Mitch Baker: As the hot summer months come to an end we're all looking at our lawns and seeing some of the typical signs of summer stress. Now this would not be the time to think about doing a lawn renovation, but it is the time to take some steps in preparation. Apply some lime to your lawn and high calcium lime would be the form that we want to apply that will set the stage for over-seeding and fertilizing later in the fall.

It's also the time to get some of the weeds under control, because of the hot weather and the dry weather, lawns slow down and the weeds take over. Now you can hand dig some of these weeds, the big broad leaf weeds, or you can spot treat with an herbicide. It's also a great time to apply compost tea. In fact, compost tea is one of the best things we can do for our lawns this time of the year.

Compost tea is a liquid compost extract that contains all the essential elements of compost, but in a convenient easy to apply liquid form. So you can use a hose-end applicator and you can cover several thousand square feet in a short period of time, and compost tea stimulates the biology in the soil, it replaces some of the essential micronutrients, as well as major nutrients, before we fertilize.

So with a few simple steps, your lawn can look great for the upcoming fall season if you put the work in now.