Fall brings cooler days, slower-growing grass, and a whole new list of yard chores. But for those who love their lawns, there’s still plenty to enjoy before winter arrives.
There comes a point every fall when you realize the mowing season is starting to wind down.
You notice it because the grass isn’t growing quite as fast. The mornings are cooler. The mower can sometimes sit an extra few days before you start looking out the window and thinking, Yeah, it’s probably time.
For people who love mowing, it’s a bittersweet time.
But don’t put your feet up just yet.
Your lawn may be slowing down, but fall has apparently decided to replace mowing with about 17 other jobs.
First things first: Keep mowing
One of the easiest fall mistakes is deciding the mowing season is over before the grass agrees.
As long as your lawn is actively growing, keep mowing it. Growth will slow as temperatures drop, which means the time between cuts gets longer, but your lawn still benefits from being maintained.
The good news?
You may finally reach that glorious part of the year when mowing feels less like a race against growth and more like something you can actually enjoy.
Cool air. Lower humidity. Fewer bugs.
This is prime mowing weather.
Then the leaves show up
At first, it’s charming.
A few colorful leaves scattered across a freshly cut lawn look like something from a calendar.
Then you wake up one morning and apparently every tree in the neighborhood has emptied itself onto your property.
A light layer of leaves can often be mulched with your mower, chopping them into smaller pieces that break down into the lawn.
But when the leaves get deep enough that you can no longer confidently identify where the lawn is, it’s time to remove some.
Mulch them. Bag them. Compost them. Rake them.
Just don’t let a heavy, wet blanket of leaves sit on the grass for weeks.
Give the lawn some air
Fall can also be a good time to aerate cool-season lawns, especially if your soil has become compacted from summer traffic, mowing and everything else that happened out there.
Core aeration removes small plugs of soil and helps air, water and nutrients reach the root zone.
Does your lawn look temporarily worse afterward?
Absolutely.
Those little plugs scattered everywhere are not exactly a landscaping masterpiece.
But leave them alone. They’ll break down naturally, and your lawn will be better for it.
Fill in the battle scars
Summer can be rough on a lawn.
Heat. Drought. Dogs. Kids. Lawn furniture. Backyard projects. That one spot where everybody apparently decided to walk all summer.
For many cool-season lawns, early fall is an excellent time to overseed thin or bare areas because cooler temperatures and warm soil can create favorable conditions for grass seed to germinate and establish.
Just remember that timing matters. New grass needs enough time to establish before hard freezes arrive.
Feed it, but know what you’re feeding
Fall fertilization can help many lawns strengthen their root systems and prepare for winter, but this is one area where “more” definitely does not mean “better.”
Your grass type, soil and location all matter.
A soil test can take much of the guesswork out of fertilizing and tell you what your lawn actually needs instead of what the giant stack of fertilizer bags at the store would like you to believe it needs.
Do a little mower housekeeping
Eventually, the final mow really will arrive.
This is when a little attention to the machine pays off.
Clean accumulated grass from the mower deck. Inspect the blade and sharpen or replace it if necessary. Check the air filter. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations for fuel and winter storage. Give the machine a general inspection while everything from the season is still fresh in your mind.
You can ignore all of this and discover it again five minutes before your first mow next spring.
But Future You would probably prefer that you handle it now.
Don’t forget the rest of the yard
Fall is also a great time to tackle all the little things that become painfully obvious once the grass slows down.
Edge the beds. Clean up sticks and debris. Trim where appropriate. Clear leaves from drainage areas. Put away summer lawn furniture. Check hoses and irrigation systems before freezing weather arrives.
And take a look around.
There’s probably at least one thing you’ve been saying you would get to “after mowing season.”
Congratulations.
It’s after mowing season.
And then, enjoy it
Fall yard work has a different rhythm.
You’re not trying to keep up with grass that seems to grow three inches every time you turn around. The air is cooler. The yard is changing. And every job you knock out now makes things a little easier when spring arrives.
For those of us who genuinely enjoy mowing, the last few cuts of the year are worth savoring.
Make the stripes.
Take the extra pass.
Stand there for a minute afterward and admire it.
Because eventually the mower is going into the garage or shed for a while.
And sometime around January, you may catch yourself looking out at a dormant lawn and thinking something you never expected to say:
I kind of miss mowing.