As lawns begin to slow their growth this month, leaves will begin to drop from the trees. These leaves can make an excellent top dressing for the soil that can shade out annual weed seeds that haven’t germinated yet. It can also be an excellent soil additive as the earthworms and other organisms in the soil break the leaves down even further and work them into the soil. Using the lawn mower to chop them up and let them return their nutrients back to the soil is a good use for those leaves in the fall when nitrogen isn’t needed for plant growth, but nutrients in the leaves can be beneficial to grass when it begins growing again in the spring.

If there are too many leaves to mulch them up using a mower, then remove them from the lawn. Leaves left on the lawn for too long can shade out the grass, which can weaken it and make it more susceptible to winter weeds.

Since I mentioned weeds, keep in mind that if the grass is still green, but not growing much, it’s better to wait until the grass is fully dormant before applying a post emergent weed control product. Lawns are most susceptible to damage from these chemicals when they are going dormant and when they are coming out of dormancy. Post emergence herbicides to control winter weeds are better sprayed after the lawn is completely dormant in November or December.