Putting Your Lawn to Bed

It’s November, too late for fertilizing your lawn. In fact, a new law bans application of lawn fertilizers on turf after Dec. 1.  It’s also too late to seed—though recently seeded areas may still benefit from warm temperatures. You can mulch leaves on your lawn now, without hurting the grass. One study even shows that mulched leaves reduce weed populations in turf.

Large crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis
Large crabgrass, Digitaria sanguinalis

It’s also a good time to survey your lawn for crabgrass. A hard frost will have killed these annual plants, leaving “crabgrass skeletons”. Remember to target these crabgrass areas for grass seeding and TLC in the spring.