After a long, hot summer, many folks are not very proud of their lawns. Many weed varieties, particularly clover, plantain and crabgrass, seem to thrive in drought conditions and are giving our lawns quite a weedy appearance. Moss is still doing well in shady areas in spite of the heat and our poor lawn grasses are brown as dust because they have not had enough water.

Lawns are ground covers that not only add to the appearance and value of our homes, but are environmentally important as well, sequestering carbon, providing oxygen and helping control pollution. When they look bad, our entire landscape looks bad, so let’s take advantage of this last leg of our growing season and get them back into shape.

First, the weeds. They compete with our existing grasses for water and food, they look bad, and they spread like wildfire. Most of them are annuals, so consistent weekly mowing with the blades set as low as possible is the first line of defence. If you make a point of mowing in opposite directions each week, this will also prevent thatch.

Maintaining good cultural practices for your lawn grasses is the next best way to keep out weeds. That means building a good soil base through aeration, proper watering and feeding. Most weeds, with the exception of velvet grass, couchgrass, clover and horsetails, can be controlled by simply digging them out as they appear, or spot killing them with a dab of organic Eco Clear with vinegar.

Overseeding, however, is one of the best ways to help choke out weeds, and this is the best time of the year to do just that. If you can just take a little time to keep tabs on your weeds, you will be amazed just how easy it is to control them.

For long term success with your lawn, you really must aerate, which means lifting out cores of soil, either by hand or machine, to improve drainage. Those of you who have sandy soil are not off the hook here either. Winter and spring rains beat down on the soil surface making it hard and subsequently difficult for roots to breathe and penetrate into the soil.

Aeration should be followed with an application of a 3/8 inch layer of coarse or washed sand on the lawn area. The sand will work its way into those aeration holes to keep them open, thus improving the drainage.

Once you have created this ‘battlefield’ effect on your lawn, you can easily fix it by overseeding. This, by the way, is the very last time of the year to do it. The cool night temperatures and morning dew really help the seed germinate and take hold. Use a blend of seed similar to your original mix, but add at least 50% perennial rye grass. There are many good perennial rye grasses on the market which are hardy, yet fine in texture and very resilient. I am partial to a variety called Elka II because it is very dwarf. The new Elka III is even better because it is stoloniferous, and actually is aggressive towards weeds.

Even though these grasses are fast germinators (about seven days at this time of year), they still need daily watering until the seed has become rooted. You will be amazed at the difference these grasses will make to the appearance of your lawn.

Finally, the fertilizer. Should you fertilize at this time of the year with fall so near? The answer is absolutely. Lawn grasses need nitrogen to stay green and grow well. Avoid so called winterizing fertilizers because they contain the wrong fertilizer formulation for the West Coast. Slow release nitrogen fertilizers are the best because they maintain the green without creating a lot of excess growth which you, of course, get to mow. The Environmental Protection Agency in the US also endorses slow release nitrogen because the nitrates stay in the turf. When the weather gets cooler, the rate of growth slows down. The nitrogen is stored in the grass cells which will keep it green over winter and allow it to bounce back more quickly next spring.

There are a few really fine lawns out there, but most do need some work to get them into shape for the fall and winter months. Once you have done all this, add some Dolopril lime to keep the pH level up over the winter to further discourage moss. A little effort now will pay big dividends for many years to come.