What to Do RIGHT NOW for Your Lawn

MOW, MULCH, AND RAKE . . . OH, MY!  
MOW: As long as it’s warm outside, your lawn will still need to be mowed. In the fall, your lawn's energy is redirected for root growth and storage, which means you can mow the grass a little shorter—to about 2 inches—to promote the production of new grass stems. This may help thicken your lawn and fill in bare spots that form as weeds die out. (The sensitive growing point for most weeds is near the top of the plant, whereas the sensitive growing point for grass is near the soil. Chopping the tops off the weeds will help to get rid of them.)

MULCH: Now you can finally use that handy leaf-mulching attachment for your mower! Leaving the shredded leaves and grass clippings on the lawn, as long as they don’t accumulate to more than about a half-inch, will form a natural compost and feed the grass with mineral nutrients as they decompose.

RAKE: Unless you have that handy mulching attachment, you’ll want to rake up the falling leaves. OK, maybe you don’t want to, but you absolutely need to, and raking is preferable to blowing. Raking very gently aerates and dethatches your lawn, while blowing only serves to pollute the air we breathe, spread weed seeds, and drive us crazy with their intolerable noise.  
And hey, don't forget to browse our newly updated website at www.pesticidefreenc.org. New stuff all the time--from articles and how-to's to helpful links and providers we love. Please let us know what you think!  

This fall cleanup information is brought to you from our friends at Beyond Pesticides (beyondpesticides.org). Enjoy the season!