Bring your lawn to life this spring
Hopefully you can recall an article I wrote late last year about preparing your lawn for the winter so it can thrive when spring comes around. Well spring is finally here so hopefully your lawn is in a good shape for the coming months. Unfortunately even after following my own advice, my lawn has suffered from the heavy rain. The soil is very shallow so despite all my preparations it had become rather waterlogged, which has left the lawn rather patchy. This week I thought I would tell you about how I'm going about the recovery and some general spring lawn care tips.
First things first are to remove any weeds and moss from the lawn. It doesn't look great and may be a sign of poor health. Try using a weed killing spring feed, which usually contains ferrus sulphates. To remove moss, run a scarifier over the lawn and you should see a significant difference.
To overcome the patchy areas of the lawn, I have recently over-seeded the lawn. By scattering grass seed over the lawn you can encourage new growth without digging up your existing lawn. Scatter seed all over to minimise the effect of any colour differences and rake it into the surface. You should start to see growth in one to two weeks. When choosing your lawn seed, think carefully about what you use it for. Fine lawn seed looks fantastic but isn't very hard wearing, and if you have areas that are often shaded or subject to heavy use, you will need a seed ideal for these. For my lawn I went with a mixed blend that offers a nicer finish and is somewhat harder wearing.
Regular mowing not only keeps your lawn looking good but it is also good for healthy grass growth. Don't be tempted to dive straight in for the first cut; set your mower to its highest cut and then reduce gradually over subsequent mows until happy (usually around 25mm). This year I'm using a robotic lawnmower which mulches the grass cuttings. Grass is 85% water so by finely mulching grass you return a lot of the nutrients back to the soil. Mow the lawn once a week regularly and maybe twice in the height of summer.
Remember to keep your lawn well watered and to regularly use a quality lawn feed. As always, avoid walking on or mowing wet grass and your lawn shouldn't suffer the same fate as mine.
