Lawn care in Autumn

It has certainly been a beautiful weekend and the good weather seems to have continued as we near the end of August. However we all know the inevitable change in the seasons isn’t far away. So here are a 5 suggestions to ready your lawn for the long hard winter.

Scarifying Lawn

There are specific machines for this but you could just pick yourself up a grass rake and put some effort in. You are trying to free up the lawn, whether that’s a bit of thatch, a touch of moss or some other disease that might take hold this winter. Technically you’re supposed to keep this up right through the year but we know when the sun comes out our attention shifts to the BBQ and beers rather than the state of your grass.

Aeration

Then you need to let the air get in about the grass roots by aerating it. Depending on the scale of your garden you could just use a fork to spike the ground, (the aim is to space them out 10cm apart). This enables the roots to breath and creates a gap to add the top dressing.

Top dressing

Then follow this up by sweeping in a top dressing. This can vary on the composition however you are looking for a balance of 5 parts of sand; 2 parts top soil and 1 part compost. You could use that compost you have been building up over the last two years in your leaf pen. Otherwise nip down to the garden centre and get yourself a good bag of nutrients

Lawn Repairs

Now is the perfect time to locate the humps and bumps, swells and hollows that have annoyed you all summer and do something about them. Just slice in and peal back the lawn to reveal either the gap that needs filling or the bump that needs flattening. Roll back the turf, surround with your top dressing and water thoroughly.

Grass Cutting

There is still time for a few cuts in preparation for hibernation. Make sure you raise the level of your blades. There is no need to scalp the grass this late on, it won’t grow back as well and you will start to get a patchy lawn. Remember to compost those cuttings though. Will be perfect for next years top dressing.

Autumn Grass Care

So there is still plenty of time to prepare your lawn for the onslaught of winter. Just follow these simple steps and you’ll avoid the horror show of re-laying your disease ridden moss-filled lawn come the spring.

If you’d like some advice just get in touch with us here.