and theirs doesn't, it may just be they have a drought-tolerant grass variety, for example like this Zoysia grass seed on Amazon.

Generally speaking, warm-season grass is best for hotter US hardiness zones (coping with 80-95°F in summer), while cool-season grass is best for cooler zones, preferring 60-75°F in spring and fall and staying green during colder months.

Other factors making your lawn brown include soil type. It can be surprising, but some neighboring yards will have completely different soil types which impacts soil structure and nutrients available to the grass.

It may even be that your neighbor has aerated their lawn (like with this aerator tool on Amazon) to improve drainage, coping better with wetter conditions and making their lawn greener and thicker.

Likewise, sunlight can also impact the color of your lawn in early spring.

If your grass is dormant in winter and sits in shade in your yard, it will take much longer to wake up in spring. This can be any garden shade, like shadows from trees, houses, and other structures.

In comparison, your neighbor might have their lawn in full sun, helping it to break dormancy in early spring and encouraging new growth more quickly.

When to Worry and What to Do

A brown lawn isn't always something to panic over. Usually, they go through seasonal changes and will bounce back when their dormancy ends.

Though, this does require some TLC from you to encourage good health and new growth, e.g. aerating it and fertilizing your lawn.

In the case that it's struggling to recover, you should conduct a soil test (like this lab soil test kit on Amazon) and see if your soil is the problem.

It might be that your soil isn't right for the grass variety you have grown, or nutrients are lacking.

If the latter is true, you can take steps to improve your garden soil, like with this lawn feed from Lowe's.

Another issue to be aware of is pests. Leather jackets, for example, eat grass roots beneath the surface and turn entire lawns brown. You can use beneficial nematodes (available on Amazon) to take care of this issue.

Something else that will help your lawn recover from winter damage is overseeding.

This is a tried-and-tested method helps lawns become thicker and bounce back from winter damage (and recover from summer damage in fall).

Using a seed spreader (like this one from Lowe's) will make this job more efficient, alongside special overseeding grass blends (like this one from Amazon).

Our guide to signs of an unhealthy lawn has more insight that can help diagnose the issue.

FAQs

How Often Should I Fertilize My Lawn?

Generally speaking, you only need to fertilize your lawn 3-4 times a year, roughly every 6-8 weeks from spring-fall. This will provide the essential plant nutrients it needs to stay healthy and vibrant for the whole season.

Don't forget to check our our guide to spring lawn care for more information on how to get your lawn looking its best for the spring and summer months.

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The sight of brown grass towards the end of winter may be unsettling, but there is no need to panic. It is usually a normal part of a grass’s natural life cycle, and you'd best wait rather than do something you’ll regret. Rushing to fertilize the lawn too quickly can do more harm than good. Here, lawn experts reveal a better course of action.

Brown patches in your lawn don’t mean your grass is dead. Most of the time, it just means it has gone dormant for winter. Some signs will be more concerning (which we’ll reveal later), but most often the grass will start growing again and regain its color once the temperatures warm in spring.

What you don’t want to do is rush your lawn care, trying to get rid of the brown patches. Fertilizing the lawn too soon comes with many drawbacks; it can harm the grass and your local environment. I chatted to some lawn care professionals about brown grass in late winter. This includes what and what not to do at this time of year, so you have a beautiful, lush lawn come summer.

Is It Normal for Grass to Turn Brown in Winter?

The sight of brown grass in late winter is perfectly normal and shouldn't cause you any concern. It is usually a case of the grass going into hibernation, entering dormancy for winter once temperatures drop below around 40°F.

By entering dormancy, grass saves essential plant nutrients. It preserves its food stores in the roots, where it needs them most in winter, and this sees the top growth discolor. But it is a natural way to survive the tough winter conditions.

‘Saving these resources helps it to green back up as warmer temperatures and rain return,’ explains Theresa Smith, senior vice president at NaturaLawn of America. ‘Because of this, there’s no need to panic about normal browning of the lawn during colder months of the year.’

Professor Mike Goatley, a specialist in turfgrass science at Virginia Tech, admits that many homeowners may see more brown grass in late winter this year due to the severe winter colds and snow many people have experienced in recent months.

‘However, brown grass in the winter is always in place, even for those managing cool-season turfgrasses such as tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, or fine fescue that we often perceive to be green year-round,’ adds the turf expert.

Brown grass in late winter turns more concerning if accompanied by other symptoms, such as disease, waterlogging, or a darker brown or black color. The simplest way to tell whether your grass is dormant or dead is a tug test. Simply grab a handful of blades and pull.

‘If it is firmly holding in, the roots are intact, and it's simply dormant and will begin to come back as the weather warms up,’ claims Craig Elworthy, founder at Lawnbright. ‘If it comes out easily, you may be dealing with dead patches.’

The Dangers of Rushing to Fertilize Brown Grass in Late Winter

When you aspire to a green, thick lawn come summer, the sight of brown grass in late winter may be demoralizing. And there may be a temptation to fertilize a lawn early to get ahead of the season and encourage the grass to green up quicker.

However, adding feed too early is a lawn care mistake that won’t be a miracle cure for brown grass, but can make the situation worse down the line, as it affects the soil’s nutrient levels or is just lost without offering any benefit to the grass.

‘Applying feed while the soil is still cold can do more harm than good,’ claims Peter Chaloner, managing director of Cobra Garden Machinery. ‘Grass isn’t actively growing at low temperatures, so nutrients may not be absorbed efficiently and can instead leach away.’

‘In some cases, early feeding can even encourage soft, weak growth that’s more susceptible to frost damage or disease,’ he continues.

‘If too much fast-release fertilizer is applied in the spring, it can lead to excessive top growth at the expense of root growth,’ adds Theresa Smith. ‘This predisposes a lawn to a variety of spring-time diseases.’

Not only does fertilizing too early stress the grass and weaken your lawn, but it is also a waste of money. Any product you put on doesn’t repair patches in the grass, but runs off rather than being used by the lawn.

What to Do About Brown Grass in Late Winter – Expert Recommendations

The best thing to do about brown grass in late winter is to wait and see if it improves once spring arrives and the temperatures increase.

The best time to fertilize a lawn in the spring is once it starts actively growing and the temperatures reach at least 55°F (you can check the soil temperature with this 4-in-1 soil meter at Amazon that measures moisture, pH, sunlight, and temperature).

This stage of spring lawn care is often late March or early April, depending on your US hardiness zone, and Mike Goatley recommends starting other maintenance tasks before feeding.

He adds: ‘Refrain from applying nitrogen fertilizers to promote color and growth on either warm or cool-season turfgrasses until you initiate a regular mowing program.’

As well as waiting until after you start mowing the lawn in spring, it is also beneficial to aerate the lawn before fertilizing to help any nutrients penetrate deep down into the lawn.

If the lawn stays brown a few weeks after spring arrives, it might be time to investigate the cause. This begins with the tug test to check if the grass is dead or if the roots are still healthy.

‘If recovery doesn’t happen naturally as growth resumes, light scarification to remove debris, followed by aeration and overseeding, usually does the trick,’ recommends Peter Chaloner.

‘Ensuring the lawn receives appropriate nutrition once active growth begins will also help it thicken up and restore color.'

The best fertilizers for grass in spring are slow-release granular products to provide nutrients to the lawn over several months. An example of such a product is this Scotts turf builder lawn food, available on Amazon.

FAQs

Will Grass Come Back After It Turns Brown?

Brown grass can recover and turn green again. If it is dormant over winter, it should come back once the temperatures rise. If it is stressed and brown during the season, it may be conserving energy during a heatwave. In this scenario, aerate the lawn, water deeply, and stop mowing to reduce the stress. This should help it recover.

Why Has My Grass Died Over Winter?

Grass often dies over winter due to waterlogging, but frost damage, pests, or disease can also kill a lawn. Aerating in spring helps to fix a waterlogged lawn, and homeowners should rake away any dead grass and overseed the lawn once the ground warms to fill in any bare patches before moss and weeds take over.

A good option for spring is a weed-and-feed product. These offer the combination of killing weeds and providing nutrients for the lawn, and spring is the perfect time, as the weeds are starting to grow and the grass is waking up for the new season.

Putting down weed and feed in spring (this Scott's weed and feed, available at Amazon, kills over 50 lawn weeds, including dandelions and clover) targets weeds that may blemish a summer lawn, and gives the grass essential nutrients to grow strong roots and shoots for the season ahead.

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Meet the Experts

Late winter and early spring are key times for a lawn, and addressing problems early can prevent summer issues. During this important transitional period, a vital step is to improve the oxygen supply to the grass. Treating winter lawn damage helps with strong growth, healthy grass, and means a lush lawn come summer.

Even small, cosmetic winter lawn damage can become more time-consuming later if it is left to develop. Taking simple steps in late winter or early spring to remove moss, clear debris, and reduce compaction means more air gets to the grass roots, which helps them grow deeper, stronger roots that can take in more water and nutrients.

Just a few key lawn care jobs in late February or early March can make a big difference and help you have a lush, green, and thick lawn come summer. However, if the soil is frozen or waterlogged, postpone any early spring lawn care until conditions improve.

1. Moss

Moss can thrive during the winter months, as it likes cooler, wetter, and shadier conditions. It can take hold of a lawn when the grass growth slows or when the grass is weak. Not only does it affect the look, but it also weakens the soil, allowing the moss to spread.

Peter Chaloner, managing director of Cobra Garden Machinery, says that early spring sets the foundation for how the lawn performs for the rest of the season. And failing to deal with moss prevents the grass from prospering.

‘Moss thrives in cool, damp conditions and can quickly form a dense layer that blocks water, air, and nutrients from reaching the soil,’ he says. ‘If that isn’t addressed early, it becomes much harder to remove and repair once the growing season is in full swing.’

Peter adds: ‘Heavy moss or thatch build-up can prevent moisture from penetrating the soil evenly, leading to stressed or patchy turf during heatwaves.’

To get rid of moss in lawns, late winter and early spring are ideal times to dethatch a lawn. This involves raking out moss and dead thatch from the surface, which boosts air circulation and water penetration into the ground, and helps the grass build strong roots.

This can be done either with a garden rake or with a mechanical scarifier, like this electric dethatching machine at Amazon, for larger areas.

2. Compaction

A compacted, unhealthy lawn may show signs of water pooling over winter, or the grass may be patchy or turning yellow. Chrissie Handley from Online Turf claims that soil compaction is ‘one of the main lawn issues homeowners face after winter’. She adds: ‘If not tackled now, it’s likely your grass will struggle to grow over spring and summer.’

Compacted soil means grass roots struggle to grow deeply. This is primarily because the amount of oxygen, water, and nutrients is being restricted. Weak roots ultimately put the lawn at risk of increased damage come summer.

‘It’s important to ensure your lawn has a strong, deep root system to survive extreme temperatures – both hot and cold – as these roots allow the grass to store nutrients and water it needs,’ claims Theresa Smith, senior vice president at NaturaLawn of America.

‘Additionally, it is a strong, lush, and healthy lawn that is best equipped to choke out weeds.’

To combat any winter lawn damage from compaction, early spring is also the perfect time to aerate a lawn. This essentially means poking holes in the soil so air, water, and nutrients can reach the roots.

This can be done manually with a garden fork placed deeply into the soil at 12-inch intervals, or with an aerating tool, like this rolling lawn aerator at Amazon.

If you are planning to repair patches in grass by seeding, it helps to aerate before seeding, as the new grass develops strong roots quickly.

3. Debris

A lot of debris can find its way onto a lawn over the winter months. While fallen leaves or twigs may not seem much, they will harm the grass if left unchecked for too long.

A quick trip around the lawn at the correct time (remember that walking on frozen grass or a waterlogged lawn will do more damage than good) to clear debris helps the grass grow healthily come spring.

Theresa Smith claims that removing debris that fallen during winter storms should be considered the ‘first step’ to fixing winter lawn damage. She adds: ‘These leaves and limbs block airflow and sunlight from reaching your grass and can lead to diseases if not removed.’

The lawn expert also recommends one quick task to help deal with a common winter lawn disease. ‘In areas where snow mold may be present, it’s also a good idea to lightly rake, or fluff up, the turf,’ she says. ‘This also allows for proper air circulation to help get rid of any disease before it can damage the lawn.’

Gently raking (an expandable metal rake like this at Lowe's is good for clearing debris) is the best way to get rid of snow mold once the ground has dried. Air circulation is crucial to curing the issue, and any bare patches can be fixed by overseeding once the temperatures warm in spring.

4. Dehydration

One more unexpected form of lawn winter kill comes in the shape of dessication, or dehydration. Brian Feldman, senior director of technical operations and agronomy at TruGreen, claims dessication is ‘the most common damage’ lawns experience during the winter months.

‘This often occurs when turf is unprotected by snow cover and subject to drying cold winds,’ he explains. ‘Under these conditions, the exposed turf can lose significant moisture in crown tissues.’

This kind of winter lawn damage shows as brown or straw-colored patches on the lawn. The good news is that it initially affects the leaves, rather than the crown or roots. However, if not treated, such severe dehydration can lead to total winter kill of the grass.

‘To prevent desiccation, depending on the temperature, water once every one to two weeks if it has not rained,’ advises Brian. ‘You don’t want your lawn to go into a drought-stressed condition. A good rule of thumb is to water your lawn when it is still above 40 degrees with no rain in the forecast.’

Provided the crown itself is not desiccated, continue to water the lawn as required in late winter and rake out any dead grass. The grass should recover by spring.

There is no set date when you should start mowing the lawn in spring; it changes year to year depending on the weather. Watch for when the lawn has started actively growing, the temperature exceeds 50°F, and the soil is dry. When you do decide the time is right, cut spring lawns at a higher mower height than in summer to prevent stressing the grass early in the season.

Tools to Fix Winter Lawn Damage

Dethatching is essential for a healthy lawn. It removes excessive thatch to help the grass get light, moisture, and nutrients. However, get the timing wrong and it can place the lawn under undue stress, so when is it too late to dethatch your lawn?

The usual timings for dethatching a lawn are in spring or fall for cool-season grasses, and late spring to early summer for warm-season grasses. These windows give the lawn time to recover, rather than placing it under added stress during hot summers and cold winters.

But what if you have missed the absolute best time to dethatch your lawn in the fall? Is it better to go ahead and do the task or skip it? To answer this, I spoke to lawn experts to discover how late you can dethatch, and what the signs are that the opportunity has passed for the year.

When is it too late to dethatch your lawn?

Lawn care can be confusing to some gardeners, and admittedly, there is more maintenance needed to have a thick, green lawn than many people think. Whether it is keeping on top of mowing, watering, feeding, aerating, or dethatching, a spring or fall lawn care checklist can be lengthy.

Dethatching and scarifying are two terms for removing debris, with the key difference being how aggressive the process is. Dethatching disturbs the top layer, whereas scarifying goes a bit deeper, but the truth is that both tasks take a toll on the grass, and it needs time to recover from the process.

The process of removing thatch, which is made up of dead leaves, roots, and other organic matter, is tough on the lawn. The blades of a dethatching machine, or a garden rake, tear at the thatch and the soil surface. It leaves the lawn vulnerable afterwards, so you want to give it enough time to bounce back fully.

When the temperatures drop in late fall, the grass will enter dormancy. This shouldn't happen with the lawn still weak from the dethatching, so provide enough recovery time to ensure the winter weather doesn't damage the lawn.

'You want to give your lawn at least a full month to recover from dethatching, so I'd suggest the latest you can dethatch is about four weeks before the typical first frost date,' advises Craig Elworthy, the founder of DIY natural lawn care company Lawnbright.

The lawn expert recommends showing caution, saying to 'be safe and give yourself a lot of runway' rather than cutting it fine before the frosts arrive.

Chrissie Handley, a lawn care specialist for Online Turf, also advises caution and dethatching when the temperatures are mild.

She adds: 'The earlier you do it, the more time your grass has to recover from it, so you don't want to do it right as it goes into winter dormancy, as your grass won't be able to grow and recover.'

How to tell it is too late to dethatch a lawn

If you are wondering whether it is too late to dethatch a lawn in the fall, the lawn experts provide a few helpful tips to help you decide.

It can be as simple as looking at the garden and considering the weather – all simple measures to avoid making any lawn care mistakes and damaging your lawn.

'If you've noticed that your grass has stopped growing, or temperatures have dropped significantly, it's probably now too late to dethatch,' says Chrissie.

And Craig adds: 'If you're seeing leaves falling from the trees, it's probably too late to dethatch.'

It is not worth getting too disheartened, though. If it is too late to dethatch a lawn, then you can just wait for the ideal window to come around again. If it is too late in the fall, then add the job to your spring lawn care checklist and do the task then.

How often you need to dethatch a lawn can vary. While it can be beneficial to do the task annually, it doesn't always need to be done. Hillary Thompson, horticulturist and director at Super-Sod, says dethatching is only recommended when 'more than one inch of thatch' builds up in the lawn.

'Unlike yearly aeration, we don't recommend yearly dethatching because it's typically not necessary, especially if good maintenance is provided, such as weekly mowing and not using too much nitrogen fertilizers,' she adds.

This means it is not the end of the world to miss a window, as it may not be required. If you regularly aerate a lawn, mow the lawn often, and fertilize the lawn properly, these all help prevent thatch build-up and reduce the need to dethatch as much.

FAQs

Can you dethatch a lawn in summer?

You can dethatch warm-season grasses in early summer, provided you give the lawn adequate recovery time before the temperatures reach their seasonal highs. Craig Elworthy from Lawnbright claims that late summer can be a good window to dethatch cooler-season lawns, saying: 'It gives your lawn plenty of time to recover and fill in before winter dormancy.'

Can you dethatch in late spring?

Late spring is an ideal window for dethatching warm-season grasses, such as zoysia grass and Bermuda grass, as the lawn is actively growing at this time of year. It is a good time of year for gardeners in warmer climates, or those in transition zones whose lawns contain warm-season grass types.

Can you dethatch the lawn in the fall?

Fall is an ideal season to dethatch cool-season lawns, such as fescue grasses, perennial ryegrass, and Kentucky bluegrass. Chrissie Handley from Online Turf says: 'Fall is a perfect time to dethatch, it improves airflow and allows water to soak through to the plant roots more effectively, which is ideal for the heavier rainfall.'

As mentioned earlier, dethatching is stressful on the lawn. So you don't want to dethatch a new lawn; it needs to be well-established to withstand the stress the task puts it under. After you lay turf, it needs to be given at least two years to establish strong, healthy roots before dethatching. Keep a close eye on the amount of thatch, and only plan to dethatch when you can see a thick layer of thatch or it feels spongy underfoot.

October is a prime time to give your lawn some attention, but it is not a standard approach across the country. The best way to plan your October lawn care will depend on your location and the type of grass you have.

Warm-season grasses are suited to hotter climates, while cool-season grasses prefer (yes, you guessed it) cooler temperatures found in northern regions. Then you also have a transition zone in the middle, where both types of grasses can be planted. The growth cycle of different grass types will affect your fall lawn care.

When planning your lawn care tasks for October, understanding the makeup of your lawn is crucial. It dictates which tasks you should do, and what you shouldn't. Here we look at October lawn care across the different zones, including which jobs are a must for all gardeners this month and those that differ based on your grass.

October lawn care in focus – let’s start with 1 essential task for all

Wherever you live, collecting leaves from a lawn is a prerequisite. When the leaves fall in the fall, they block sunlight when left on a lawn, causing bare patches while also trapping moisture and inviting lawn diseases.

Whatever your preferred method for getting rid of leaves, whether a leaf blower or a rake for a more physical workout, always collect leaves and use them to make leaf mold or compost.

Leaf collecting is a must, no matter where you live or the type of grass. But other aspects of October lawn care do differ depending on those factors. So, let's look at the crucial October lawn care jobs for warmer and cooler zones.

October lawn care – What to do in warmer zones

Warm-season grasses, such as zoysia grass or Bermuda grass, go dormant when the soil temperatures consistently drop below 55-60°F in the fall. Your October lawn care is designed to help the grass as it winds down for the season and stops growing during this month or next, depending on your climate and location.

• Mow – Keep mowing the lawn until it stops growing. The growth of warm-season grasses will slow when temperatures are in the 60s, but not stop completely until it goes under the 60°F mark. Monitor your grass and local weather forecasts to gauge when to give the lawn its final mow of the year, which can be as late as November. To maintain the health of your lawn, raise the cutting height in the fall and don't mow wet grass. Raise the cutting deck to 2.5 to 3 inches to leave longer grass blades that can insulate the roots during winter. This tactic also helps combat the risk of winter fungal diseases, including snow mold.
• Weed – Fall can be an efficient time to kill weeds and prevent future ones. Removing weeds before they seed prevents their spread, and they will compete with the grass as it begins to grow in spring. The best way to kill weeds but not grass is to remove them by hand. It may not sound appealing, but it is effective. It need not be back-breaking, though, as a weed puller tool like this one on Amazon allows you to remove weeds without bending or kneeling. To stop cool-season annuals like henbit, chickweed, and poa annua, you can apply pre-emergent herbicides in October. Such products prevent winter annual weeds from sprouting.
• Water – Depending on your climate and the local weather patterns, you may need to continue watering the lawn into fall. Warm-season grasses need 1-1.5 inches of water per week during this time of year. If this cannot be achieved thanks to natural rainfall, you may need to use your irrigation system or head out with a garden hose to keep your lawn hydrated. Giving the grass the moisture it craves helps it recover from the stress of hot summers. It also helps to repair any patches in the lawn, and means the grass stores enough energy in its roots to survive winter. A soil moisture meter like this one on Amazon can quickly provide key information on soil temperature and moisture levels. It will help gauge when to water grass and also give you an idea of when the grass will start to go dormant when the soil temperatures drop. Avoid overwatering the lawn (a common lawn watering mistake) as the cooler temperatures of fall reduce evaporation. And keep an eye on the forecasts to stop watering the lawn in fall ahead of the first hard freeze.
• Overseed with ryegrass – If you have bare patches in the grass, you can overseed warm-season lawns in the early weeks of October. Doing it earlier is required as the soil temperature needs to be at least 65°F for strong germination. Warm-season grasses are suited to seeding in spring, but to provide year-round color, you can overseed with ryegrass in the fall. This fast-growing grass seed germinates quickly and can add winter color to lawns in southern climates. It is a short-lived grass, but it can provide that desirable green over winter before dying back when the rest of the lawn comes back to life. You can get bags of annual ryegrass seed at Walmart to overseed your lawn in the fall. Plant the seeds using a spreader or by hand six weeks before your first frost and water frequently until it is established.

October lawn care – What to do in cooler zones

Cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, fine fescue, and perennial ryegrass are more suited to cooler northern climates. These grasses go dormant when the soil temperatures fall below 45°F. Good October lawn care for cool-season grasses helps it recover from the summer usage and develop strong roots to keep the grass stronger for next year.

Mowing, weeding, and watering as required are also essential October lawn care jobs for cool-season grasses. However, there are also other tasks to add to your fall gardening checklist when dealing with these grasses.

• Fertilize – October is a crucial time to fertilize a lawn and strengthen your cool-season grasses. Applying a tailored feed in the fall encourages strong root growth, preparing the lawn for the incoming winter. The key is to use the right type of fertilizer, which is a feed higher in potassium and phosphorus. These essential plant nutrients help support root development and provide the strength needed to survive winter and grow strongly come spring. An example of one such product is this winter survival fall lawn food at Walmart. If you wonder how often you should fertilize a lawn, feeding 3-4 times a year is the maximum, and a fall feed is the last of the year. Cool-season grasses want this fall feed, while August or September is the best window for a final feed of warm-season grasses. Avoid using summer lawn feeds that are high in nitrogen in the fall. This encourages fresh, lush growth that will be damaged by the winter cold.
• Aerate – Cool-season grasses can benefit from aerating in the fall to reduce compaction and boost root growth, as the holes in the lawn created by aeration allow for improved air, water, and nutrient penetration. It is a useful task to do before other tasks, as there are benefits that come with aerating a lawn before fertilizing or seeding. As for how to aerate a lawn, it can depend on the size of your space. A small lawn can be aerated easily with a garden form, while a mechanized lawn aeration machine may be needed for large lawns. A good time to aerate is when the soil is damp (which makes it easier for the spikes to penetrate), but not when it is waterlogged or frozen (both of which will make a mess and damage the grass).
• Overseed with cool-season grass seed – Early to mid-October offers the opportunity to overseed with cool-season grasses as the soil is warm from summer, and there is often good seasonal moisture to aid germination. Sowing this month is dependent on warmer falls as the seeds want at least 4-6 weeks until the first heavy frost. Plant grass seed earlier in the month and keep it moist until the frosts arrive. You can cover the newly-seeded area with horticultural fleece or germination sheets to retain warmth and stop birds from eating grass seed. Get it right and the new grass can develop roots before the winter frosts arrive. This helps the lawn withstand winter weather and be strong enough to cope with hot, dry spells next summer.

October lawn care – What to do in transition zones

The transition zone is an area where you can grow either warm-season or cool-season grass. Before making plans for October lawn care, understand the types of grass you have in your lawn, and tailor your approach accordingly.

As mentioned earlier, for both types, you should mow, water, weed, and remove leaves. However, only fertilize and aerate if you are dealing with cool-season grasses.

Potentially, the trickiest aspect comes when lawns in this zone are a mix of grasses, such as a warm-season base overseeded with cool-season grasses. The safest way to approach this is to keep mowing at a higher height, water as required, and remove weeds and leaves. But avoid fertilizing until spring and leave other maintenance tactics like scarifying and aerating until then, too.

Once the grass goes dormant, it should be left alone for the rest of the fall and winter. There are many winter lawn care mistakes to avoid making during the coldest season, but maybe the biggest is walking on frozen grass. Many people will do this without thinking about the consequences, but treading on a frozen lawn can damage the grass blades, cause bare patches, and compact the soil.

Shop tools for October lawn care

As autumn cools the soil, grass growth naturally slows down. However, giving your lawn one last cut before winter's chill arrives is often a smart move. The challenge is timing this final mow just right so you don't inadvertently damage your lawn's health.

Correctly judging the timing and height of this last seasonal mow is a key part of an effective lawn care regimen. Aim to get this done before the first hard frost of the year hits your lawn. Keeping an eye on the falling temperatures is crucial for this.

If a final mow is on your fall gardening checklist, remember to adjust the cutting height. Leaving the grass slightly longer provides a layer of insulation. This extra length helps to protect the grass roots from the deep winter cold and encourages the lawn to emerge healthy again next spring.

The right time for that final mow before winter

The exact timing for any final mowing before winter will depend on your location and US hardiness zone, which will directly influence when the grass enters its dormancy.

We hear from some experts about the signs to look out for and get some tips for the final lawn cutting before winter.

The seasonal signals for your final mow

Most grass species naturally prepare for winter by entering a state of dormancy once temperatures consistently fall below 50°F. This cooling trend provides the clearest seasonal reference for your final mowing date.

Warm-season grasses begin to slow their growth when temperatures are in the 60s, whereas cool-season grasses start their slow-down once temperatures reach the 50s.

Jeremy Yamaguchi, previously CEO of Lawn Love, suggests a proactive approach: monitoring your local weather forecasts and planning a final mow right as the mercury looks set to dip below 50°F.

He notes: ‘Once temperatures are below this mark, most species of grass naturally go dormant and thus no longer need to be mowed. In areas like the Midwest where winter comes earliest, this usually happens in around early-mid October, and in other areas like the Southwest, this can be as late as late November or early December.’

Sarah Jameson, the founder and owner of Lawn Chick, agrees that dropping temperatures and slowing growth is ‘nature's way of signalling the lawn's preparation for dormancy’ and a definite sign that it's time for the final cut before winter arrives.

She points to another critical seasonal reference: the forecast of the first hard frost. ‘Another clear sign is the forecast of the first hard frost,' she explains. ‘While it’s normal to see frost on your lawn with regularity during those chilly fall mornings, the first hard frost is different.

'The final mow should ideally be done just before the first hard frost. This ensures that your grass remains resilient throughout winter. On my lawn, I do my final mow as part of my leaf clean up, typically in November.’

Essentially, watch the forecasts: when the grass is slowing down and the first hard frost is imminent, that's your cue to put the mower away until spring.

Final fall lawncare for healthy spring grass

The transition from fall to winter is a critical period for lawns, according to Sarah Jameson, who states that work undertaken at this time ‘can impact how healthily a lawn starts growing again in the spring.’ Your approach to fall lawn care, particularly how you handle the last cuts of the year, can have a long-term impact on the health of your grass.

Adjusting the cut

One of the most important things to avoid is cutting the lawn too short for winter. Sarah advises, ‘maintaining a height of about 2.5 to 3 inches is optimal for most lawns.’

By raising the height of your mower for the final few cuts of the season, you allow longer grass blades to provide some extra insulation over the cold winter months. Most new lawn mowers will have adjustable height options built in, such as this Soyus mower available on Amazon, with five different height settings.

The mulching advantage

Using a mulching mower, such as this cordless Litheli model available on Amazon, can also be beneficial. It chops up grass clippings and fallen leaves into fine pieces, which decompose and provide valuable nutrients to the lawn.

However, leaving a thick mat of whole leaves on the grass throughout winter is a common lawn care mistake, as they can smother and kill the lawn underneath them. Be sure to remove leaves regularly and take advantage of them by adding them to your compost or using them to mulch the garden. This is a great way to recycle your autumn harvest of foliage.

Keep it dry

Finally, only mow when the grass is dry. This can be trickier to manage during the increasingly dewy and damp fall months, but it will ultimately benefit the lawn. Mowing wet grass causes the cut to be uneven and often clogs up your mower. This can damage your machine or leave clumps of wet grass dumped haphazardly around your lawn, which is not ideal heading into the slower-growth season

FAQs

Should I leave grass clippings on my lawn in the winter?

Leaving short grass clippings on the lawn can provide nutrients to the grass over winter. It is best to use a mulching lawn mower, or a mulching plug in your lawn mower, to chop up the grass clippings into small pieces that can settle between the grass blades and nourish the soil as they break down during the colder months.

Completing that last mow of the season is a powerful step in combatting snow mold, a fungal problem that can affect residential lawns during winter. This troublesome lawn disease thrives on dampness and a lack of air circulation, typically occurring underneath fallen leaves or blankets of snow that persist through the colder months.

By reducing the length of the grass before winter sets in, you actively minimize the moisture that can get trapped at the base of the blades. This, along with dethatching a lawn (removing the layer of dead material between the grass and soil), significantly helps to curb the conditions that allow the fungus to flourish.

When the snow finally melts in late winter or early spring, snow mold often becomes visible as strand-like mold that can look like spider webs spread across the turf. Fortunately, good fall lawn care can actively prevent this issue, ensuring your lawn stays healthy beneath its wintry blanket until the growing season returns.

I moved home earlier this year and was delighted to finally have a large lawn. The one thing I was less pleased about? The weedy nature of it. There were classic dandelions and nettles, but also some more vigorous offenders: vine lawn weeds.

The first thing I did when getting rid of these weeds was identify them. Vines, or rather creepers, have a habit of crawling along your lawn, eventually taking over large patches of it and leaving the grass below to suffocate and die. Diagnosing exactly what they are allowed me to take effective action in removing and killing these weeds but not my grass.

The only problem is there are several kinds of vine lawn weeds, and often you need slightly different methods to remove them. So, to help you out, I have compiled a quick guide here about three of the most common types and how to get rid of them.

3 common vine lawn weeds

Vine lawn weeds aren't the only kind to crop up among your grass. You may also have white flowering weeds, like clover, and may wish to learn how to get rid of dandelions. Although, many flowering weeds are excellent resources for pollinators, so consider leaving a patch of your lawn to grow wild for them.

Having said that, if your vine lawn weeds problem is taking over your grass like mine did, keep reading:

1. Ground ivy

If the vine lawn weeds in your yard have scalloped leaves, spread quickly, and have tiny little purple flowers in spring, you likely have the same issue I did: ground ivy.

It's also known as creeping Charlie, as this creeper grows rapidly across large areas. In my yard, it was particularly prominent in the shadier spots, as it's a ground cover plant for shade that thrives in moisture.

Unfortunately, getting rid of creeping Charlie permanently is not a quick or easy task. However, I have found that regular weeding helps reduce its rapid growth.

It's a weed with very shallow roots, so it can very easily be pulled up. Because of its density, I employ the use of a hand rake (like this one from Amazon) to efficiently pull up the vines. They come away easily, and I ensure the roots are coming up with it to reduce the chances of regrowth.

Other options include making a weed killer to get rid of ground ivy. One effective recipe is apple cider vinegar (from Amazon), salt, and soap, all of which burn and dehydrate the creeper.

I am now also improving my lawn care to make it a less favorable environment for ground ivy to grow. This includes aerating my lawn (with an aerator tool, like this from Amazon) , to improve drainage.

2. Field bindweed

This is another common vine lawn weed, and one I have also spotted in my yard. Bindweed refers to two plants: field bindweed (the one that sprawls along the ground) and hedge bindweed (the one that can grow vertically, often up shrubs).

Bindweed can be deceiving because it has attractive funnel-shaped white or pink flowers. But, leave field bindweed to grow and it can dominate your garden and smother plants.

It's a common weed to find in the US and requires careful action to get rid of it entirely. It can tolerate drought, poor soil types, and partial shade, though it grows more vigorously in sun.

The best action to take is digging it up (using weeding tools, like this weed puller from Amazon), and mulching to smother it.

3. Creeping buttercup

This is a vine lawn weed identifiable as yellow buttercup flowers. Unlike the clumps of buttercups that crop up randomly on a lawn, creeping buttercup is a low-growing, spreading plant.

It grows most vigorously in moist, poorly drained, and compact soils, and tolerates anything from partial shade to full sun.

Regularly mowing your lawn can help manage this weed, but manual removal is the best way to get rid of it. It would be a weeding mistake to let creeping buttercup take over your entire lawn, as it would leave you with brown, smothered grass.

Promoting thicker grass can also help stop the spread of creeping buttercup. Do this by improving drainage, raising your mower height, and fertilizing your lawn (such as with this Miracle-Gro lawn feed from Amazon).

FAQs

Do vine lawn weeds make grass brown?

Yes, vine lawn weeds can make grass turn brown where it smothers it. That's why you should work to repair patches in grass once you remove the weeds. You can do this by aerating, improving drainage, and sowing new lawn grass seed (from Burpee).

Sometimes the source of vine lawn weeds aren't even in your yard. They can creep beneath and through fence panels. If this is the case, you might find our guide on how to stop your neighbor's weeds from invading your yard useful.

Our recommended weeding tools

If you see or feel something not quite right, it may simply be your lawn telling you it’s unhappy. To help you understand the signals your grass might be giving you, here, turf experts reveal their top signs of an unhealthy lawn.

Many homeowners aspire to achieve the perfect turf and dedicate numerous hours to lawn care throughout the year. However, even the most meticulously maintained lawns can endure stresses, which are often evident in certain key ways.

Whether it is patchy growth, yellow grass, an increase in weeds, moss, or fungi, or simply the lawn feeling spongy underfoot, these are all signs of an unhealthy lawn that you should be able to spot. This guide highlights some of the most common indicators you may experience, along with expert tips to combat the issues and help you have a pristine lawn.

6 signs of an unhealthy lawn

Checking your lawn regularly can be a quick and simple way to spot any signs of stress or unhappiness. And it needn’t be tough to identify any problems, they may show themselves while you are simply out enjoying the garden or be spotted from inside the home.

'As a natural product, lawns are usually quite good at telling you when they’re unhappy, but it’s important to be able to recognise which signs are for which issues,' claims Chrissie Handley, a specialist at Online Turf.

The grass may appear yellow, patchy, or thinning, but often any issues can be easily rectified. Knowing how to identify problems and potential solutions is a key aspect of good lawn care.

Patchy growth

Despite striving for a green and thick lawn, one of the most common signs of an unhealthy or unhappy lawn is patchy grass with irregular growth, thinning or bare patches, or spots of discoloration. Such a lawn can be the result of a combination of factors, including soil compaction, drought, and low nutrient levels.

'Anything other than lush green dense growth is normally a sign that it’s not thriving as it should,' says Chrissie. 'A patchy lawn that isn’t growing as densely as it should is usually a sign that your soil isn’t of good quality. You may want to fertilize later in the year to help balance out your soil pH for optimal, dense growth.'

The lawn expert adds: ‘You can also test your soil to see exactly what nutrients it’s deficient in for a more tailored fix.’ The best soil pH for a healthy lawn is between 6.0 and 7.0, and you can test the pH of soil with a simple home testing kit, such as this soil testing kit at Amazon.

However, it may require more than just fertilizing the lawn to repair such issues with patchiness. Skye Durrant, the founder of LawnGuru, recommends increasing the frequency of lawn watering, followed by aeration of the grass, and then an application of fertilizer.

'You should notice a greener lawn within a week and thicker growth within one to two weeks,' he adds. 'For very thin areas, overseeding can help. The best time to overseed is in late summer or early fall.'

Discoloration

No one wants to look at their lawn and see it turning almost completely yellow or brown.

Discolored patches can be caused by pests like grubs or diseases, such as snow mold or red thread, that can cause a lawn to yellow in winter, but once it spreads from patches to the whole lawn, it becomes a larger problem.

'A consistently yellow or brown lawn across a large area is often a sign of drought,' claims Skye. 'Increasing irrigation is a good first step. Most lawns need at least one inch of water per week during the summer to stay healthy.'

Yellow grass should recover if you regularly water the lawn in summer. Best practise is to water in the morning or evening, outside of the hottest times of the day, but not to water the lawn at night.

Watering grass in the sun during peak hours gives the lawn little chance to soak up the moisture before it evaporates.

'If you have a sprinkler, you’ll want to make sure this is left on for a few hours in the coolest hours of the day and is reaching the full lawn and soaking through to the ground below,' recommends Chrissie.

Feeling spongy

If your lawn feels spongy when you walk on it, it can be a sign of an issue hiding beneath the top layer of grass. It is usually the tell-tale indicator of a build-up of excessive thatch, which is a layer of dead plant material that sits between the blades and the soil surface.

A build-up of lots of thatch can prevent water and air from reaching the roots of the grass, and this layer increases the risk of diseases and can harbour lots of pests. It is recommended to dethatch the lawn to remove the excess material in the lawn.

'This can be done manually on small lawns with a garden rake, though it’s hard work,' says Skye. 'For larger areas, it’s best to rent or purchase a dethatching tool, or hire a local lawn care professional.'

The best time to dethatch a lawn comes in spring or fall, whereas doing the task in summer can unnecessarily stress the lawn.

Another reason for a spongy lawn can be overwatering, which may show itself if you have a waterlogged lawn with water pooling on the grass after heavy rain.

'The sponge-like texture is normally due to compacted soil underneath; the water cannot drain away properly, so it pools underneath the grass surface,' says Chrissie. 'Over time, the boggy conditions will cause patchy grass growth, and you’ll notice your lovely lawn starts to turn into a mud patch. You can help increase drainage by aerating with a garden fork.'

Lots of weeds

Weeds are always going to pop up in a lawn, but if the situation progresses from some weeds to a lawn full of weeds, then it can indicate an unhappy or unhealthy lawn. It can be a sign that the grass is struggling and not able to compete with the weeds.

The priority has to be weeding out the unwanted plants that are present. 'Weeds may become a problem if left alone for too long. They can eventually overtake the turf without timely removal,' warns Nastya Vasylchyshyna, resident botany expert at Plantum.

'Weed your lawn throughout the whole growing season to keep them from spreading. It’s especially important to do so before they flower and fruit since they’ll scatter their seeds across the yard otherwise.'

It is vital to completely remove the weed’s root system to prevent it from resprouting, and this stand-up weed puller tool at Amazon can help you easily kill weeds but not grass without the need for kneeling or bending.

Ongoing maintenance like regular mowing, watering, and feeding can help boost the strength of your grass to fend off weeds.

Increased fungi and moss

In a similar way to an influx of weeds, the sight of lots of moss and fungi on a lawn is a sign that the overall conditions are favoring them over the turf.

If you see mushrooms growing in the yard, there are likely damp, shady spots with poor drainage, which are the perfect conditions for fungi to thrive. Moss also revels in such damp and moist conditions, and is often found in shady and overwatered lawns.

To get rid of mushrooms on a lawn, cut back on how often you are watering and regularly aerate the lawn in spring and fall to improve the drainage. Dethatching annually will also remove the fungi’s food source, and you may need to trim overhanging branches to increase the amount of sunlight that reaches the lawn.

You can apply moss killer to eradicate issues, such as this moss control product at Amazon, which kills moss and feeds your grass for future protection.

Holes in the turf

There may be holes in the lawn caused by animals digging to get to grubs in the lawn. The likes of birds, foxes, skunks, raccoons, or moles like to dig for the soil-dwelling chafer grubs or leatherjackets, which can cause major damage in their search for food.

The lawn grubs themselves cause bare spots and dead patches of grass, severing the roots as they go. To get rid of lawn grubs, dethatching and aeration make a lawn less attractive for them. Or you can apply grub control to prevent them from causing mass damage to your grass.

Garrett Lang, a turf management specialist with Lex Lawn & Irrigation in Southern Indiana, claims irregular dead patches where turf lifts like a carpet is 'a clear sign of grub damage'.

'They sever the root so your lawn can not take up water. Leaving dead spots that pull up easily,' he says. 'During the late summer, the only option is a curative application. To prevent damage, a preventative application can be applied earlier in the season.

'The curative and the preventative use different active ingredients, so make sure you choose the right one.'

Such a preventive treatment is this long-season grub killer at Walmart, which can prevent grubs for up to four months.

FAQs

How do you tell if a lawn has a disease?

Typical indicators of lawn disease will include patches of dead grass, discolored areas of yellow, brown, or red turf, or an increased presence of fungus, which can be white or pink.

The symptoms on show will depend on the disease. For example, red thread disease produces a pink tint on grass blades, while dollar spot causes circular patches of dead grass, and fairy rings on lawns appear as circular patterns of dark-green grass with mushrooms.

If your turf feels hard underfoot, that can be another sign of an unhealthy lawn to be aware of. This is a typical issue in high-traffic areas of the garden, and it is advisable to make a few simple adjustments.

One is to change the mowing pattern each time you head out with the lawn mower to help reduce compaction and keep the lawn healthy. And another is moving play equipment, paddling pools, and trampolines around the garden to reduce the impact on a particular area.

As well as those easy changes to your lawn care, aerating the turf annually in spring will help relieve compaction and encourage the grass to develop strong roots.

Whether you love it or hate it, regular mowing is a necessary part of maintaining a healthy and attractive lawn. But when you choose to mow is important, as some times of day stress your grass more than others. So, we reveal what the worst time to mow a lawn is.

Get your mowing right and you’ll have a lush, green lawn that looks great and is the envy of your neighbors. However, by choosing the worst time to cut grass, your lawn may become stressed, unattractive, and, at worst, diseased.

To help you get your lawn care routine on point, and avoid falling foul of any pitfalls, we got turf experts to reveal the worst time to mow a lawn. This guide highlights mistakes to avoid, as well as the hours of day professionals recommend you should mow your lawn.

The worst time to mow a lawn - according to the pros

Steve Peeler, an agronomist with Simple Lawn Solutions, claims: 'The worst time to mow a lawn is when it is wet, and the hottest part of the day.' Let's take a closer look at these two key times of day that turf experts say to avoid taking out the lawn mower to reveal why they are problematic.

Don’t mow early in the morning

It is not advisable to mow early in the morning. Not only will it be unsociable, especially on a weekend, but it actively risks the health of the lawn, potentially ruining any ambitions for a green and thick lawn to enjoy.

Mowing wet grass from dew or rainfall is a mistake for various reasons. It results in uneven cuts because a lawn mower tears moist grass instead of cutting it smoothly, and the mower is likely to become clogged.

However, even more concerning is how it can leave the lawn more susceptible to diseases.

'It is best to wait until the dew has cleared or removed before mowing,' says Steve Peeler.

'Disease pathogens and fungus can spread from one area to another by foot and mechanical traffic if the grass has heavy dew and high humidity,' he adds.

'By 10 am, most dew has evaporated, making for a better time to mow.'

Don’t run the risk of your grass succumbing to lawn diseases such as summer patch, red thread, lawn rust, or more, by heading out too early with the mower. Sit back and relax, before heading out when you’re confident any moisture has cleared.

Don't mow in the hottest part of the day

Mowing is vital in summer lawn care to keep it healthy and attractive for families to enjoy, and looking good for events or gatherings. However, you should not attempt to mow stripes into a lawn in the middle of the day during the height of summer. It is not good for your lawn, or yourself.

The temperatures peak between midday and 4 pm during the hottest months of the year. It is advisable to avoid mowing during these sunniest hours of the day, to prevent placing stress on your turf.

'Hot afternoon sun can stress newly clipped grass blades, making them more prone to disease and to drying out and turning brown,' says Greg Cuoco, CEO of The Difference Landscapes.

'If you're not a morning person, mow between 4 pm - 6 pm when the grass won’t be as scorched from the midday sun.'

Mowing during the hottest part of the day also places more stress on you and your lawn mower. It is safer all around to wait until the temperatures have cooled, but before evening sets in.

'After 6 pm or during the evenings are meant for lawn appreciation, not mowing,' adds Greg. 'A late mow won’t give the grass time to recover before evening moisture sets in and makes the turf more susceptible to disease and fungal growth.'

A lawn wants time to heal after mowing before the temperatures drop at night. Moisture and low temperatures put lawns at risk of fungal attacks, which is also why it is inadvisable to water the lawn at night.

FAQs

What time of year should you not cut your grass?

You should stop mowing your lawn in fall once the grass stops growing and goes dormant for winter, and before the first frosts. This tends to be October or November, depending on your location.

Then, you start mowing a lawn in spring once the temperatures rise and the grass is actively growing again. An ideal time to start is once it reaches around three inches, and you should pick a high mower height for spring lawns.

While discussing why early in the morning is potentially the worst time to mow a lawn, we mentioned it would be unsociable to go out with a lawn mower so early in the day. So, when is it antisocial to mow?

Early hours, especially on a weekend, are always unsociable and should always be avoided. Other potential timings to consider are the levels of disturbance from mowing late on an evening if neighbors have young children, or heading out with a noisy lawn mower when your neighbors have guests.

English gardens have long featured the chamomile lawn. Even going right back to the Tudor era. Famously, there is a chamomile lawn in the gardens of Buckingham Palace, too, beloved for its sweet fragrance and spongy texture underfoot. Though as ephemeral as trends and fashions are, the trend for chamomile lawns was swiftly replaced by the traditional grass lawn we all know.

Happily, the chamomile lawn is having something of a resurrection. No longer a historic relic, more of us are ditching the perfectly neat and uniformed, heavily mowed lawn for something altogether much more in line with the wildlife garden ideas we are implementing elsewhere in our gardens. Knowing how to grow chamomile for a lawn is wonderfully easy, and in almost every sense, a chamomile lawn is better than a plain grass lawn, certainly from an ecological perspective, and an aesthetic one too.

For many of us, we want to enjoy the experience of boundless nature rather than acres of manicured lawn. Though we still want design, restraint, and curation to play a part in our garden scheme, we might not want total abandon. Here, we take a look at the benefits of a chamomile lawn and how you can implement one in your garden.

What is a chamomile lawn?

A chamomile lawn utilises low-growing and non-flowering varieties of chamomile. It is particularly useful in areas of the garden where foot traffic is low or in areas that are hard to access with a lawn mower.

Like grass, chamomile offers uniform evergreen cover. Unlike grass, however, chamomile forms a dense, low-growing mat of fragrant foliage that releases its sweet and soothing fragrance as you walk on it. It feels spongy, almost bouncy underfoot. Walking barefoot over a chamomile lawn is simply heavenly, and we think it deserves more acclaim.

The benefits of a chamomile lawn

• Chamomile lawns remain green, even in dry weather. You can water them far less frequently than regular lawns, which saves money as well as precious water resources. While chamomile plants for your lawn are dearer than grass seed, in the long term, chamomile lawns save time and money.
• Chamomile lawns are marvellous at supporting pollinators like bees and butterflies, contributing to local biodiversity. Bees love chamomile lawns with a buzzing passion, and beetles and small invertebrates thrive in a chamomile lawn much more than a traditional grass lawn.
• Chamomile is a great aromatic ground cover in your garden, so chamomile lawns (where a lot of chamomile is used) emit a beautiful, floral fragrance when walked on (walking on lightly is encouraged, but for heavy footfall areas, consider a path or stepping stones throughout the lawn).
• There is no need to mow chamomile lawns – rejoice! Simply leave it to its own devices and it will thrive for years to come. The occasional trim won't hurt, if you think it is getting a bit ahead of itself, but no mowing is required at all.

How to grow a chamomile lawn

Love the idea of a chamomile lawn? Here's how to create a beautifully fragrant and wil chamomile lawn in your garden:

• Firstly, ensure the area you are hoping to lawn is suitable for a chamomile lawn. Ideally, a spot in full sun, but a little shade is fine. Full, bleak shade will not be a success for chamomile.
• Chamomile lawns like light soil with some moisture. Heavy clay soils are simply not suitable. It is well worth testing a small patch in your garden first, just to make sure conditions are suitable.
• The optimum time to plant your chamomile lawn is in spring when the plants are growing vigorously. This vigorous growth not only means the lawn will grow quicker, but your chamomile plants will stop weeds from establishing, which once established, are hard to remove.
• Bear in mind that not all varieties of chamomile are suited to become a lawn. The most suitable variety of chamomile for creating a chamomile lawn is Chamaemelum nobile 'Treneague.' This variety of chamomile does not flower and does not require mowing. If, however, you prefer a flowering lawn, you can instead use Chamaemelum nobile 'Dwarf.' Both varieties are evergreen and fully hardy.
• Though some chamomile can be grown from seed, the best chamomile variety for the job – Treneague – cannot. With this in mind, it is best to plant plug plants, which can be planted about 5″ apart, or purchase fully grown plants, which can be set about 6″ apart.
• Water, and watch the lawn take care of itself. Don't walk on your lawn for 10-15 weeks at first, to let them get settled in.

Shop chamomile lawn essentials

If you are exhausted by lawn care tasks, this might just be the low-effort solution for you. A chilled glass of wine in hand, barefoot on a summer evening as the chamomile lawn releases a perfume of sweet apples – what could be better?

A lawn will undoubtedly suffer during prolonged periods of high temperatures, and it can be tricky to judge exactly when to water your grass. However, there is a super-simple way you can tell if your grass is suffering from heat stress and needs watering.

Something as basic as walking on the grass can be a good indicator of when you should water the lawn in summer. This easy test helps you water your lawn effectively and efficiently when it needs it, preventing the grass from going brown and turning to straw.

As temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes more of an issue, knowing such a simple measure to illustrate how often you should water the lawn in summer is very helpful.

The lawn ‘bounce back’ test – what do the experts say?

In the peak of summer, lawns can suffer from heat stress as they lose large amounts of water as a result of soaring temperatures.

If you want a green lawn, watering will form part of your summer lawn care routine. To protect your lawn in a heatwave, any watering needs to be done efficiently. This ensures no water is wasted and your lawn receives maximum benefit.

When and how much you should water the lawn depends on the grass, soil type, climate, and the levels of natural rainfall. However, in periods of extreme warmth, there likely will come a time when you want to water your lawn.

This simple test can be quickly carried out to show if your lawn needs watering. And it is as simple as walking on the lawn and seeing how the grass responds.

Chris McIlroy, lawn expert at The Grass People, calls it a lawn ‘bounce back’ test and claims it is a good indicator of whether you need to water the grass during a heatwave.

‘All you do is stand on the grass. If it stays flat, it needs watering. If it bounces back, then it’s likely sufficiently hydrated,’ says the lawn expert.

Experts from the University of Florida recommend doing this test late in the afternoon and examining how long it takes for the blades to bounce back from being trodden on.

‘When feet compress the leaf blades of the turfgrass, the low water levels in the plant tissue prevent the leaf blades from recovering, or springing back up, after being pushed down,’ they say.

‘If the footprints remain for an extended period of time, water the lawn to prevent the turfgrass from turning brown and becoming dormant.’

But what exactly is ‘an extended period of time’ to monitor the footprints for and judge when to water your grass?.

Well, fellow experts from the University of Illinois add: ‘A sign your lawn does need a good drink of water is if footprints stay visible on the grass for more than thirty minutes.’

To keep the lawn adequately watered, apply a half-inch to an inch of water during the cooler periods of the day. The ideal time to water your grass is early morning, but you can water in the evening too. There are risks linked to watering the lawn at night worth considering, as a lack of evaporation increases the risk of fungal lawn diseases.

A lawn will benefit from more deep watering during these cooler times, rather than a light soaking in the heat of the day. The latter approach is a lawn watering mistake, as most of the moisture will be lost to evaporation before the grass gets to appreciate it.

Good lawn care during summer should also include adjusting your mowing technique. For example, when cutting grass in hot weather, raising the height of the lawn mower keeps the grass healthier by reducing stress on it.

In the same vein as with watering, it is also recommended to mow during the cooler periods of the day rather than during intense afternoon sun. You never want to mow the lawn when temperatures peak above 90°F.

The heatwave has arrived and I would be lying if I said I'm not feeling a little nervous. Yes, I'm ready to soak up the sun with friends and family, but ever since moving into a home with a large lawn, threats of hot dry spells leave me a little anxious for my yard. Luckily, Amazon Prime Day is serving the perfect solution, and it's only $21.

This Eden oscillating water sprinkler on Amazon immediately caught my attention as a number one best seller in the Amazon Prime Day outdoor deals. I'm joining the 7k+ shoppers who have already got their hands on it to keep on top of lawn care and protect my lawn from the heatwave. I'm already seeing areas of my grass turn brown and trying to keep it hydrated every day is quite frankly time-consuming. Instead, this sprinkler promises to save me time and energy, so I can focus on relaxing in the hotter weather instead.

Even if there aren't rising temperatures where you are, lawns are susceptible to becoming dehydrated if not watered correctly over the summer. But, with the help of this sprinkler designed for maximum coverage of large lawns, yours can stay looking green and thick this season.

How will this sprinkler save my lawn in a heatwave?

During extreme hot temperatures, just like other plants, your lawn is susceptible to drying out much more quickly and blades of grass may even experience leaf scorch. This dehydration can result in browning and dead patches of grass.

To avoid this, it's best to water your lawn in summer in the evening or early morning. Watering your lawn in the sun won't burn it, but the hot temperatures during the peak of the day will cause quicker evaporation, making your watering efforts counter-productive.

But, when you have a larger lawn like I do, it can be incredibly time-consuming to give your lawn such a deep watering as frequently as needed in a heatwave. I also find it hard to judge whether I have watered my lawn enough before my arm gets tired from holding up the hose pipe.

That's where this Amazon oscillating water sprinkler comes in. You simply set it up in the middle of your lawn and turn it on to move back and forth, watering each side of your grass thoroughly.

The one downside is that I'd quite like for it to have a timer, but it's easy enough to figure out how long you should water your garden with a sprinkler with our expert guide. Or, you can pick up this sprinkler timer from Amazon, which is currently on sale for less than $20.

Why shoppers love it

With a 4.5 star rating and thousands of positive reviews, I trust this Amazon oscillating water sprinkler is going to be the one thing to save my lawn in the coming days.

'This garden sprayer is awesome. This saves so much time watering our garden by just turning on the hose and letting it work its magic,' one satisfied reviewer writes. 'The sprayer is super durable as well and made of not so cheap of plastic,' they add.

And whether you have a small backyard or expansive lawn area to keep hydrated, the range control seems to come in handy:

'Sprinkler has great spread and directional controls are easy to operate. Just slide levers to desired stop points,' one reviewer explains.

Some shoppers even made a repeat purchase: 'I love this sprinkler so much that we started with one but now have three for our backyard. It provides good coverage and I like that you can adjust the range on either side using the red tab,' another customer writes.

Of course, as with all of your essential gardening tools, there is a word of warning for looking after this Amazon oscillating water sprinkler to make it last for years to come:

'It is plastic, so I recommend emptying and storing in a shed during the winter,' one reviewer writes.

Shop other heatwave essentials for your yard:

It's worth getting watering right in the yard when a heatwave comes around to keep your plants looking happy and healthy. But, if you find your lawn does become dehydrated, don't fret. There are a few things you can do to repair patches in grass easily.

Have you noticed small, spiralled heaps on the surface of your lawn in the morning and been left scratching your head? Those distinctive deposits are worm casts, and they are actually the sign of a healthy lawn.

Worm casts, or worm castings, on lawns result from earthworms and are commonly seen on spring or fall mornings. While they are beneficial, they can also be a nuisance. If you take pride in your lawn care and having pristine grass, these heaps may be undesirable.

So, what should you do about worm casts on lawns? To answer this, I spoke to some lawn experts who revealed the positives that come from worm casts on lawns and their recommendations for the easiest way to deal with them to keep your grass healthy.

What are worm casts on lawns?

Worm casts are small, spiral heaps of waste soil that appear on the surface of the lawn. They are caused by certain species of earthworms that live in the soil but come to the surface to deposit their waste.

The earthworms eat thatch and leaf litter in the grass and break it down. Many species will deposit this material underground, but some do it at the surface, leaving the distinctive strings of sludgy material.

'Worm casts are just little mounds of soil left behind after earthworms do their thing underground,' says Taylor Olberding, co-founder of Heroes Lawn Care. 'In most cases, they're not doing real harm, more of a nuisance, especially if you're aiming for that immaculate green carpet look.'

Worm casts are commonly left during the night, and they are most often seen in spring and fall after spells of wet weather. The sight of worm casts on lawns is perfectly normal, but they can be an inconvenience.

Are worm casts bad for lawns?

No, the resounding response from the experts is that worm casts on lawns are not a bad thing.

They can be a nuisance, as mentioned earlier, though how much so will depend on the type of lawn you want. However, there are real positives that come from having such evident signs of earthworm activity in your lawn.

Ryan Farley, the CEO of LawnStarter, claims that worm casts on lawns shouldn’t be seen as a problem whatsoever when people spot them on their grass at home. So, don’t think of worm casts as an issue when aspiring for a green and thick lawn.

'I'd regard them as a positive sign and can provide great natural fertilizer for your soil,' he adds. 'Worm casts are essentially just waste products from earthworms, and earthworms in your soil are a great sign that things are working as they should.'

That sentiment is echoed by Chrissie Handley from Online Turf, who speaks highly of the benefits worms bring to soil and grass health.

She says: 'Worms can enrich the soil, aerate the soil, relieve compaction and also decompose thatch, so when compared to small mounds of soil that are on your lawn, the benefits worms provide outweigh the negatives of the unsightly casts.'

Finally, Steve Peeler, an agronomist with Simple Lawn Solutions, reckons that worm castings cause more of a visual issue on low-cut turfgrass such as golf courses and athletic fields, adding: 'There is not so much of a problem on home lawns unless maintaining the turf at a very low height of cut.'

Expert tips for dealing with worm casts on lawns

Worm casts can impact the look of your lawn, and potentially the health of your lawn if they are not managed properly. What do the experts recommend you do with worm casts on lawns, leave them in place or act to get rid?

Chrissie Handley says it is better to deal with them than just leave worm casts on lawns untouched.

'If you leave worm casts on the lawn, they can smear into your grass when mowing, making them look even more unsightly,' she claims. 'Smeared casts can prevent airflow to the grass and ground, making it more liable for weed growth.'

It is not just mowing that risks smearing the worm casts over the surface. Just walking on them can do the same, and the flattened castings can create bare spots in the grass that become an ideal environment for lawn weeds to germinate, especially in spring.

What is the best time and way to remove worm casts on lawns? Thankfully, it is quick and simple to eliminate worm casts and keep lawns healthy, using everyday household or garden tools.

'I wait until they've dried out a bit, usually mid-morning is perfect, and then lightly brush them off with a stiff broom or the back of a rake,' says Taylor Olberding. 'That way, you're not damaging the grass.'

It is best to wait until the mounds are dry, so that they crumble easily and mix into the ground rather than smear over the surface of the grass.

'Some people ask about worm suppressants, but personally, I'd steer away unless you're dealing with an extreme situation,' adds Taylor.

You can get products that will deter earthworms from lawns. However, as mentioned earlier, earthworms offer many positives to lawn and soil health, so it is not recommended to use such products as they can negatively affect the garden’s natural ecosystem.

To reduce earthworm activity in the soil, without eradicating them, and limit the amount of worm casts, you can collect grass clippings and consider when and how long you water your lawn.

Steve Peeler advises: 'Controlling soil moisture is key to controlling worm cast on home lawns. Reduce irrigation frequency, improve drainage, and avoid night-time irrigation.'

FAQs

What can I put on my lawn to get rid of worms?

Earthworms are less plentiful in acidic soils. There are ways you can lower the pH of the soil and make the soil more acidic, including adding sulfur or using fertilizers with aluminum or iron sulfate.

Worms are very beneficial in a garden, and even away from your soil, they can be utilized for their natural ability to turn waste into useful material.

When you use a wormery for compost, you put in kitchen waste, and the worms convert it into nutrient-rich compost to add to beds, borders, and pots.

You can make a wormery or buy one such as this three-tray worm composter at Amazon to make usable compost in under three months.

I've been working hard to get my lawn looking healthy for summer, which is why I was concerned to spot an unsightly ant hill on it the other day. I decided to try the hack of sprinkling cinnamon on your lawn and I'm not exaggerating when I say I saw instant results.

Ant hills can smother and kill grass, and the tunnels ants make can disrupt grass roots. But, the strong scent of cinnamon naturally deters ants, as well as pests like aphids and mosquitoes. Not only this, but cinnamon also has anti-fungal properties that can aid problems with moss and fungi on lawns.

This means you can achieve a lawn that is green and thick simply by sprinkling this cupboard spice in your yard. Let's take a closer look at how this hack works.

Why should you sprinkle cinnamon on your lawn?

Cinnamon is one of the best spices to deter common garden pests. It's strong scent is too much for many insects to handle, deterring them from the area where it is sprinkled.

When I sprinkled cinnamon in the lawn area where I found an ant hill, I watched them flee immediately. I simply used ground cinnamon (like this from Walmart), but you could also place some cinnamon sticks (from Walmart) in the problem area.

It isn't just ants that are deterred by sprinkling cinnamon on your lawn, this spice can also get rid of aphids (a pest that destroy plants) and it's a scent that deters mosquitoes, among others.

Sprinkling cinnamon on your lawn is therefore an effective, chemical-free solution to repelling a range of nuisance insects and harmful pests without causing harm to your grass and other plants.

Doing so before you spot any pests is an even better way to take precaution against any insects that can hinder the health and appearance of your lawn.

This isn't the only reason to try sprinkling cinnamon on your lawn, however. If you're trying to get rid of moss in lawns, this hack might just do the trick.

This is because cinnamon has anti-fungal properties that can stop the growth of moss in its tracks. For this reason, sprinkling it on your lawn can also prevent the growth of other fungi and mildew.

Although, it's important to note cinnamon won't remove existing moss. To do this, you'll need to use an essential gardening tool (like this thatch rake from Amazon) to physically remove it.

FAQs

Does cinnamon kill insects?

Cinnamon does not directly kill insects. It is rather used for its strong scent, which naturally deters a range of nuisance insects and pests from an area. Although, a larger volume of cinnamon does have the potential to suffocate some insects. This is certainly something to consider when using cinnamon in the yard.

Can you make a cinnamon spray to use in the garden?

Yes, you can make a cinnamon spray to use in the garden, particularly to deter pests and keep fungi at bay. To do this, mix a teaspoon of cinnamon and two cups of warm water. Allow it to steep for a few hours and then optionally strain it. Put your mixture in an empty spray bottle (from Amazon) and use in the garden accordingly.

There's no wonder so many gardeners are using cinnamon on lawns this summer. It's the quickest and most affordable chemical-free pest repellent I've used, and I'm excited to take advantage of it's anti-fungal properties on my lawn, too. You can even try using cinnamon to remove mold from soil in houseplants.

Just be aware that overusing this hack can impact beneficial insects and microorganisms. For this reason, it's best to just lightly sprinkle cinnamon on your lawn, or even target a specific area only.

As the air starts to feel cooler and we watch out backyards change with the season, many gardeners will be looking to put their mowers away for the year and take a break from constant lawn care – especially those who live in cooler climates. But it can be difficult to know when exactly to stop mowing your lawn in the fall.

Unfortunately for those looking for a well-earned rest from garden care, fall lawn care is one of the most important end-of-year tasks that should not be avoided if you want lush grass in the new year – and this includes mowing your lawn in fall. In fact, choosing to stop mowing your lawn too early is a common lawn care mistake that could have disastrous results for your grass' growth next year.

Here, experts explain when you should stop mowing your lawn in the fall so you can get the timing right no matter where you live.

When should I stop mowing my lawn in the fall?

Along with understanding when to stop watering a lawn in fall, knowing when to stop mowing your lawn in the fall can have a direct impact on your grass growth the following year. The exact time to stop mowing will depend on your US hardiness zone and local climate, as well as the type of grass you have. However, there are a few ways to test if it's time to put your lawn mower away.

Soil Temperature: You need to determine whether you have cool-season grass or warm-season grass to figure out when to stop mowing. 'If it is a cool-grass growing season you should stop at around 45°F. For warm seasonal grass the temperatures will be around 50-55°F,' says Kody J. Ketterling, landscape and lawn care expert. 'At these temps your grasses start to go dormant for the winter and when they go dormant you do not want to be mowing or working the grass when it is going to sleep for the winter you can damage your lawn and the root system if you keep mowing the grass,' he adds. You can use this soil thermometer from Amazon to accurately test the temperature of your soil, no matter which soil type you have.

Local Frosts: Another thing to look out for is the first frost of the season. 'You do not want to mow your lawn during frost as you will do damage to the grass itself,' says Kody. 'When there is frost you have frozen grass leaves and they are brittle. You actually can break and tear the grass from its roots. which will damage the internal structure of the grass,' he adds. This can actually result in killing your grass and you may find yourself having to repair patches in grass by the time spring and summer come around. It's best to keep note of when to expect frost in your local area and give your lawn a final mow before winter.

As a general rule of thumb, you should look to wind down your mowing between October and November. As the weather becomes cooler and often wetter, mow your lawn to approximately two to two-and-a-half inches and maintain this height until growth stops. Investing in one of the best lawn mowers will help you to get the most accurate cut.

Why you should continue to mow your lawn in fall

Even though it's best to stop giving your lawn a full mow as frosty temperatures kick in, there are multiple benefits to trimming your lawn right back at the end of the fall season – from helping with dethatching a lawn to making a lawn look green and thick in the next season.

'Regular mowing also prevents grass from becoming too long and matted, which can trap moisture and promote fungal diseases,' notes Ben McInerney, tree and lawn care expert.

It is important to get the final cut of the year right, however, if you wish to avoid causing irreversible damage to your grass. Cutting your lawn too short or, conversely, leaving your grass too long can leave your otherwise perfectly manicured lawn susceptible to a wide range of winter diseases.

Mowing your grass too short in fall, however, can lead to a weaker plant. Grass that is too short during dormancy will not be able to provide enough energy to survive frosts or produce growth as easily the following spring as it struggles to photosynthesize. The result may be patchy, uneven grass growth with spaces left for moss or weeds that may prove difficult to get rid of.

'Mulching fallen leaves during mowing also returns valuable organic matter and nutrients to the soil. I've observed up to a 15% reduction in fertilizer needs the following spring in lawns where this practice was implemented,' he adds.

If your lawn falls victim to patches it is also worth learning what is overseeding and how to fertilize a lawn to help restore your lawn in the fall months.

Find the right mower to get your lawn in top condition for fall among these lawn mowers from Walmart.

FAQs

Is it okay to cut grass in December?

It may be okay to mow your lawn in December if you live in a climate warm enough for it to continue growing. If you live in a cold climate and your grass is dormant, avoid cutting your grass until the weather begins to warm up again to avoid causing damage.

Is it better to leave you lawn long or short for winter?

You should aim to cut your lawn on the shorter side in the winter as leaving your grass too long could leave your grass susceptible to disease. However, leaving your grass too short in cold weather could cause stress leading to damage to roots or leaves. Trim your grass to approximately two to two-and-a-half inches to avoid irreversible damage.

Key signs to look out for when deciding when to stop mowing your lawn in fall is dropping temperatures and early frost. Mowing during cold climates can risk breaking and killing your grass.

As you tie things up in your yard for colder months, make sure to also pay attention to other items on your fall gardening checklist.

As the seasons change and the air starts to feel cooler, it can be easy to overlook lawn care. It's tempting to leave your grass alone for fall, however, it's good practice to keep on top of lawn care into the fall months. Doing so will make a big difference over winter and you'll see the reward in early spring when your lawn looks luscious.

That's why lawn care should be near the top of your fall gardening checklist. It's also the perfect time to look for and prevent common lawn problems. And while you might not treat every issue right now, you can start to prepare the ground for lawn repairs later.

Here, we've rounded up top experts' advice for fall lawn care so yours can overwinter in good health.

10 essential fall lawn care tasks

We're all guilty of making some basic lawn care mistakes when it comes to tending to grass in fall, whether its underwatering or not feeding the soil. But, if you take the time to care for your grass now, you can be sure it will survive the frosty months and be thicker and greener than ever before by the time the warmer months arrive. Here are 10 fall lawn care tasks experts say you should be doing.

1. Seed your lawn

Seeding a lawn in early fall can help make a lawn green and thick the following spring. 'Fall seeding is crucial for a lush spring lawn. I recommend seeding when soil temperatures are between 50-65°F, typically six to eight weeks before the first frost,' says Ben McInerney, an arborist and landscape gardener.

'This timing allows roots to establish before winter dormancy. In my experience, using a mix of quick-germinating and slow-growing grass species ensures both immediate coverage and long-term lawn health,' he adds.

Seeding in fall comes under two categories: planting grass seed for the first time, and overseeding a lawn in fall.

When seeding a new lawn, it's best for the soil to be moist, warm and soft. You should therefore wait until there’s been some decent rainfall and when the weather is temperate. It's also a good idea to first prepare the seedbed by taking measures to kill weeds but not grass and breaking up hard areas. 'For best results, we recommend aerating the soil before seeding. This allows for better seed-to-soil contact, promoting healthier root growth,' says Phil Catron, lawn care expert from NaturaLawn.

You can then go ahead and rake your seed into the soil and water well. Avoid making any puddles and or pooling water that may clump seeds together.

You should choose to overseed your lawn to revive it, like if you need to repair patches in grass. It's a rejuvenating lawn treatment that involves sowing grass seed directly into existing lawn to cover patches and other damaged areas. It improves lawn quality and repairs damage.

2. Do a soil test

Experts say that fall is the perfect time to observe your lawn for any problems so that you can rectify them before the winter season kicks in. That's why, testing your lawn's soil's health in fall is wise.

'Conduct a soil test to identify any nutrient deficiencies or pH imbalances and correct them before winter sets in,' advises Phil.

Knowing your soil pH is essential for knowing what type of grass will thrive in your yard. Likewise, having the right level of nutrients in your soil will determine the growth of your lawn when spring comes around.

If there are any problems, like a deficiency, you can use fall as a time to fertilize and boost your lawn's soil ahead of spring growth.

3. Fertilize your lawn

Alongside seeding or overseeding your lawn, grass benefits greatly from a well-timed layer of fertilizer in fall. This is especially important if you have done a soil test and the results show a lack of nutrients available to your grass.

'Your grass can feed more through the months of September and March than it does the rest of the year. During those months of going dormant and wintering the grass is taking up food and storing it in their nodes so that it can have a good start to the season and to be able to push new grass up for the season,' says Kody Ketterling, lawn care expert

'With grass wanting and needing food, I work to do a fall weed and feed in the September timeframe and I will fertilize again at the end of October or start of November,' Kody explains.

Fertilizing in fall can also help your grass recover from summer heat and wear and tear, but it is important to know how to fertilize a lawn and with which fertilizers. Depending on what attention your lawn needs, you may want to use grass feed with different NPK plant fertilizer numbers - although nitrogen-rich fertilizers tend to be the most effective at boosting new growth.

4. Focus on fungi prevention

You might associate fall with the time of year to spot colorful mushrooms and fungi, but there are some pervasive types of fungi that infect lawns and cause damage. If you have had mushrooms growing in your yard before, now is the time to put some precautionary measures in place to protect your grass.

'Put a liquid fungicide on the lawn in the fall so that the liquid will seep down through the grass and will go through the root zone where grass comes from so that you can eliminate the fungus and prevent other fungus growing,' suggests Kody.

This is a good method for getting rid of mushrooms on your lawn and can prevent others cropping up. Just be careful to use gloves and wash your hands when working with unidentified fungi in your yard, as they could be dangerous to your health.

‘Things that can also help prevent the fungi is not overwatering your lawn if you are in a drought season,' says Kody. 'The best watering of the lawn is longer, deeper watering with less frequent watering times,' he adds.

5. Lay out insecticides 

Garden pests are something all gardeners become familiar with, and dealing with them is a year-round task. Fall is the time where a lot of insect larvae will be active in soil and they will feed on grassroots and cause damage.

'Fall is ideal for breaking pest lifecycles. I suggest a two-pronged approach: applying a targeted insecticide for specific pests and encouraging beneficial insects through diverse plantings,' says Ben McInerney. 'This method has consistently reduced pest problems in the following growing season,' he adds.

Look for an environmentally friendly, biological insecticide treatment that targets and eradicates some of the most common damaging insect infestations, such as leatherjackets and lawn grubs. As Ben mentions, you can also encourage beneficial insects to your yard that will take care of your pest problem for you.

6. Get rid of moss on your lawn

While some people like the idea of a moss garden, others may see moss as an invader of their perfectly manicured lawn - and it could be a sign that something isn't quite right.

'Moss and algae in your lawn signal underlying issues with soil health. They compete with grass for sunlight, water and nutrients, making it harder for your lawn to thrive,' notes Phil Catron. 'To address this, start with a soil test to determine if you need to adjust pH or apply fertilizer. Improving soil fertility, drainage and air circulation are key steps in reducing moss and algae.

'Thinning tree branches to increase sunlight can also help. Addressing these conditions will promote healthier grass and keep moss and algae at bay,' Phil explains.

There are lots of ways to get rid of moss in lawn, including scarification and homemade treatments, such as using dish soap to kill moss, which may be easier for small moss patches.

7. Tend to brown patches

Brown patches in green grass can look unsightly but can be prevented easily if the lawn is given time to breathe and recover over fall.

'Brown patches on the lawn are complex because they can have many different meanings. Brown spots can mean fungus is in the yard, too much lawn fertilizer, it could be the season you are in depending on your growing season and type of grass,' says Kody.

The best thing to do is identify the cause of your brown patches and proceed with the best resolution accordingly.

'Core aeration followed by overseeding can revitalize these areas. I've found that incorporating compost into the aeration holes accelerates recovery,' says Ben.

8. Aerate your lawn

Many people ask why aerate a lawn each year as the task can be time-consuming. Aeration has a range of benefits, however, especially if you know when to aerate a lawn for the best effect and how to aerate a lawn correctly.

'Aeration is a vital part of fall lawn care as it reduces soil compaction, improves water and nutrient absorption, and creates an optimal environment for root growth of new grass seed following the harsh conditions of summer,' says Phil. 'Core aeration is particularly effective and can be done either by renting equipment or hiring a professional,' he adds.

As mentioned above, aeration can also help reduce moss and weed growth, reduce pest problems and help revive lawn from damage. Aeration is ideal when trying to fix a waterlogged lawn over fall and winter too.

You can simply insert a garden fork into the ground and moving it back and forth to crack the soil and allow airflow through. Although, a larger lawn area would benefit from core aeration, where you use a coring tool to take a core of soil from the ground. You can then choose to fill the holes this creates with sand to improve drainage.

9. Mow and rake your lawn

This one might be obvious to say, but as leaves fall onto your lawn it can be a good idea to rake them away. 'You need to keep all the debris, leaves, garbage off of the lawn area so that you don't create a possibility of bugs, fungus and other disease,' says Kody.

It's also essential to give your lawn a final mow before winter. 'I recommend that you mow your yard shorter than you mow it all year long,' says Kody. 'Mowing at the lower rate will reduce the changes for mold or fungus,' he adds. 'Do not mow your lawn too short as it can cause the roots to freeze and not come back. You want to leave enough grass so that there is coverage or protection for the lawn in the winter time.'

Rather than composting fallen leaves, consider using them as a natural leaf mulch for your flower beds.

10. Continue watering your lawn

It can be easy to think that the arrival of colder temperatures means you can stop watering your grass in fall. However, if you stop watering your lawn too soon, it could cause problems later down the line.

'The roots still need water and need to grow. Healthy roots will promote proper wintering and will help when the new season starts up,' says Kody. 'So make sure your lawn gets water throughout the fall up until you blow your sprinklers out and other types of precipitation start taking place,' he adds.

There's no one answer to when to stop watering a lawn in fall because you need to take into account your local temperatures and how much rainfall you are getting. Key things to look out for include dropping temperatures and heavier rain showers than recent weeks. Take care not to oversaturate the soil, as it could rot your lawn's roots.

FAQs

Is October too late to overseed my lawn?  

While October is not too late to overseed your lawn, it should be carried out earlier if possible. Overseeding a lawn in late-October leaves the seeds at risk of winter frosts in November through to January. September is the best time to overseed your lawn, early October at most if you want to give the seeds the best chance.

You may not think it at first, but experts say fall is one of the most important times to pay attention to lawn care. 'By implementing these strategies, homeowners can significantly improve their lawn's resilience and appearance for spring,' says Ben McInerney. You should likewise get ready for essential winter lawn care to ensure your grass stays healthy through the coldest point of the year. It will then be time to take a look at your spring lawn care checklist.

It can be easy to forget about your lawn in fall, but this is actually a very important time of year for lawn maintenance. Overseeding in fall, for example, can often make the difference between lush summer grass and unsightly patchy growth.

If you are on a mission to make a lawn green and thick, add overseeding to your fall lawn care list. It's an easy and relatively quick method to treat your entire lawn in one go, and a sure-fire way to rejuvenate your lawn and improve the look of your yard for summer.

We have spoken to lawn care experts to learn when to overseed your lawn in fall and how to do it to grow the best grass year-on-year.

Why overseed a lawn in fall?

If you're wondering what overseeding is, it refers to a seed spreading technique that encourages thicker lawn growth. You can overseed your lawn at different times of year, but doing it in fall will get your grass ready for summer.

The best time to overseed your lawn in fall

'The best time to overseed your lawn in fall is from late August to mid-October. During this period, the soil is still warm, the air is cooler and there’s usually more moisture, creating ideal conditions for seed germination,' explains Phil Catron, lawn care expert from NaturaLawn.

'By overseeding early in fall, you give the new grass plenty of time to establish strong roots before winter, setting the stage for a healthy, vibrant lawn in spring,' Phil adds.

It's a good idea to choose a day with mild weather, preferably after rainfall, so your lawn is moist but not muddy. Selecting a day with little wind will also reduce the chance of your grass seed being blown away. On top of this, you avoid summer droughts which will hinder the ability for seeds to germinate.

'Overseeding in fall also helps create a thicker, healthier lawn by filling in bare spots and thinning areas, which reduces the chances of weeds taking hold,' says Phil. This will make it easier to kill weeds but not grass when the warmer months comes around. 'It also introduces new grass varieties that can enhance your lawn's resistance to diseases and pests,' Phil adds.

Successful overseeding in fall also encourages a uniform lawn that is prepared to endure harsh winter temperatures and conditions.

How to overseed a lawn in fall

If you know how to plant grass seed, the process of overseeding is very similar. When overseeding, however, you will want to mow any existing grass to around one inch in length and rake any thatched areas of grass, using this rake from Amazon. You will likely notice clues that your lawn is in trouble in the form of common lawn problems, like yellowing, which may indicate a need for overseeding.

It's important to aerate the lawn before spreading your lawn seed evenly across the area. 'Once the holes are made, seed can be applied to the lawn. Upon being applied, the seed falls into the pockets or channels created by aeration, increasing its access to these elements, as well as increasing the amount of seed to soil contact,' explains Rob Palmer, lawn expert at Lawn Squad. 'The more direct seed to soil contact you can create the better germination you will achieve,' he adds.

You can use lawn seed of your choice, like this sun and shade grass seed mix from Walmart. Overseeding can then be done across a small patch of dying grass or your entire lawn if required. You might find this spreader for seed from Amazon helpful for getting the job done.

'Keep it well watered for the first 10-15 days. That's pretty much all it takes,' says Craig Elworthy, founder of Lawnbright. Use this garden hose from Walmart to water your freshly seeded lawn well.

FAQs

Should I fertilize before or after overseeding?  

If your lawn has not been fertilized recently, it's a good idea to fertilize lawn with a lawn starter fertilizer before overseeding. Adding fertilizer to your lawn will encourage germination by providing the right nutrients for initial growth. You will want to avoid standard fertilizer for established grass as this rarely has the nutrients needed for root development.

Do I need topsoil when overseeding? 

When overseeding your lawn you do not need topsoil. Instead, consider laying compost or a lawn starter fertilizer to encourage growth and germination. You should also avoid laying topsoil over freshly laid seeds. Although this is through to protect the germinating seeds, it can smother them and make it difficult for young shoots to emerge. Preparing the soil with proper aeration is a better technique that allows for protection.

'When possible, avoid heavy foot traffic on your lawn for the first few weeks after overseeding as the new grass is delicate,' advises Phil Catron. As long as moisture levels are kept up, your lawn seed should germinate and new grass will emerge. Although, you should then stop watering your lawn in fall before the first frost kicks in.

When faced with the need to remove moss from lawn, there are several methods that you can choose. Some may turn to iron sulfate, and others to baking soda. However, there is an even more accessible (but nonetheless effective) solution hiding in your kitchen, and that is dish soap.

While dish soap is best associated with its uses indoors, many gardeners are finding it's a useful tool for the yard, too. In particular, you can use it to get rid of moss on our lawns.

This method is simple and effective, but there is one caveat: the results may not last forever. The good news is, there is a more permanent solution to this common lawn problem. Here, we look how to achieve a moss-free lawn that looks greener and thicker using dish soap, as well as another solution that offers longer-lasting results,

3 steps to use dish soap to kill moss on your lawn

'Killing moss without decimating your grass can be tricky, but a dish soap solution can make it look easy with a little care and attention,' says Tom Monson from Monson Lawn and Landscaping.

Tom explains this solution is most effective if you catch the moss early. He suggests mixing two ounces of dish soap (from Walmart) with a gallon of water to make a gentle solution that will kill the moss without harming your grass. It works by dehydrating moss.

With your solution in hand, try following the below three steps for using dish soap to kill moss on your lawn:

1. Cover the moss in dish soap

Tom suggests using a sprayer (from Amazon) to drench the moss thoroughly in your dish soap and water solution.

If your lawn is on the bigger side, it's wise to increase the dosage to cover all the moss. Use approximately two gallons of water for every 1000 square feet of grass, Tom suggests.

Not only can this method be used on moss, it can also work well for killing weeds but not grass.

You should then wait for around 24 hours for the solution to be soaked up and dry out the moss.

2. Scrape the dead moss away

After the moss has dried up from being dehydrated by the dish soap, you can easily scrape it up using an essential gardening tool of choice.

If you're dealing with lots of moss and are dethatching your lawn, it may be worth investing in a more specialist thatch rake (such as this one on Amazon). It will make the scraping process quick and efficient.

No matter which tool you use, make sure to clean gardening tools after use. This will prevent the potential spread of pests and diseases between plants when you go to use the tool again.

3. Reseed you lawn

It is possible that using dish soap to kill moss on your lawn may also slightly dehydrate your grass, so it may be worth reseeding your lawn to help it recover.

Overseeding a lawn will help repair damaged spots, and your lawn will quickly recover if you choose one of the best fast-growing grass seeds in particular (like this grass seed from Amazon).

You might find a seed spreader (from Amazon) also helps make this a speedy process.

It's also worth considering aerating your lawn and fertilizing your lawn to help nurture it back to health and encourage it to return greener than before.

Why is dish soap not a permanent solution?

Although using dish soap to kill moss on your lawn will work, Homes & Gardens' Gardens Content Editor Drew Swainston says it is unlikely to be a permanent solution:

'The moss will turn brown after applying the mixture, and need raking out to remove it from the lawn. Your lawn may look better, however, it is not a permanent fix and the moss is likely to return again unless steps are taken to improve a lawn’s drainage,' he explains.

Growing moss requires moist conditions, so it makes sense that poor drainage is the core reason moss is growing on your lawn. If you have a shady lawn, this is likely to also contribute, as moss is one of the best ground cover plants for shade and it thrives in dark and damp areas.

'Taking steps to improve a lawn’s drainage, including aerating the lawn and removing thatch by scarification, is a great natural way to combat the build-up of moss and have a healthier, better-looking lawn,' Drew suggests.

For this reason, consider getting your hands on this lawn aerating tool from Amazon.

FAQs

Is it eco-friendly to use dish soap to get rid of moss?

There are some environmental concerns around using dish soap to get rid of moss because it's a product that contains chemicals. As with any other chemical products, dish soap can alter the pH level of soil and have the potential to harm plants. Not only this, but dish soap can possibly harm insects, too. For this reason, it's always a good idea to seek eco-friendly alternatives to using dish soap, such as manually removing weeds and moss with tools.

You might decide to keep moss on lawn if you have a particularly shady area where grass struggles to grow. You can even create a moss garden, which is known to promote a healthy ecosystem.