Caring for Your Lawn
Routine Lawn Care Tasks
In caring for your lawn, you need to keep on top of some tasks by repeating them on a weekly basis and sometimes even more often.
Mowing
Frequency of mowing varies throughout the year and to some extent with the weather. Your lawn may need to be cut two or even three times a week at the height of the growing season, but more like once a week at other times. It is rare that a lawn needs cutting over winter unless it is exceptionally mild when the occasional light cut may be appropriate.
The aim of mowing is to keep the lawn looking tidy, whilst leaving behind enough grass such that the plants are not starved of energy. For a fine lawn, you should set the blades of the mower to no less than half an inch high. For lawns intended for tougher use the height should be more like three quarters of an inch.
Avoid mowing when the grass is very wet since you risk damaging the grass plants and leaving yourself with more work to clean the mud and clippings from your mower. Ideally, use a mower that collects the clippings, which can be mixed with other garden rubbish and used on the compost heap.
The final appearance of your lawn depends on the type of lawnmower and the technique you adopt for mowing. If you prefer the formal striped look, you will need a cylinder mower, preferably with a rear roller. You then walk with the mower alternately up and down the lawn, keeping the lines as straight as possible.
Weeding
Sooner or later, and typically sooner, you will have to deal with weeds in your lawn. If you allow them to invade you will find the task of clearing them to be truly daunting, so frequent weeding and catching them young is the best advice.
The worst offenders are those weeds whose leaves tend to grow below the level at which you normally mow the lawn. Consequently, they are able to recover from any damage they suffer when you cut the grass.
In general, good lawn care tends to discourage the growth of weeds but is not sufficient of itself to eliminate them.
The easiest solution is to use one of the weed killers that are specifically formulated for use on lawns. There are a number of techniques that these employ to distinguish between the narrow leaved grass plants and the broader leaves of most weeds.
From a safety point of view, you need to take care in how you use and handle these substances, ensuring you wash your hands thoroughly after use and before handling food. Safe storage is also very important, particularly when children are around.
The alternative to weed killer is to dig out the weeds by hand. With care you may be able to use a trowel or you can purchase tools that are specifically designed to remove deep-rooted weeds with minimum damage to the surrounding lawn.
It is best to dispose of weed material by burning rather than adding to the compost heap where some may survive to cause more trouble when you come to use the compost on other parts of the garden.
Annual Lawn Care Tasks
In caring for your lawn, there are some more arduous tasks which, thankfully, you usually only need to tackle once in a year.
Aerating
This is one of a number of tasks that are best undertaken in early autumn when the ground is moist but not too wet or cold. The objective is to open up the lawn to improve drainage and allow air to get to the roots of the grass.
You can go all over the lawn pushing a garden fork in as far as it will go and then moving the handle a short distance back and forth to open up the holes. Don't overdo the rocking or you will create small ridges in the lawn. Alternatively, hollow tined spikers are available that cut out cores of soil from the lawn and are considered by many to do a better job than a fork.
This can be quite arduous and time-consuming work, so if you have a bigger lawn or if you shy away from the manual labour, you can purchase or hire a machine that will make light work of the task.
The aim is to cover the lawn with holes that will be filled with a little top dressing but will help the lawn survive the winter and look at its best the following spring.
Edging
Over the year, lawn edges tend to get a little ragged, which is detrimental to the overall appearance. Perhaps once a year, usually after the first mowing in spring, you should ensure the lawn edges are perfectly straight by placing a straight plank of wood along the edge of the lawn and, whilst standing on the plank, use a half moon edging iron to achieve a clean straight edge.
It should not normally be necessary to repeat this action. In fact, if you do it too often, you will find the area of your lawn is gradually shrinking and the borders getting wider.
For the rest of the year, the edges of the lawn can be kept in trim using a pair of long handled edging shears each time you mow the lawn. If your lawn is very big, you may decide that a powered edging machine is worth the additional expense.
Preparing for Winter
Once the warm weather is past, it's tempting to spend less time in the garden and ignore - even neglect - the lawn.
This is a big mistake, particularly if you continue to walk over the grass, to hang out the washing for example. Winter can be a tough time for grass and you need to give it the best chance of surviving unscathed through to the following year.
If neglected, the lawn is likely to look thin and straggly during the winter, so a good habit is to spread additional seed during each autumn. If you have a large area of lawn, it will probably be worth investing in a seed spreader, which will make the job easier and result in more even distribution of the seed.
The fresh seed needs to be well watered in over the following few weeks to ensure it has chance to germinate. After a year or two of this, the lawn will be significantly thicker, which will help it to weather the wear and tear of winter, help smother any weeds and generally look healthier and more inviting throughout the year.
If you have surrounding trees that shed their leaves on the lawn, you need to rake them up from time to time. Small quantities can be added to the compost heap but if there are plenty of leaves, you can convert them into leaf mould as mentioned under "Organic Gardening - Productive Soil"
You should also feed your lawn in late autumn, using fertilizer that is specifically formulated for autumn/winter. Rather than stimulating shoot growth, this should have the effect of strengthening the roots in preparation for new growth the following spring.
As with any other part of the garden, your lawn will benefit from the addition of organic matter. Obviously this should not be applied too thick but should be shredded fine so that it can easily penetrate the grass and get down to the soil. If it is available, peat moss can be used for this purpose, otherwise shredded dried leaves is a good alternative.
Spring Lawn Treatment
Coming out of winter, your lawn may still be wet and feel spongy when you walk on it. This is not a good time to be working on the grass, as you are likely to compact the soil. It is better to be patient until the lawn begins to feel somewhat drier.
Over the winter your lawn has probably not received much attention and the grass may be looking a little squashed and compacted.
The way to deal with this is to go over the lawn lightly with a spring tine rake to remove any debris and to help the grass stand upright again. Now is not the time to start mowing the lawn.
You also need to give the lawn a good feed. Rather like some animals hibernate over winter and waken up ravenous in early spring, so your lawn needs feeding to get off to a good start.
If the grass has been walked on during the winter months, the chances are that the soil has become compacted and therefore may need to be aerated, particularly if it wasn't done the previous autumn. You can use a tool purpose made for the job or use a garden fork, though you should be warned that this could be a tedious and backbreaking job.
If you have a large area of grass then you may be wise to buy or hire a powered lawn aerator or, if your budget doesn't allow you to do this, then define areas of the lawn that of a size that you can cope with and aerate them in turn over a number of seasons.
Finally, if there are any bald patches in your lawn or areas that are a bit thin, then Spring is a good time to sow some grass seed, which will help to thicken up the grass for the coming year. Try to choose a seed mix that will match the existing lawn as closely as possible.
The start of the growing season is also a good time to examine your lawn for weeds that have escaped previous efforts to eliminate them. The most effective treatment, particularly for persistent offenders such as dandelions, is to dig them out, though you may prefer to use a selective lawn weed killer.
Alongside all these activities, you also need to prepare your lawnmower for the coming season. It may need sharpening and/or servicing but it is worth getting it in tip-top condition before it is needed on a regular basis.
The first few cuts needs to be high – probably as high as your mower adjustment will allow. This allows the grass plants to get off to a good start for the coming summer months of heavy use.
Ad-hoc Lawn Care Tasks
There are some tasks that need to be done from time to time in order to keep your lawn in a healthy condition and repair any damage that occurs.
Feeding
You need to feed your lawn on a regular basis from spring through to autumn. Fertilizers come in a variety of forms including granules to be spread by hand or with a small spreader, liquid to be watered in and powder that is used in special hosepipe adaptors that dissolve and distribute the feed as you water the lawn.
You should opt for whichever method is most convenient for you though you may have to use some trial and error to help make up your mind.
Fertilizers themselves come in two broad groups - organic and synthetic. Organic fertilizers are generally considered to be superior and better for the environment, but they tend to be a little more expensive. Again, you may find some brands are more suited than others to your local conditions. Discussing with other gardeners in your locality can be a valuable source of advice, particularly those whose lawns are well looked after with a healthy appearance.
Look at the recommended coverage rates on the packet when buying. You need sufficient for your size of lawn and perhaps for a number of applications but beware of buying too much since it can lose its potency if stored for too long.
Feeds for summer spreading tend to be rich in nitrogen, whereas autumn and winter feeds are heavy on the potash and phosphate, with less nitrogen.
Take care not to over feed or you may end up scorching the lawn and even doing harm that will take time, effort and money to repair. If you observe the instructions on the packet you are unlikely to go far wrong.
Reseeding
If areas of the lawn have been damaged, you may need to do some reseeding. Try to obtain seed that matches the existing grasses.
For small areas you can broadcast the seed by hand. Generally speaking, it is better to spread the seed thinly and then go over the area a second time if you think it necessary. This approach usually results in a more even coverage.
For a larger area, it may be better to use a spreader, which will make lighter work and ensure a more consistent job.
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