By October, the lawn mower may be running less often, but putting lawn care completely on hold can create problems that show up next spring. Grass type, climate and local frost dates determine exactly what your yard needs, yet several October lawn care jobs can protect turf through colder weather without requiring an expensive lineup of products. For cool-season grasses such as tall fescue, fall is an important period of active growth and recovery from summer stress. Warm-season grasses such as Bermuda, zoysia, centipede and St. Augustine are moving toward dormancy instead, which means their fall needs can be dramatically different. Before buying fertilizer or putting the mower away, identify what kind of grass you’re actually growing and work through these practical October tasks.
