1. Rake a little more. After you’ve raked up all those leaves, switch from a leaf rake to a garden rake, and give your lawn another once over. That extra attention with a rake can help remove thatch, and limiting your thatch lowers your lawn’s risk of developing a lawn disease. Cutting back thatch also helps fertilizer reach your lawn’s roots, where it can actually make a difference. An extra round of raking has another bonus: it rids your lawn of crabgrass seed, saving you from that pesky weed come spring.
2. Spread fertilizer and grass seed. If your lawn has thin patches, don’t put the spreader away after you’re done with your fall fertilizer application. Keep it out and use it to spread some new seed on those sparse areas too. Extra grass seed gives your lawn a chance to thicken up and fill in those blank spots above and beyond the growth you’ll see from fertilizer.

An extra round with the rake and a few handfuls of grass seed won’t take much time or effort, but they can have a pretty significant impact. Go ahead and add them on!

1. Fertilize. For lawns in four-season climates, the cooler temperatures of fall put your grass into growth mode. If you give your lawn a boost of nutrients in the fall, you’ll encourage its natural fall growth, helping it to put down deeper roots and grow thicker and lusher. That’s good for your lawn in general, but a lush lawn also crowds out weeds. Two birds with one stone!
2. Apply weed killer. You may want to clobber perennial weeds like dandelions when they’re blooming in the spring, but it turns out they are actually best tackled in the fall. Treat dandelions and their ilk with weed killer now, and they’ll take the poison down to their roots along with the nutrients they’re storing away for the winter. Root death means those pesky yellow dandelions won’t be coming back next spring.
3. Dig ‘em out. Some weeds like crabgrass are annuals, so they’ll die when frost hits. Unfortunately, before they die they spread their seed. If you can dig the crabgrass out before it sets seed, you’ll save yourself from having to deal with new crabgrass come spring.

Try these three strategies, and you’ll be on your way to a weed-free lawn.

• Shoveling snow. The biggest yard work calorie burner is still a few months away. For a person who weights 155 pounds, an hour of shoveling snow burns 422 calories. That’s the same number of calories you’d burn in an hour of hiking.
• Raking and bagging leaves. Let’s get back to fall yard work. Raking leaves burns 303 calories an hour; bagging them up is close behind at 281 calories an hour. And let’s not forget cleaning those leaves out of your gutters: 352 calories an hour!
• Mowing your lawn. While you may only rake your lawn a few times a season, you’re mowing your lawn week after week. So how many calories in that lawn care workout? 387 burned each hour, if you’re pushing a power mower. Not bad! (Operating a riding lawn mower still burns a few calories, but come on, you’re riding).
• Weeding. Weeding burns 317 calories an hour. And let’s not forget the reward when you’re done…
• Croquet. A mere 176 calories an hour, but such a pleasure.

Altogether, the lawn care workout alone may not be be enough to keep you fit, but it’s certainly a good supplement to a larger workout plan. So mow on! And come winter, keep the snow blower in the garage and get out the shovel. Just think of your biceps…

*All calorie counts via NutriStrategy.

1. Mowing. Your lawn will keep growing through the first frosts of the season, so don’t put that mower away yet. Fall lawns just grow a little more slowly, so you can ease off on the mowing frequency.
2. Watering. In many parts of the country, fall brings a little more moisture. You should cut back on your watering accordingly, or you’ll risk overwatering your lawn.
3. Dethatching. Fall is a good time for dethatching cool season lawns. If you have more than 1/2 an inch of thatch, follow these directions for dethatching. (Though spring can be even better, so if you find yourself procrastinating, this is one job you can put off).
4. Weed control. Now is the time to fight dandelions. Spray them with weed killer now, and they’ll take it down to their roots when they go dormant for the winter.
5. Fertilizing. As fall temperatures drop, cool season lawns like Kentucky Bluegrass actually kick into high gear. (The heat of summer stresses them out.) If you give your lawn a fertilizer application now, it’ll keep going strong for the fall months ahead and go to bed for the winter ready for a healthy spring return.

Now get out there and enjoy those pleasant fall temperatures!

1. Green for the fall. A fall lawn fertilizer application will keep your grass green for months to come. Want a green lawn for you family’s Thanksgiving football game? Put down some fertilizer now, and start looking forward to some good green grass stains.
2. Stores for the winter. Giving your lawn an extra dose of nutrients now will give it nutrient stores that will help it come back stronger and earlier in the spring.
3. Skip the summer fertilizer woes. As the University of Minnesota Extension points out, applying lawn fertilizer in the heat of summer can damage your lawn, both in terms of nitrogen burn and in terms of aiding and abetting lawn diseases. When the temperature cools, fertilizer becomes a much safer prospect.

To make the most of your fall fertilizing (or really fertilizing anytime), there are a few simple things you can do before fertilzing. The first is to test your soil. Send a few soil samples off to your local extension services (often located at the nearest land grant university) and they’ll let you know just what your soil needs. You can buy your fertilizer accordingly. The next is to dethatch. Removing thatch will ensure that the nutrients you’re applying actually make it to the soil where your lawn’s roots can absorb them.

Just remember, “fall is for fertilizer,” and you’ll be greener all year.

1. Where do you live? Watering your lawn is no big deal if you live in a place where the rain waters it for you. Think about rolling Irish hills. It’s not like they have sprinkling systems. It’s also less problematic if you live in an area with a relatively short growing season. But, let’s say you live in an arid climate. Then let’s also say that the growing season is also practically year round. Suddenly, your lawn is a serious water hog.
2. How efficiently are you watering? There are smart ways to water, no matter where you live. Make sure your sprinkling system is leak-free. Make sure you’re watering in the morning, so you’re not losing precious water to evaporation. And don’t overwater. A good soak two or three times a week is better for your lawn and the local water supply than watering every day.

If you live in a water-strapped community, rest assured astroturf is far from your only option. There are plenty of beautiful alternatives to lawns. Just make sure to follow through and actually transition over to something else. After all, even the “Cash for Grass” program has a caveat: no cash for dead grass.

1. Go natural when you can. If you’re not using chemical lawn treatments to begin with, you have less to worry about. Organic weed control methods, like mulching, can keep you from having to spray weed killer, and compost tea and other natural fertilizers can keep you from needing chemical fertilizers.
2. Read the directions carefully. If you do opt for chemical fertilizers, herbicides, or other lawn treatments, take the time to read the directions on the packaging very carefully. Then, follow them precisely. Careful application can make all the difference when it comes to safety.
3. Keep kids off the lawn after treatment. That packaging you’ve just finished reading will tell you how long you should wait after treatment before using the lawn again. Be vigilant about keeping your kids and pets away from the lawn until after that time has elapsed. There’s safety in strict adherence to the guidelines (and feel free to err on the side of caution).

You can have a beautiful lawn that’s safe for your kids. It’s just a matter of caution and care.

So what can you do to keep your pet and your lawn happy? Here are a few ideas:

1. Take your dog to the park or a field. You don’t want to hurt the park’s grass, but chances are the park is a lot bigger than your yard, so it’ll be okay. Bonus: you’ll get a little exercise while you’re at it.
2. Adjust your dog’s diet to help dilute its urine. According to Dr. Steve Thompson, Director of the
   Purdue University Veterinary Teaching Hospital Wellness Clinic, adding more liquid to your dog’s diet by switching from dry food to canned food can help dilute your dog’s urine, making the nitrogen less concentrated. As always, consult with your vet before changing your dog’s diet.
3. Flush the area. When you see your dog drench a spot on the grass, turn the hose on it. That way, you’re flushing the nitrogen away from the area before it has a chance to become one more brown spot.

With just a few adjustments, your lawn and your dog can live happily ever after.

How the herbicide made it on to the market without a warning about the tree problem remains a real mystery. Meanwhile, a class-action lawsuit regarding the matter was filed on Monday.

So what’s the lesson for you in all this? For starters, put your trees front and center in your thinking. A lawn is a lot easier to replace than a twenty-year-old tree. When you’re tempted to spray weed killer near your trees, err on the side of caution. Even if the label claims the herbicide is safe for trees, you’re better off giving your trees a wide berth.

And “prioritizing your trees” isn’t just a lesson that applies to the cautious application of weed killer. When you’re tempted to mow over surface tree roots for the sake of easy lawn mowing, slow down and think about it. It’s not worth damaging the tree. When you’re dealing with thatch or soil compaction, again, tread easy around those trees.

A weed-free lawn and healthy trees can go hand-in-hand. Just be careful with your approach to weed control, and show your trees the love they deserve.

1. Squish: If you watered your lawn hours ago and it still goes squish under your feet, that’s a good indication that you should lay off the water.
2. Runoff: If you are watering your lawn aggressively enough that the soil can’t absorb the water and water is instead running off into the street or other parts of your yard, once again, scale down the sprinkling.
3. A wilted lawn: This one can be confusing because some of the signs that your lawn needs water–like not springing back up when you step on it, and blades of grass curling up–can also be signs of overwatering. Use common sense. If you’ve been dousing your lawn and it still looks like it “needs water,” it’s most likely wilted from overwatering.
4. Fungus: Fungal lawn diseases take advantage of moist conditions to spread and thrive. If your lawn has a blight, mold, or patch problem, you’re probably overwatering. You could also be watering at the wrong time of day (early morning is best, so moisture can evaporate, as opposed to night, when moistures sits on the lawn for hours before the sun rises).

A deep soak a couple of times a week should be all your lawn needs. If you’re watering more than that, cut back and see what happens. A little less water may be the ticket to a healthier, greener lawn.