If You Care About Your Lawn, Now is the Time for Lawn Care

by KYW's Phran Novelli

If your lawn looks lousy, join the club. Lawn care experts agree that this was a rough summer for growing grass around here. The good news is that fall is a great time to do something about it. Summer weeds are dying and clearing the way for you to crowd them out next year by sowing grass seed now. By planting grass in autumn instead of spring, it has three seasons to get a foothold before next summer.

In order to grow, grass seeds have to touch the soil – if you just throw a lot of seed around and hope something sticks, most of it becomes birdfeed. Much more germinates when you scratch the ground with a garden rake first, so that more seeds actually land on soil. You can even rent a special machine that cuts slits and drops the grass seed into the soil at the right depth. Some neighbors like to get together to rent one – it's a great way to save money, help each other get the job done, and it's a lot more fun than doing it yourself.

(Photo by Phran Novelli)