Why You Should Include Weed Killer and Fertilizer in Your Lawn Care Plan in Westchester County, NY
While the growing season winds down with the cooler weather, your lawn starts to naturally get ready for the winter. Lawn care professionals can assist your lawn by adding fertilizer during the fall. But now is not the time to relax about weed control. Weeds are something to be aware of, since many species will go to seed at the end of summer. The fall season is absolutely crucial for the health of your lawn. Here’s why you should include weed killer and fertilizer in your lawn care plan in Westchester County, NY.
Related: When Is a Good Time to Use Fertilizer on your Chappaqua or Westchester County, NY Lawn?
Weed Pulling Is Hard Work and Inefficient
It seems that if you turn your back for just a little while, a big weed will sprout up right in the middle of your lawn. These are easy to spot, though they’re not as easy to remove as it might seem. Simply pulling the plant out of the ground will only be successful if the root ball is taken out, and even that sometimes isn’t guaranteed. Pulling from the base of the plant and ensuring you took the whole root ball is the only way to make this happen and still, it gets laborious very quickly with enough weeds to pull. Even worse, the smallest ones are much harder to see and will likely go unnoticed until they grow tall enough to be a problem.
Lawn care professionals won’t take chances. Instead of pulling weeds, they will use weed killer to eliminate the chance of any roots remaining in the ground.
Stop Weeds Before They Spread
Weeds grow much quicker than turf grass and often take advantage of any weaker spots in your lawn. Thousands of tiny seeds can be released from just one plant if it’s left unchecked, and many weeds go to seed in late summer and early fall. In a thick and healthy lawn, most of these seeds don’t stand a chance of finding space and sunlight. However, the seeds will quickly take advantage of any open spots in the soil and start their quest to take resources away from your grass. Many seeds will lay dormant through winter into the spring, so it’s important to take measures to ensure weeds are killed before they release their seeds; or that seeds don’t germinate before the first frost.
The weed killers that lawn care professionals use ensure that weeds don’t take over your lawn. Applying weed killer should be performed by professionals as it’s a concentration of chemicals that could be toxic for pets, people, and many desired plants if done improperly.
Fertilizer Is the Jump Start Your Grass Needs
A concentration of nutrients and minerals that benefit grass, fertilizer delivers these important resources in much higher quantities than what’s available in your soil. It will help the lawn keep its strength and get ready for the winter. The stronger the grass enters the winter, the better its growth in the spring. What happens in the fall with your lawn greatly affects the next growing season, so although the grass isn’t growing above ground, nourishing roots in fall is vital.
Fertilizer Should Be Applied by Professionals
The concoction of nutrients, while ultimately beneficial for the plant, is actually toxic in higher concentrations to plants, animals, and people - and improper application can cause severe damage to the grass. Fertilizer needs to be absorbed through the roots of the plant instead of the above-ground leaves and stem. The proper technique for applying fertilizer includes a thorough watering to ensure that the concentration washes off the leaves and stem and makes it into the root system. Make sure that your lawn care professionals include fertilizer in your plan.