The autumn season can be awkward when it comes to taking care of your lawn. After all, you need to rake the leaves, take care of the grass, and also deal with snow potentially building up on your lawn. This makes some people wonder if they should water their lawns in autumn; here are a few reasons why you should keep up this part of your lawn care.

Consider If It’s Warm Enough for Grass

You can water your lawn during autumn, but you should make sure the temperature is warm enough to do so. For example, if you know that the air gets below freezing at night, you shouldn't water your lawn in the evening. Otherwise, the water could freeze and damage your lawn.

You need to make sure you properly water your lawn during an appropriate time so you can ensure that it gets the moisture it needs. In short, you should avoid watering your lawn during cold times so it won't freeze after you water it.

Use a Rain Gauge

It can be difficult to identify whether your lawn needs some water during the autumn season. Luckily, you can purchase a rain gauge and use that to see how much water your lawn gets naturally. A rain gauge works well because it lets you know how many inches of rain went into your lawn throughout the day.

You can use this gauge to see if you need to water your lawn. If you get a lot of rain that week, then you should cut down on your standard lawn watering for the week. If you don't get that much rain, then you should water your lawn more often. Make sure you get a rain gauge if you want to properly take care of your lawn.

Check the Moisture Level

Keep in mind that the rain gauge and moisture level are two different points. While the rain gauge will tell you how much it rained, the moisture gauge will let you know how much water got into the grass. This way, you can figure out how much total moisture your grass collected that day.

From there, you can determine how much more water your lawn will need during the autumn season. After all, it can be difficult to keep track of all of this information, so you should get a moisture gauge to properly assist you. You can easily decide how often you should water your lawn based on your own discretion. 

It can be difficult to decide if you need to water your lawn in autumn, so you should review these points. This way, you can determine if now would be the right time for you to water your lawn or if the rain will take care of it for you. Make sure you review these tips and apply them so you can have a healthy lawn during the autumn season.

Finding the right season to deal with a patchy lawn can be mildly infuriating. Like most plants, grass requires optimal weather conditions to grow. Autumn proves to be an optimal period to plant grass and repair lawn patches. Not only is the weather cooler, but the ground conditions work in favor of germination. Here we discuss four reasons why autumn is an excellent time to repair your lawn for efficient lawn restoration.

1. Cooler Weather

Cool-season grasses, such as rye and bluegrass, are tolerable to sudden weather changes, but unpredictable and cold weather can significantly affect their growth for warm-season grasses.

This can cause your grass to lose color, wither, and exhibit camouflage-like color, causing a blemish of green and yellow on your lawn. Autumn's cool temperatures allow the germination of various warm-season turfgrasses like zoysia, St. Augustine, and centipede, bringing out a lush green covering over patches. Furthermore, it is ideal for seedling growth, making autumn the right season to plant new grass.

2. Less Direct Sunlight

Direct scorching sunlight during the summer is not only bad for seedlings, but it also dries up any sprouting plants. Autumn provides ample shade and mild temperatures, which are perfect for nursing seedlings. A subtle amount of indirect sunlight is appropriate for plant growth as the conditions are not too harsh, allowing the plant to retain adequate moisture. Furthermore, the soil is the warmest during this time of year. These conditions are perfect for sowing turfgrass seeds as they need a mild soil temperature of 10 degrees to grow.

3. More Moisture Encourages Seeds to Sprout

Autumn weather is optimal for grass growth as it cools temperatures. Plus, occasional rains allow the ground to retain adequate moisture and become optimal for germination. By planting a few grass seeds and applying fertilizer, the moisture within the soil will provide your seedlings with sufficient water to encourage your grass to sprout, thus coating your lawn evenly. This makes it easy to maintain your lawn condition as you will not be required to water it regularly. You can occasionally turn your sprinklers on for the warmer days, but make sure that you don't overwater as overwatering can kill most plants.

4. Fall Is an Excellent Time to Repair Bare Spots

Autumn is the perfect time to repair any extensive lawn damage, such as bare spots or patches caused throughout the winter. By now, dry and cold soil is thawed by the mild autumn warmth, fostering ideal soil temperatures suitable for plant growth. More so, there is less competition for growth as rampant weeds are more active during spring, allowing your seedlings to germinate peacefully to cover up patches. Aside from that, the cool and occasionally rainy weather is ideal for plant growth and provides the gardener decent working conditions without tiring under searing summer heat or freezing winter cold.

Autumn is the perfect time to get your tools out of the shed and patch up your unbearable lawn spots caused during the winter months. The weather conditions are suitable for sowing seeds and repairing plant damage. With these tips, you can get your lawn in decent shape and ready for upcoming springtime festivities with family and friends.