Lawn Treatment
Having a nice looking Lawn is a commodity that most home owners desire in their gardens, but don’t necessarily have the know how to make this happen. In this handy ‘how to’ guide, we will try and simplify the process to start making your grass the talk of the street (or the family bbq!)
End of Summer – Late August/September
It seems counter intuitive to begin the guide at the end of the summer, but for your lawn to look its best the following summer, the hard work starts here!
As the days start to draw in, a renovation is needed to remove the dead material that has built up on your lawn over the summer – known as a ‘thatch’ layer. Scarification, effectively scratching/ripping the grass out of the lawn sounds dramatic, but this will free up space in your lawn to promote healthier growth, as well as the new seed you will put down.
You can hire a scarifier, or additionally you can use a rake to lift those dead/weak grasses out of your soil. Following this, you would collect these arisings to leave a clean and tidy surface.
Once this is completed, you have the option of verti-draining or spiking. This is punching holes in the ground to open up the surface, promote air around the roots, and new seed channels for a good uptake of new grass. Again, you can hire a machine to do this, or alternatively you can use a garden fork to the same effect.
Now you can seed your lawn. We recommend the Battersby Pro Sport Renovation mix, which has 4 different types of ryegrass in a bag. These ryegrasses produce a lovely fine leaf and a beautiful green finish.
The recommended application rate is 20-35g per sq m, so 1kg of seed will cover between 30-70 square metres dependant on which application rate you use. You can lightly brush the seed into those newly punched holes to ensure the birds don’t get to them.
The 70/30 Top dressing can also be applied to help improve the drainage of your lawn, protect that seed from the animals, as well as re-establishing your levels – 1 bag covers an area of 12.5 sq m.
You may also want to fertilise your lawn to help those new seedlings develop, and for your existing grass to recover after you renovation. A pre seed fertiliser such as Battersby 6-9-6, or the Growmore 7-7-7 will give that lawn a boost in no time.
Once the new grass is established then a cut may be needed to ensure there isn’t excessive growth for you to come back to in the spring (if you leave the grass too long, then you may end up with some thick stalky grass, which is difficult to get rid of!)
October – February
Cutting should continue for as long as you are seeing consistent and regular growth – this can sometimes be into November!
An autumn/winter fertiliser can also be applied to help strengthen up the roots underneath – this may be particularly useful if you have some budding footballers using the lawn in the summer months! The 3-6-8+Fe will also combat any moss build up, especially if your lawn is in shade during the winter months.
If you have some areas that are thin after seeding, then our Coldstart mix will germinate in soil temperatures as low as 5c and help fill in those areas (and keep those pesky weeds out)
If you encounter any frosty mornings, then make sure you stay off the grass, as stepping on it whilst frozen can cause untold damage to the cell wall of the plant (and leave very ungainly footprint shaped marks!)
March – May
As temperatures start to rise and daylight hours lengthen, your grass will slowly start to awaken from its winter hiatus. A light scarification/verti-cut will help remove any dead grass as we enter the growing season. A feed of 4-0-4+4%fe will help combat any moss accumulation, whilst helping kick start some growth.
Mowing should start taking place more regularly during this period. If you have any weeds on your lawn, then Enforcer, which is a selective herbicide will work to remove all the weeds invading your lawn (for best results, use on a dry/drying day!) We also stock Lawn Clear, which is an easy to use herbicide spray for a lawn that has the odd aberration on it.
June – August
The growing season is in full swing at this point, so regular verti-cutting and mowing should be taking place. If you have any bare areas then these can be overseeded using the Pro Renovation mix.
If you want the lawn looking particularly nice for a family event, or a garden party, then the 11-5-5 Spring and Summer fertiliser will be ideal. Just apply this before some rain is due and watch the results as you see a flush of green growth ready for the event.
If we experience a dry spell, then an application of water either early in the morning, or late in the evening will help prevent your lawn from suffering from heat stress. If we are under drought conditions, or there are restrictions on water usage, then please adhere to them! Reduce the amount you cut the grass if this is the case as this will help allow your lawn to deal with the situation as best as it can.
And just like that we are back at the start of the end of summer – make sure the renovation is a good one!