The coming of the summer months heralds a period of severe wear and tear for the average family lawn. Children playing in the garden, barbecues, garden parties, outdoor sports and generally more garden based activity means your lawn is set to come in for something of a beating.
Grass is is a living thing and like all living things, if you stomp all over them for a couple of months they start looking a little worse for wear. However, with a little piece of tender loving care you can keep your lawn looking great!
Fertiziling
For a thicker, greener, faster-growing lawn you can't beat a bit of fertilizer. Test your soil type and choose a fertilizer to best compliment this for best results. Most lawns will benefit from around three to four applications of fertilizer throughout the year - one around a month before the growing season starts to give your lawn a kickstart and then up to three more around two months apart can yield good results. You can fertilize by hand or use a specialist spreader for more even coverage, using a drop spreader for small lawns or a rotary spreader for larger areas.
After fertilizing it is usually a good idea to water-in the fertilizer or plan to add fertilizer before expected rainfall unless otherwise stated in the usage instructions. The important thing with fertiliser is to follow the manufacturer recommendations and not be tempted to over-do it. Too much fertiliser is not a good thing and can lead to fungus and over-growth and weakened grass. Keep to the guidelines and you'll get that lush, thick green grass you wanted.
Watering
Of particular importance during the hot, dry summer months or if you live in a particularly dry region, is regular watering of your lawn. Water early in the morning or in the late afternoon for best results. Try to avoid watering in the evening as soaking grass over-night can increase the risk of turf disease and mid-day watering when the sun is hottest increases evaporation and water wastage. Over-watering is also something to avoid, don't just water for the sake of it and ensure if you use a sprinkler you do actually get out there and move it around rather than letting big puddles form while other areas of the lawn go untouched. Too much surface water can starve the roots of oxygen and lead to the same symptoms (leaf rolling) as lack of water.
Knowing when to water is also important and there are a few simple tests you can do to know if your lawn needs irrigation. Look for rolling and curling of the leaves and the slightly blue-ish tinge which comes when grass is being starved of water. Also, try the footprint test - stepping on a healthy lawn should see it spring back into position quickly but if your lawn is slow to react and particularly if footprints are still visible hours later then it's time to water.
Lawn Mowing
The key here is lawn "mowing" not lawn "scalping"! Everyone needs to mow their lawn but mowing correctly is something which many miss the boat on. To take good care of your lawn you need to ensure you are mowing with sharp lawn mower blades so you cut rather than tear the grass and ensure you do not set the blades too low as you do not want to cut it back lower than a recommended healthy level for that particular type of grass. Cutting too low on a regular basis is the easiest way to do fast, lasting damage to your lawn.
If your lawn has become overgrown then cut in two or more passes rather than trying to take it right down to the length you want straight away and never cut grass when it is wet. Clippings may be left as a free nutrient or raked as you please if you do not have a lawn mower with a grass collector. Left clippings do not automatically lead to thatch, this is only occurs when there is too much dead organic matter to be broken down.
Edges are something lawn mowers can not handle but a simple pair of long handled shears will make short work of tidying them up. Strimmers are a simple solution for cutting around obstacles such as trees and immovable garden structures.
Lawn Aeration
Like all living things, a lawn needs to breath. Aeration of your lawn is important as it allows oxygen, water and fertilizer to penetrate through to the roots more easily and improves drainage. If your garden is in regular use then your lawn will undoubtedly being to suffer from soil compaction. When this happens, drainage is reduced and it becomes harder for roots to penetrate deep into the soil. Things like earthworm activity help break down the soil but compacted soil generally needs a little helping hand.
Basic lawn aeration can be achieved with the use of a simple garden fork by driving the fork into the lawn at regular intervals. For larger gardens or for more effective aeration you can buy or hire specialised lawn aeration tools which are typically simple lawn mower style rollers but with spikes instead of blades to spike down into the soil.
An aerator should be used in the autumn months to de-compact soil after the traditional beating a lawn gets during summer.
Thatch and Scarification
Scarifying or raking your lawn is an essential part of a good spring and autumn lawn maintenance routine. Raking removes thatch, the accumulation of dead and decaying organic matter like leaves and old grass clippings from around the base of the grass stems. Scarification improves the drainage and allows more air and water to penetrate to the roots as well as lowering the risk of lawn disease. Before scarifying a lawn you should ensure there are no moss growths as this will only help to spread the moss around, kill the moss first, then scarify. Scarifying a lawn can be done by hand by raking on small gardens whilst larger lawns might require a power lawn scarifier machine which can be bought or hired for the purpose.
Removing Worm Casts
Worms are the gardener's best friend...unless your lawn is your pride and joy. Worm casts are those unsightly piles of mud which appear on the surface of your lawn and left to their own devices may encourage moss and weed growth. Removal is simple during dry weather, just wait until they are dry and brush or rake them away but during prolonged wet periods you may just have to put up with them. Use of acidic fertilizers may discourage worms from coming to the surface but for most gardeners just consider worms are your friend, they help aerate the soil and drag organic matter from the soil surface into their burrows thus making the soil a richer growing environment.
Article copyright Mark Falco, webmaster of ukgardeningsupplies.co.uk where you can find lawn care and gardening equipment including lawn mowers, lawn scarifiers, garden tools and lawn care accessories available for UK delivery. Reproduction of this article is permitted so long as this resource box is included, it remains unchanged and all links remain active and clickable.
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