When the cool weather of fall arrives, many chalk this up to the end of lawn care. But if you want a better lawn with less work in the spring, then there’s still work to be done. To have a greener, healthier lawn next spring, there are a few simple steps professionals recommend before your lawn goes into hibernation.

If you’ve spent the summer neglecting your lawn and mowing your lawn with reckless abandonYou can take action now to help your garden revive next year. With the help of two experts at Lowe’s and Scotts, we’ve rounded up four steps on how to kick-start your lawn post-winter.

1. Fertilize

Sleeping for months without proper food doesn’t bode well for anything, including your lawn. Ensuring proper nutrition is vital to its health throughout the year, especially during the fall and winter months.

You want to apply fertilizer fertilization every other fall, according to Matt Koch, Scotts’ director of biotechnology, genetics and seeds. Doing this can help strengthen the lawn and repair roots damaged by summer heat.

It’s also a great time to get rid of weeds before going into hibernation. Applying a fertilizer such as Scotts Turf Builder WinterGuard It both feeds the grass and kills weeds in the early fall, so you’ll be ahead of the game in the spring.

After about six to eight weeks, Koch recommends applying another fertilizer It is designed to support your lawn during the winter months so it can store energy for growth in the spring. He recommends doing this two to three weeks before the first expected frost.

2. Make repairs

Overall my lawn is in good shape. However, after some work I did at home, there were areas where the grass was torn. Fall is a great time to trim any other areas in your yard where grass has died or where you want to over-seed for a greener garden.

According to Lowe’s lawn care expert Brian Shaunfield, fall is an excellent time to reseed or aerate bare areas because lawns tend to receive less activity as the weather cools. This time of year doesn’t always have good rainfall, so you’ll need to make sure you water your seed frequently to help it prepare for seasonal changes.

Brian recommends using Scotts Turf Builder Rapid Grass to repair larger areas of your garden. This mixture is also great for thickening an already established garden. Try for smaller patches Scotts EZ Seed Patch and Sun and Shade RepairIt is designed to grow almost anywhere as long as proper care is given.

In well-established gardens or areas with a lot of traffic, the ground can become compacted, making it difficult for the bases to grow properly. This is where aerating your lawn can be beneficial. There are various tools for this job, but a simple push aerator like the one below Garden Spike Lawn Aerator It can handle it just fine.

3. Continue mowing, but shorter

In the heat of summer, when the rain stops falling and the ground dries, it’s a good idea to keep your grass taller (about 4 inches). As the season progresses towards cooler temperatures and more favorable weather, we need to continue mowing the lawn, but make some changes to the way we mow.

Koch says it’s important to cut your grass back to about 2 to 2.5 inches, but not all at once. Lower your lawn mower’s header gradually or program your lawn mower. robotic lawn mower Let’s cut it shorter as we get closer to winter. This helps reduce the risk of disease and allows the grass to store energy more effectively. However, cutting it too short will have the opposite effect.

4. Rake well so the grass can breathe

Autumn is also the time when the leaves on the trees begin to turn shades of orange, yellow and red. Eventually that beautiful foliage will fall to the ground. Although rotting leaves act as natural fertilizer, too much can cause problems.

When the layers of fallen leaves become too thick, they can smother smaller plants and grasses. Plus, the abundance of leaves on your porch is a perfect place for bugs to build a home, and you don’t want that near your home.

to use something good leaf rake or leaf blower Cleaning your leaves is a great way to remove them from your delicate plants. If a good lawn mower This mulch is okay if you mow your leaves to leave a thin layer on your lawn afterward, but too thick can be detrimental. These leaves can be combined with compost to act as a natural fertilizer and mulch to help warm certain plants, such as perennials and evergreens.