First frost in Kitchener-Waterloo lands in October most years. What matters is that the lawn stops growing before you stop paying attention to it. The last few weeks of the season decide what you walk out to in April.
Three things do most of the work: the height you cut it at on the last mow, whether you overseed while the window is open, and what you do about aeration for next spring. Everything else is tidying.
Cut it lower, but bring it down slowly
All summer we cut high. Long grass shades its own roots and keeps the soil cooler, which is most of the reason a properly mowed lawn holds up in a July dry spell.
Fall flips that. Grass left long going into winter mats down under snow, stays damp against the soil for months, and comes out in spring with grey matted patches. That is snow mould. Long grass is also the cover mice and voles run under, which is where those little chewed tunnels in the turf come from.
So the final cut of the year should be shorter than your summer height. Around 6 cm, roughly two and a half inches, is the number we aim for on the last visit. Not shaved. A scalped lawn loses the leaf surface it needs to keep feeding its roots on the mild days that are still coming, and it exposes the crowns to cold.
The part people get wrong is doing it all at once. Never take more than a third of the blade off in one cut, no matter the season. Drop a notch on your second last mow and another notch on the last one. That is it.
When is the last mow? When the grass stops growing, not when the calendar says so. Some years we are still cutting into November, and we keep mowing until it genuinely stops. A one-off late mow starts at $85 plus HST for a compact lawn, and the full tier list is on our pricing page.
Overseed before dormancy, this is the fall job
If your lawn is thin or patchy, fall is when we book overseeding, starting at $245 plus HST for a small lawn. Late summer into early fall is the window turf professionals name most consistently for cool-season lawns like the ones common here, because the soil is still warm enough for new seed to root before the cold.
New seed needs the surface kept damp for the first two to three weeks, short and frequent watering rather than one long soak. If frost has already hit hard, we will tell you to wait for spring rather than take the booking. Details and lawn-size pricing are on the overseeding page.
Aeration is real, we just book it in spring on our site
Turf science generally names fall as the stronger aeration window for cool-season grass, and we will not pretend otherwise. But on our site, core aeration is a spring-only booking, sized $275 small, $399 medium, $549 large, plus HST. That is a scheduling decision on our end, not a claim that spring works better for your grass.
So this fall, the lawn job that actually moves is overseeding, above. If your lawn also needs aeration, put it on the list for spring, or look at our Summer Premium plan, which books core aeration every spring and overseeding every fall automatically as part of the season, see summer plans.
Feed it without the chemicals
A fall feed is the one application that pays you back twice, because the grass spends it on roots rather than top growth. Ours is an all-natural spray built from compost tea and worm castings, at $150 plus HST per application or $499 plus HST for the four application season program. It is chemical free and safe for kids and pets. Organic fertilizer has the details. Pink is the new green.
Get the leaves off before the snow lands
Leaves left on the lawn over winter block light, trap moisture and smother the grass underneath. A matted layer under snow is one of the surest ways to find dead patches in spring.
A full fall yard clean up, which takes in trimming, weed and debris removal and hauling everything away, starts at $450 plus HST. If you’re on a Summer Complete or Premium plan, a smaller, lawn-focused fall clean-up sized to your lawn is already included at $100 Small, $150 Medium or $200 Large, no separate booking needed. Book the stand-alone clean-up on the same trip as your overseeding and we do both in one visit where the timing lines up.
While you are out there, disconnect the hose from the tap so the bib does not split, and pull the furniture and toys off the lawn before they freeze into it.
And then it is snow season
The moment the lawn work is done the driveway becomes the job. We clear after every snowfall of 5 cm or more, usually within 12 hours of the snow stopping, and that includes the front path and the city sidewalk out front. Our snow removal season option, Winter Plan Standard, runs November 1 to April 15 with unlimited clearings, starting at $769.36 plus HST for a one car driveway, one payment for the whole winter. Details, including the line by line of what a clearing actually includes, are on our snow removal page.
Fall lawn questions people ask
How short should the last cut be?
About 6 cm, roughly two and a half inches. Lower than your summer height, but never scalped, and never more than a third of the blade in one pass.
Is it too late to aerate in October?
On our site, aeration is a spring booking regardless of the date, so October isn’t a factor either way. If your lawn needs thickening this fall, overseeding is the service to book now; aeration follows next spring.
Should I aerate or overseed first?
On a lawn that gets both, aerate in spring, then overseed the following fall, or the other way around across two seasons if that’s what your lawn needs. We won’t do a fall aeration booking on our site, so this year the move is overseeding now.
Do you cover my area?
Kitchener and Waterloo, with Mannheim at the edge, so ask. We do not serve Cambridge. See the service area.
Book the fall visit
Call or text 226-336-2077, or send your address through the quote form and we will put the price in writing before anyone shows up. More answers on the FAQ, and if you want the grass cut right through the fall, that is our mowing plans.
Chemical free, and straight with you about what your lawn actually needs.