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At this time of year, the lawn is actively growing
and requires feeding, moss-killing, weeding and regular mowing. Spring is also
a suitable time to over-seed sparse areas.
All lawns
need feeding in order to maintain vigour. When feeding, look out for signs of
pest or disease and apply moss killer if required. Regular maintenance is the
best way to approach a lawn, and may avoid the need for renovation later on.
Over
winter the lawn does not grow much, but once the weather warms up in early
spring you can start mowing, and this is also a good time to over-seed any
areas damaged over winter.
Mowing
This is
the most obvious, and one of the most important, maintenance task over spring
and summer. Mowing regularly keeps the lawn in good health. Cutting the grass
fortnightly from mid-March until November (around 16 cuts a year) to maintain a
healthy sward.
Adjust
the cutting height and mowing frequencies to match grass vigour and ground
conditions. Lower the cutting height gradually during the spring until a
cutting height of around 25 mm is reached. During periods of drought raise the
height of the cut or postpone cutting to avoid stressing the lawn
Killing moss
Moss is a
problem in damp, poorly drained lawns. Spring is a good time to remedy moss
problems. There are
several options for dealing with moss in lawns, either using cultivation or by
chemical means.
Remove
loose moss in autumn, by scarification (vigorous raking). On small lawns this
can be done by hand, raking out the moss with a spring-tine rake, but on larger
lawns mechanical scarifiers can be hired.
For chemical control use a
moss killer containing sulphate of iron in spring or early autumn. When
the moss blackens after two or three weeks use a spring-tine rake to remove it. Apply mosskillers either by
hand or with a push-along spreader.
Be careful not to apply lawn sand (ferrous
sulphate mixed with a carrier) at too high a rate as this can blacken and kill
the grass as well as the moss. Apply lawn mosskillers in fine weather. Some
require watering after 48 hours if there has been no rain. Check pack for
details.
Mosskillers combined with a
fertiliser are beneficial where grass vigour is low.
Feeding
In
mid-spring use a proprietary spring or summer lawn fertiliser at the
manufacturer’s recommended rates. Feeding the lawn will increase vigour and
help prevent weeds and moss from establishing. Apply fertilisers when the soil
is moist, or when rain is expected.
If grass
loses its vigour and freshness between late spring and late summer, repeat the
application of spring or summer lawn fertiliser or apply 15g per sq m sulphate
of ammonia mixed with four times its weight dry soil. Mixing with soil ensures
even distribution and avoids scorching the grass. Apply this mixture in cool,
moist conditions and lightly water it in. As an organic alternative, use
chicken manure pellets. Repeat fertiliser application a third time if needed
six to eight weeks later.
Do not
apply spring or summer lawn fertilisers, chicken manure pellets or
sulphate of ammonia after August. They contain too much nitrogen for autumn
use, encouraging green leafy growth at the wrong time of year, when it could be
damaged by winter cold or pests and disease.
Over-seeding
After
moss or weeds have been removed, or where grass is growing sparsely,
over-seeding may be necessary. Early autumn is the best time for this job, but
mid-spring is also suitable.
- Break up the surface with a
fork and rake it to make a reasonably fine surface.
- Sow grass seed at half the
recommended rate or, where there are no recommendations, at 10-15g per sq
m.
- Lightly rake to incorporate
the seed into the surface.
- Where birds are a problem,
net the area.
- If the weather remains dry
for two or three days water gently with a sprinkler.
- Grass should sprout seven to
10 days after sowing.
In
heavily used areas, choose a hardwearing utility mix containing ryegrass. Most
lawn grasses do not thrive in shade, so for these areas choose a shade-tolerant
mix.
Waterlogging
Lawns
can become waterlogged if water sits on the surface and drains slowly.
Waterlogging is more likely to be a problem on compacted and clay soils.
Pricking or slitting the surface
can improve a waterlogged lawn. Shallow, 2-3 cm, pricking or slitting will
help. However, deeper spiking is better, especially with a tool
designed to leave holes 10-15 cm deep. These
holes can be filled with a free-draining material, such as proprietary lawn top
dressings or horticultural sand. This allows the water to flow from the
surface to deeper, less compacted layers
Hand
spiking tools are available for the purpose, but an ordinary garden fork can be
used. Alternatively, for larger lawns, use powered tools. Try a hollow tiner,
which has hollow spikes and removes plugs of soil that are then swept
up and removed.
Pricking
and slitting are best carried out once the excess water has drained away,
especially where machinery is to be used. In small areas where standing water
persists, sweep it off the lawn and into the beds before spiking with a hand
spiking tool or garden fork
If your
lawn is prone to waterlogging, spike it every few years in autumn. This will
prevent the need for emergency action after wet winters.
Applying
fertiliser in spring will help the grass to recover from winter damage and to
grow more extensive root systems that are better able to withstand drought and
flooding
Feeding
in autumn with a lawn feed, rich in phosphorus, promotes good root growth
Wet soils
and dead patches allow mosses to thrive in the lawn over winter. Remove these
with a proprietary moss killer to allow the lawn to thrive.
Dogs
Dogs can
cause unsightly patches on lawns, especially if they frequent the usual
spot. This is because their urine
contains high levels of nitrogen which damages the lawn and causes small, characteristic
brown patches. Lawns that are
suffering from drought, disease, or are newly sodded or seeded are more
susceptible to lawn burn.
Reduce
the stress on your lawn by not over or under fertilising and by watering
frequently. Encourage
your dog to use less conspicuous areas to urinate in. If practical you can dilute
the nitrogen in the soil by watering in the affected areas shortly after your
dog has visited.
Watering
Even if
lawns turn brown and dry over summer, they usually recover well when rains
return. Watering is usually not necessary over summer.
Looking after new lawns
Avoid
using new lawns heavily in their first season.
Newly
laid lawns can be fed like established lawns. They need watering, but should
not be over watered, as this may result in shallow rooting and poor
establishment.
Problems
When
over-seeding the lawn, it can be difficult to match the colour of a new seed
mix with your existing lawn. In such circumstances it may be necessary to
over-seed the whole lawn to achieve uniformity of colour and texture.
Areas of
dry shade, such as under trees, become sparse very quickly despite adequate
care. Consider over-seeding on an annual basis to maintain a dense sward.
However, in very shady or high traffic areas grass just will not thrive and
replacing grass with paving, gravel or bark mulch may give better results.
Spring is
a good time to repair damage to lawns caused by pests, diseases or mechanical
damage.
