Use these 6 organic lawn-care strategies now for a lush lawn when the weather warms again.

Raking leaves keeps the lawn looking neat, and prevents bare patches come spring.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—Fall lawn care means more than raking leaves. Darker days notwithstanding, it's not quite time yet to cover up the lawn mower and push it to the back of the garage. In fact, before your organic lawn goes to sleep for the season, there are several fall lawn-care tasks you should be doing to ensure a green, chemical-free landscape come spring. Here are six critical organic lawn-care strategies for doing exactly that, courtesy of Paul J. Tukey, author of The Organic Lawn Care Manual (Storey Publishing, 2007).

#1: Mow lower. With the days growing cooler, it’s safe to lower your mower blade from about 3 or more inches to 2½ inches. While a key organic lawn-care tactic is to keep the blade high so the grass will produce more nutrients, that's not as important in the winter, when grass is dormant. Drop the blade to 2 inches for your final mowing, which is usually in early November for most parts of the country. “If you leave the grass too high heading into winter,” says Tukey, “you may be creating a nice haven for field mice, which can damage the lawn.”

#2: Fill in any thin spots. Planting new grass seed to thicken thin areas is a fall lawn-care chore, says Tukey. In the spring, the soil tends to heat up too fast, drying out the roots before they get a chance to develop. To ensure excellent seed-to-soil contact, be sure to scratch the soil with a bamboo rake or mechanical machine known as a dethatcher before you scatter the seed. Cover with a light layer of compost or healthy soil to increase the germination rate. Then water the area frequently to keep the new seed moist while it germinates.