Fall yard care tips and maintenance to make spring planting easier - Des Moines Register

Looking to win lawn of the month in your neighborhood this fall? A little extra care can get you there.

We've collected yard and garden tips to keep your grass and plants colorful all fall.

Start fall off by treating the weeds in your yard

Fall is the best time for weed control. Perennial broadleaf weeds are transporting food from their foliage to roots to prepare for winter, according to ISU Extension. Broadleaf herbicides applied in the fall will be absorbed by the weed and result in the destruction of those pesky things. Now is also a good time to apply insecticides for grubs and chinch bugs.

Effective broadleaf herbicides in Iowa include:

• 2,4-D
• MCPP
• Dicamba
• Triclopyr

The most effective broadleaf herbicide products usually contain a mixture of two or three herbicides. Broadleaf herbicides can be applied as sprays or granules, wrote ISU Extension Horticulturist Richard Jauron.

Keep mowing in the fall to maintain the proper grass length

The first step is to identify what type of grass you have in your yard, according to Excel Lawn and Landscape. Cool-season grasses such as Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, and fine or tall fescues are popular in Iowa.

You should mow your lawn until the grass stops growing in the fall. Kentucky bluegrass and other cool-season grasses usually stops growing in late October or early November in Iowa, ISU Extension said.

To maintain Kentucky bluegrass in the fall you can:

• Mow the lawn at a height of 2.5 to 3 inches in fall
• Never remove more than one-third of the total leaf area at any one time when mowing the lawn

Ensure your lawn has enough water before the ground freezes

It's best to water your grass about once every four to eight days, according to A+ Lawn and Landscape.Instead of watering every day, you should water less frequently and be sure the ground gets at least an inch of water during each application. For standard sprinklers, an inch of water is about 20 minutes of use, and drip systems will take about 40 minutes.

It's best to water lawns early in the morning, or at least before noon. This way, the soil will have enough time to absorb the moister and reach deep roots. It also gives plants the time to take in water before the sun dries out the ground.

If it rains for several days, adjust the irrigation schedule to avoid overwatering. Excessive watering can:

• Waste water
• Drown plant roots
• Stress shallow roots
• Encourage weed and fungal growths

Fall fertilizer can help your Iowa lawn thrive in spring

After your grass has stopped growing, fall is the perfect time to fertilize Kentucky bluegrass in Iowa. Early fertilization will help grass recover from stressful summer weather.

An application of fertilizer in late October or early November promotes root growth and greener spring lawns. Apply no more than 1 pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet in a single application, Jauron with ISU Extension wrote.

Brilliant Borders recommends using a broadcast spreader, applying a winterizer weed and feed fertilizer to your lawn.

Don't forget to declutter your lawn before snow arrives

Removal of leaves and debris from your lawn is especially important in the fall. Too many leaves or debris can smother your grass and create an environment for pests and diseases to thrive, according to Excel Lawn and Landscape.

Mowing the leaves or moving them to garden beds to slowly breakdown can be helpful, David Mizejewski, a naturalist at the National Wildlife Federation, told USA TODAY. But, you want to prevent too many leaves from forming a mat over the grass.

A leaf blower or a rake are simple tools to remove leaves and debris from your lawn. Mulching the leaves back into the soil is also a great way to add nitrogen back into your soil during those fall months.

Be especially careful if snow is approaching.

"Once there's snow, you're not going to mow, and that snow is really going to facilitate that matting, and that coverage is going to prevent the leaves from being displaced by winds. That's the situation you really want to avoid," Maxim Schlossberg, an associate professor of turfgrass nutrition and soil fertility at Penn State, told USA TODAY. 

Victoria Reyna-Rodriguez is a general assignment reporter for the Register. Reach her atvreynarodriguez@registermedia.com or follow her on Twitter@VictoriaReynaR.

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