You've nourished and nurtured your lawn all summer long, and your efforts really paid off -- you've been rewarded with a velvety green, smooth surface that makes bare feet feel deliciously good and smells sublime just after you mow it. But now it's fall -- and you've never wintered over your own lawn before. What do you do to make sure that fall and winter don't ravage your lawn and ruin all your hard work? Following are three things that you can do this fall to give your lawn a good start on performing well next spring and summer:

Keep Leaves Raked

Although many people believe that leaving leaves on the lawn will provide them with organic material that will be good for growth, there are more drawbacks to not raking leaves than there are to keeping your lawn clear of them. They are:

• A heavy cover of fallen leaves will deprive your grass of sun and air, which may result in the creation of bare patches in spots under the leaves.
• Fallen leaves provide an ideal breeding ground for fungal pathogens, which are a leading cause of lawn diseases.

Use a Winterization Fertilizer

Use a fertilizer specifically formulated for use in autumn to give your lawn one last boost of nutrients before winter sets in. This will help strengthen the roots of your grass as well as improve its overall health, which will give it a great head start for the spring growing season.

Keep Mowing and Watering

Although the growth rate of your lawn will slow down substantially in autumn, you should still keep it well mowed, and unless you live in an area where fall rains are common, you should keep adhering to your regular watering schedule. If you live in a climate where freezing winter temperatures are the norm, you should keep watering until the first serious freeze of the season. Those who live in southern regions may have to continue to water throughout the winter so that their lawn doesn't dry out.

If you get snow in your area, you should cut your grass short enough so that it doesn't become matted down by the presence of snow on the ground yet long enough to provide insulation for the roots. Your last mowing of the season should be about two inches high. In areas that don't get snow, you may have to mow at times during the winter depending on outdoor temperatures, but unless it routinely gets above 65 degrees Fahrenheit, you shouldn't have to mow more than once a month. 

For more information, contact a local landscaping company, like Valentino Lawncare.