- 1). Raise your mower's cutting height one notch for the last month of summer mowing. Mow in a different direction - if you usually mow east to west, change to north-south.
- 2). Fertilize lawns in late summer. Stop using nitrogen on southern lawns - warm-season grasses go dormant in winter, so feed only with phosphorus and potassium.
- 3). Give cool-season grass what it needs to grow - fertilize with a slow-release, balanced lawn formula. Apply compost with a spreader to add organic matter.
- 4). Control insects and fungus diseases to deny them overwintering privileges in your lawn. Cut down any weedy patches adjacent to the lawn for the same reason.
- 5). Use a stiff-tined garden rake on the lawn to pull out dead grass and let in winter's renewing rains. Overseed warm-season lawns with perennial ryegrass - mow monthly at least and add the clippings to your compost heap all winter.
- 6). Reduce watering on warm-season lawns as they go brown and increase watering on cool-season grasses as they begin to grow again. Always water lawns before and after fertilizing in a dry season.
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