Caring for your lawn is essential throughout the year.
As Autumn approaches we recommend examining your lawn or lawns if you have a front and back garden for any signs of wear-and-tear from the summer months. If necessary you may need to treat your lawn.
Applying any necessary treatment in early Autumn allows time for the treatment to take effect before falling temperatures hit and your grass starts to grow less frequently.
Different tasks and treatments may need to be considered depending upon the condition and type of your lawn…
Aeration / aerating
Aerating lawns (alos known as spiking) allows air and water to manoeuvre better down at the root level. It’s simply about getting air in to your soil. Aeration is recommended around every 2 or 3 years. Compact areas of lawn or the areas of grass that are used most often should be concentrated on the most.
Use a garden fork to ‘spike’ small sections of your lawn, with the spiked holes set around 10-15cm apart. The holes should be around the same length deep. For larger lawns consider using specialist tools such as lawn aerator sandals / shoes or a rolling lawn aerator.
Scarifying / raking / de-thatching
The build up of thatch can stop or slow down the penetration of water and fertiliser. Scarifying regularly prevents the build up of thatch – old grass stems, dead moss etc.
Use your rake firmly to remove the build up of thatch. For larger lawns you can purchase specialist tools and attachments for your lawn mower to help.
Top Dressing
It’s advised to follow the procedures above before applying top dressing.
Top-dressing is the application of clay, silt and sand or ‘loam’ as it is known, to a lawn in order to help with surface issues and irregularities. It can also help improve the texture of soil. Which will also help with roots and in turn the thickening of your turf.
Mow the lawn on the short side, separate your top dressing into small batches and apply evenly around your garden lawn. You should aim to have a pile of soil every few metres. Then simply use your garden tools, a spade or the back of a rake to psuh and pull the dressing in to place.
Once you are happy your top dressing is spread evenly throughout your lawn use a stiff garden brush or something similar to work the dressing in to the grass.
The team over at Yard Day also provide some great lawn care tips and strategies for further reading.
