By Isaac Einstein, the 12-year-old owner of Ready 2 Mow
October is one of my favorite months to work on yards around Seminole. The summer rainy season is winding down, the afternoons are a little less steamy, and lawns that grew like crazy all summer finally start to slow down. That makes it a great time to clean things up and get your yard ready for the drier months ahead. Here's a simple checklist I use for the yards I take care of in Seminole and nearby Pinellas neighborhoods.
1. Keep your St. Augustine grass mowed at the right height
Most lawns around here are St. Augustine grass, and the biggest mistake I see is cutting it too short. University of Florida IFAS recommends mowing standard St. Augustine varieties at about 3.5 to 4 inches. Taller grass shades the soil, holds moisture better and crowds out weeds.
A few tips for fall:
- Don't scalp it. Try not to remove more than one-third of the blade at a time. If the lawn got ahead of you, bring it down over a couple of mowings instead of all at once.
- Mow a little higher in shady spots and when the weather turns dry. The extra leaf helps the grass handle stress.
- Expect to mow less often as growth slows, but don't stop completely. Grass here keeps growing through the cooler months, just more slowly.
- Keep the mower blade sharp. A dull blade tears the grass instead of cutting it cleanly.
Edging and blowing off your walks and driveway after every mow makes a big difference in how finished the yard looks, even when the grass itself doesn't need much.
2. Clean up leaves, fronds and storm debris
After a summer of storms, a lot of yards have branches, palm fronds and piles of leaves tucked into corners and beds. Fall is the time to clear them out. Leaves left sitting on the lawn block sunlight and hold moisture against the grass, which can leave thin or yellow patches.
Rake or blow leaves off the lawn regularly, clear out beds and the spaces behind shrubs, and pick up fallen fronds and sticks before you mow. If you've got a big pile, a yard cleanup is the fastest way to reset everything. When I do cleanups, I haul the debris away, so you're not left with bags and branches at the curb.
3. Time your shrub trimming
Fall is a good time to give hedges and shrubs a light shaping so they look neat heading into the holidays. I'd keep it to tidying up rather than cutting them way back, because heavy pruning late in the year can push out tender new growth right before the cooler weather.
Some easy guidelines:
- Shape hedges so they're a little wider at the bottom than the top, so the lower branches still get light.
- Clear branches away from walkways, windows and your house.
- If a flowering shrub hasn't bloomed yet, check before you trim so you don't cut off the buds.
- Anything that needs a ladder, a chainsaw or tree work is a job for a tree service.
I do shrub and hedge trimming from the ground, which covers most front-yard shrubs and hedges.
4. Pull weeds by hand while the soil is soft
The end of the rainy season is one of the best times to pull weeds, because damp soil lets the roots come out in one piece. If you pull a weed and leave the root behind, it usually grows right back.
Go after weeds in beds, rock areas and along edges before they set seed, and work on small patches often instead of one huge session. Once a bed is clean, a fresh layer of mulch helps keep new weeds from popping up. I do all my weed pulling by hand, with no spraying.
5. Get ready for the drier months
Once the summer storms stop, lawns can dry out faster than people expect. A few things help:
- Keep the mowing height up so the grass can shade its own roots.
- Watch for dry, grayish or curling spots, which are often the first sign your grass needs water.
- Water early in the morning, and always follow your local watering rules.
- Check that sprinkler heads aren't blocked by grass or mulch and aren't spraying the driveway.
- Refresh mulch in your beds to hold in moisture.
A yard that goes into the dry season mowed at the right height, cleaned up and weeded is a lot easier to keep looking good all winter.
Want some help this fall?
If you'd rather spend your weekends doing something else, I'd be happy to help. Ready 2 Mow handles mowing, edging and blowing, yard cleanups with debris haul-away, shrub trimming and hand weed pulling in Seminole and nearby neighborhoods. Quotes are free, I accept any form of payment, and I'm insured.
Call or text me at (727) 304-7803, or request a free quote online. Thanks for reading, and I hope your yard has a great fall!
Isaac