Fall & Winter
Snow mold on Minnesota lawns last spring: what to change this fall
Snow mold hit many Minnesota lawns last spring. Learn the fall changes that reduce it: final mowing height, leaf handling, and fertilizer timing.
Your Fall Seeding Browned in the Cold. Does It Need More Fertilizer?
New grass that looks brown after a cold snap is usually dormant, not hungry. Why more fertilizer now does more harm than good, and how to tell whether seedlings are alive.
Jack · golf course superintendent·2 min read·October 5, 2026
You put seed down in September. It came up, looked great, and then a couple of frosty nights later it looks brown and sad. The bag of fertilizer in the garage is calling your name.
Put it back. In most cases, browned new grass in fall doesn't need more fertilizer.
Why it browns
Cool-season grass slows down and starts going dormant as days get shorter and nights get colder. Young seedlings are thin and have little stored energy, so frost and wind can burn the tips. That's often cosmetic. Dormant isn't dead.
How to tell if it's alive
Get down on your knees. Gently pull back the brown blades.
- Green or white at the base, firm roots: alive. It's dormant or frost-nipped.
- Mushy, slimy, or pulls up with no roots: that seedling is gone. Usually because of drowning, disease, or seeding too late.
Check a few spots. It's normal for some seedlings not to make it.
Why more fertilizer now is a bad idea
- Seedlings that are going dormant can't use it. The fertilizer sits there until it washes away.
- Fast-release nitrogen now pushes soft new growth right before winter. Soft growth is more likely to get hurt by cold and snow mold.
- It doesn't fix the real problem. If the soil is too cold for growth, food won't help.
If you used a starter fertilizer at seeding, that was the right move. Your seedlings have what they need for now.
What to do instead
- Keep it moist, not soggy, until the ground freezes.
- Keep leaves off the new grass. A mat of leaves will smother it.
- Stay off it. Frosted grass breaks when you walk on it.
- Mow only if it's tall enough, and with a sharp blade.
- Plan a light feeding in spring once the lawn is actively growing.
For the established parts of your lawn, a late-fall feeding has its place. See late-fall fertilizer. That's a different situation from struggling new seed.
If too many seedlings died
Plan to fill in thin spots by dormant seeding later, or next August. See dormant seeding in November.
Keep reading
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