Mustachian fall lawn care/curb appeal

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

So our grass is embarrassingly dead. We went on vacation and when we came back, it was dead. We made some haphazard efforts to water it in the back, nothing in the front. We have some vibrant green clumps of what I suppose is crab grass, but the actual grass is matted and brown and has been since August. There are also, of course, weeds.

We are thinking of putting our house on the market in the spring. Dead grass, combined with the broken driveway, could be a turn-off!

So these are my questions:

1. Is it too late to do anything to improve the chances of the grass coming back in the spring?
2. If not, what SHOULD we do?

[firewalker]

Depends...where is the house? The south west? New England?

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Depends...where is the house? The south west? New England?

Oops, that's important, isn't it? Meant to say...

Denver. So we are already getting frost.

[lthenderson]

I never water my lawn and the grass always comes back so I wouldn't worry too much. A few years back, all our grass was dead by July and stayed that way until the following spring.

If I was selling my house in the spring, I would put a good dose of fall fertilizer on it and water it in. It will give your grass an early boost next spring when the temperatures warm and you have more moisture.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

Hmmm, looks like it may be too late. Apparently I was supposed to do it a few weeks ago, and now there is frost some days (although it's warm this week). Should I do it anyway, or just let it slide?

[lthenderson]

Hmmm, looks like it may be too late. Apparently I was supposed to do it a few weeks ago, and now there is frost some days (although it's warm this week). Should I do it anyway, or just let it slide?

As long as the ground isn't frozen, it isn't too late to put a winterizing fertilizer high in nitrogen. The key is to water it in if you aren't expecting rains as it can burn the grass if left dry.

[MasterStache]

Hmmm, looks like it may be too late. Apparently I was supposed to do it a few weeks ago, and now there is frost some days (although it's warm this week). Should I do it anyway, or just let it slide?

Actually frost is not a determinate for Winterizer fertilizer. You should apply it after the grass has stopped growing. Here in the Midwest it's about the end of November/beginning of December. We've had frost here a couple times already as well. If you apply it during grass growth, the grass will start using the nitrogen. You want it stored, not used.

Basically if you are still mowing, hold off on applying it. Don't let it slide. It's probably the most important fertilizer application. And it's better late than never or, too early.

[La Bibliotecaria Feroz]

OK, OK, I'll do it. Product recommendations? Will I need to invest in some sort of spreading tool?

[Thinkum]

I would also look into putting down 1/4" of compost over the entire lawn. This provides nutrients and helps build healthy soil.

[MasterStache]

OK, OK, I'll do it. Product recommendations? Will I need to invest in some sort of spreading tool?

Not really. I try to find some cheap Winterizer high in Nitrogen (which must usually are). You'll need some sort of spreader because you want it fairly accurate. With the chemical Nitrogen content you can burn your lawn. Check Craigslist. 

Compost is ok this time of year. Not going to really provide much benefit because the grass and what not are getting ready to go dormant. I stop applying organic fertilizer typically in October to give it time for the soil to "take it in."

The best thing you can do this time of year is mow those leaves in. I typically collect and distribute several hundred lbs of leaves over my entire lawn and mow them in. I can't believe people still rake them and set them out for the garbage man. It's the best FREE organic fertilizer for your lawn. They might not look great chopped up all over the lawn, but they will disappear after a few weeks once the soil microbes have chowed down on them. Relating to the Compost application, if you feed your soil organic matter (ie. coffee grounds, alfalfa pellets, soybean meal, Milorganite, sawdust, grass clippings,  etc.) your soil microbe population will naturally grow. And happy soil makes happy grass. Compost is great, but's just a temporary "shot in the arm." Compost adds organic content (microbes), but they still need food.

Sorry for the long post, I used to be a HUGE lawn nut.