By Phran Novelli

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Brown patches. Bare spots. All those weeds. By now, lots of lawns are looking a little seedy. The good news is that fall is a great time to repair, refresh and reinvigorate your grass so that it can be healthier come spring and have a better chance of surviving next summer.

You can reseed those spots that the doggie burned out and those paths that the kids wore away as they played – the soil is still warm in autumn but the air is cooler, helping grass establish good roots to give it a head start before winter. You can also overseed your entire lawn to create competition that can really help crowd out weeds next year.

One of the easiest ways to feed your grass throughout the growing season is to use a mulching mower – the fine clippings left on the ground turn into nutrients your lawn needs. As autumn leaves fall, mulching them to bits and leaving those on the lawn is one of the best fertilizers you could ever buy – except it’s free.