Fertilizing Tips for the Fall

The question we get a lot at this time of the year is about putting on a fall fertilizer. Most websites are going to say that we have til November to put on fall fertilizer. As this may be the case in the southern half of the United States, that is not the case for the far northern parts of the country. Unfortunately, we have snow to deal with and putting on a nitrogen rich fertilizer late in the fall will actually cause another problem for us in the spring: snow mold damage. When nitrogen gets trapped under a layer of snow, it starts to mold the grass in patches that is why we see brown patches randomly in our lawns in the spring even if we don’t have dogs. To minimize the damage, here are a few things to do to make sure you won’t have as much damage in the spring:

• Mow your lawn short
• Remove as many of the leaves from your lawn
• Apply fall fertilizer by mid September
• Apply a fungicide like Bonide Infuse

By doing these simply things, you will be able to minimize the amount of brown spots in your lawn next spring.  Happy Fall Everyone!