Every October a few customers in New City and Pearl River call to ask whether it's too late to do anything for the lawn this year. The answer is almost always no, but the window is closing, and the order you do things in matters more this month than any other. Here's how we run October on the lawns we take care of, from Stony Point down to Westwood and Hillsdale in northern Bergen County.
1. Seeding: the calendar is the boss, not the weather
We stop seeding around October 15. That's not a sales deadline; it's an agronomic one. New grass needs roughly six weeks of soil above 50 degrees to put down roots deep enough to survive winter. Count back from when Rockland soil typically drops below that, usually late November, and mid-October is the last realistic start.
Seed that goes down October 25 will often germinate. It just won't root, and you'll wonder in April why the bare spots are back. If you're on the fence, the honest test is this: if we can get on the property by the 15th, do it. If not, put the money toward a spring pre-emergent and we'll seed next August when the odds are with you.
Right now the conditions are about as good as they get. September rain left the soil moist, days are warm and nights are cool, and the weeds that compete with new seed are slowing down. If your lawn came out of August thin, this is the two weeks that fix it. Core aeration with seed, or power seeding for the bad spots.
2. The fall feeding people skip is the one that matters most
Once the grass stops growing on top, usually early November around here, the roots keep working for another few weeks. A late-fall feeding puts nitrogen and potassium into the plant exactly when it can store it instead of spending it on leaf growth. That stored energy is what gives you the early green-up in March that your neighbor doesn't get.
It's in every one of our programs, and it's the round customers most often ask to skip because "the lawn looks fine." The lawn looks fine because of it. If you're doing your own, put it down after your last or second-to-last mow, not in September when the grass will just burn through it.
3. Leaves: don't smother what you just planted
A thin layer of leaves can be mulched right into the lawn with a mower; it's free organic matter. A thick, wet mat of oak leaves left for two weeks will kill grass underneath it, and it will absolutely kill new seedlings. In Nyack, Congers and the wooded parts of Suffern and Montvale, this is the number-one reason fall seeding "didn't take."
The rule: if you can't see grass through the leaves, they need to come off. On newly seeded areas, blow leaves off gently rather than raking; a rake pulls up seedlings whose roots are a week old.
4. Keep mowing, and drop the height on the last cut
Grass keeps growing until the soil cools, so keep mowing on your normal schedule through October. For the last mow of the season, usually early to mid November, bring the height down a notch, to around 2.5 inches. Shorter grass going into winter means less matting under snow and less snow mold in March. Don't scalp it; one notch down is enough.
If you seeded, mow the new grass when it reaches about 3 inches, with a sharp blade. Dull blades tear seedlings out.
5. Ticks don't read the calendar either
People assume ticks are done by October. They aren't. Adult deer ticks, the ones that carry Lyme, are most active in October and November, and they stay active any day above freezing. This is the second peak of the year and it catches people off guard because the mosquitoes are gone and the yard feels safe.
It's why our Yard Armour program comes in two versions. Yard Armour Year-Round adds a tick service in November and another in March, on top of the four warm-season visits. If you have kids, dogs, or a yard that backs up to woods or a brook, the November service is the one that earns its keep.
6. What to leave alone
- Don't dethatch now. It tears up turf that won't have time to recover. Spring or late August.
- Don't lime blindly. Rockland soil runs acidic and most lawns need it, but the rate should come from a soil test, not a guess. Lime can go down any time the ground isn't frozen, so there's no rush.
- Don't fertilize new seed heavily. A light starter is fine. A full-rate feeding on seedlings burns them.
- Don't water on a timer if it's raining. Sounds obvious. Every October we see irrigation running in a downpour.
The short version
Seed by the 15th or wait until August. Feed late, after the mowing stops. Get the leaves off new grass. Drop the mower one notch for the last cut. Keep the tick service going through November. Do those five and your lawn goes into winter with a head start on every yard around it.
If you'd rather we handled it: we measure, we put the price in writing, and the same technician treats your lawn every visit. (845) 638-4999 in Rockland, (201) 664-4358 in the Pascack Valley and northern Bergen, or send the form and Penny or Karen will call you.
Written price. Same technician. A real person on the phone.
The only thing between the lawn you have and the lawn you want is a phone call.