Fall Yard Tips

It’s fall, ya’ll. While it feels like you can stop caring for your lawn and landscaping and start catching up on your indoor chores, don’t lock the garden shed just yet. Doing things right this month will help your yard look great next spring. Here are a few tips from the pros at James Valley Landscape Solutions. And don’t forget—if you want US to take care of putting your yard to bed, we are more than happy to help. Just give us a call!

*Keep mowing and watering your lawn until growth is no longer noticeable. Drop your mower blade a bit on the last two mowings to help sunlight reach the crown of the grass—just don’t ever cut more than 1/3 of the blade at one time. Gradually lower it over the course of the last few mowings to avoid overcutting.

*Fall is a great time to aerate. We are here to help with professional aerating services, or you can rent an aerator and do it yourself.

*Rake your leaves. This is no one’s idea of fun, but it’s gotta be done. Rake the leaves before they get wet and suffocate the grass underneath. You can also mow the leaves and collect the mulch in your bag. Or, again, hire us. We’ll make short work of a long job.

*Fertilize, fertilize, fertilize. This is the most important time of year for delivering important nutrients to your yard. Do it in mid-to-late fall…or give us a call and we’ll take care of it.

*Kill weeds. Now is a great time to kill weeds and dandelions that will show up next year. Do this when daytime temps are around 60 degrees for best results.

Now that you have your lawn taken care of, let’s talk about your trees, plants and bushes. This is a GREAT time to plant new bushes, shrubs and bulbs. You can do this all the way up to the first hard frost. We still have a wonderful selection in stock—and almost all of it is on sale until October 31.

Making sure your landscaping survives the winter is easy with just a few tips:

*Inspect leaves this fall to look for pests or disease. If you spot anything of concern, bring in a sample and we’ll have the James Valley diagnostic experts check it out.

*Mulch around the base of your plants to help trap warmth.

*Most plants and bushes can be transplanted in the fall—be sure to ask if you are unsure. There are a few varieties that don’t like fall transplants.

*Trim and prune dead branches. You can also prune most bushes and trees for structural integrity and to keep the size down.

*Give everything a good drink before the first frost.