Despite what many people think, fall is the most important time to fertilize your lawn. For best results, you should fertilize it not just once, but twice.

The first application should go down between mid-August and mid-September. Then repeat the application around the middle of October. You will be amazed at how much thicker and greener your grass will be the following spring.

It isn't really necessary to use a special, low nitrogen fertilizer for fall. Just spread a standard lawn fertilizer [1] and water it lightly into the soil.

It was previously thought that fall fertilizing was a poor idea because the added nitrogen encouraged growth too late in the season. Research has shown however, that cool temperatures prevent new top growth, so nutrients go directly to the roots and rhizomes, helping them expand, making the lawn look better the following spring.

In fact, if you fertilize twice this fall, you probably will not need to fertilize again until the middle of next June, if at all. Leaving grass clippings on the lawn to decompose each time you mow [2] is the equivalent of one-half an extra fertilizer application. Use a mulching mower or mow often enough so clippings are no more than an inch or two long.