Into the Vault: Lawn Care Tips for Fall

Fall has officially arrived! This means we’ll soon experience cooler weather, more rain and colorful autumn leaves piling up in our yards and throughout the community. While these leaves are beautiful to look at, proper handling and disposal keeps your yard healthy and prevents clogged storm drains, in turn keeping IFCD 3’s flood control facilities clean and ready for seasonal storms.

For instructions on proper leaf disposal, as well as other common fall yard work, we’re going into the Waterways Vault to look at one of our past blogs, Lawn Care Tips for Fall.

As you prepare your yard for the cooler weather, keep the following best practices in mind:

• Take care of fallen leaves – Leaves can clog storm drains and gutters, affecting flood control throughout our community. If your yard begins to collect fallen leaves, the City of Irving asks that you either mow or mulch them and spread them across your lawn and flower beds. Try to only use composting as a last resort. Don’t blow leaves into the street, as they’ll end up in gutters and storm drains!
• Remove weeds and dead shrubs – According to Texas A&M AgriLife, weeds are their weakest and most vulnerable during winter. As the temperatures cool, take the opportunity to remove weeds from your yard. In addition to improving the appearance of your yard, removing dead shrubs and weeds will help your grass and landscaping spring back after winter.
• Add fertilizer – After an extra-warm summer, your yard may have seen better days! To prevent standing water or flooding in your yard, experts say to apply fertilizer now and then once more in six to eight weeks to maintain your lawn until spring. Remember, dead grass and cracked dirt don’t absorb water as well as a luscious, green lawn.
• Mow with care – Experts recommend cutting your grass shorter to help it withstand the cooler weather. Continue mowing until the onset of winter but avoid cutting the grass shorter than two inches.

Maintaining your lawn doesn’t just give you beautiful curb appeal, it also helps prevent excess leaves from clogging gutters and drainage systems, in turn helping the flood control system throughout Valley Ranch to work properly. As you care for your lawn this fall, we thank you for following best practices and contributing to our delivery of flood control across Valley Ranch.

To learn more about IFCD 3 and our mission to deliver flood control to Valley Ranch, explore the rest of our website, or connect with us on Facebook and X.