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Where I live in southwestern Chisago County, our soil is pure sand. Normally that means lots of lawn watering to keep things green and healthy but this year, with all the rain we had, it meant far less effort for me as far as watering goes. Now, however, we appear to be in a dry spell so out come the sprinklers again. In addition, the moles are very active right now and their damage gets worse by the day. We'll just keep setting those traps and hope for at least a small reduction in their numbers.

Fall is a pretty important time for lawn care. If you are reseeding, August 15 through Sept. 15 is the best time to seed. Because of the cooler temperatures, there is far less stress on the new plants and there is still plenty of time to become established before the plants go dormant. For years now, we've been advised to apply a late season winterizing fertilizer in late October. The University of Minnesota has recently revised this information due to some research on how the grass stores the nutrients over the winter. It's been found that the grass uptake of nitrogen declines significantly as temperatures decrease. The new recommendations for fall fertilizing are to apply fertilizer in early September around Labor Day and then again in late May or early June for lawns that are regularly watered. I expect we will being seeing more information on these revisions in the near future.

Of all the lawn care questions the Master Gardeners get, Creeping Charlie is the most often asked. This tough little ground cover can be a blessing....yes I said blessing....or a curse depending on your preference for a turf lawn. Believe or not, I've met many Master Gardeners who think of Creeping Charlie as a low maintenance, beautiful ground cover that suits their need for a lawn quite well. Can't say that I agree with them but I can't argue with their logic. Though Creeping Charlie usually grows best in shaded areas, this year due to all the rain we had up, I've seen it flourishing in full sun areas. Indeed in one area I know of that is quite sunny, it's almost totally taken over the grass.

There are several broadleaf weed killer products out there that do a good job of keeping Creeping Charlie from getting out of control. The best time to apply them is when the plant is blooming or shortly after bloom. Apply early in the morning while the dew is still heavy on the plant so that it sticks well. Whichever product you choose, it's critically important that you read and follow all direction on the label. My belief is that you may not win the war on Creeping Charlie but you can win some of the battles.

Fall is also an excellent time for planting perennials, trees and shrubs. Again, because of the cooler temperatures, there is less stress on the newly planted, or transplanted plants. There is also time for these plants to become established by putting down new roots before the ground freezes.

This is not a good time to prune trees and shrubs however as pruning can promote new growth that does not have time to harden off before a hard frost. It is important however to water trees and shrubs until the ground freezes. They need to go into the winter well hydrated and we often do not have enough rainfall to give adequate moisture in late fall. This is especially important the first three to five years after a tree or shrub is planted and needs to become well established.

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