Lawn throughout the year
Discussion
I know we had an awful summer last year, but I was always left with the impression that my lawn could have looked a whole heap better. Have never really bothered in the past, but as we're trying to get more use out of the garden I though a bit of effort might not go amiss.
A couple of friends have lawn treatment chaps treat their lawns a couple of times a year, but I'd prefer to know what options there are to DIY - I'm sure it can't be too difficult to make it a bit better than it is at present (without becoming obsessive about it).
Can anyone offer a few tips about what I should be doing and when throughout the year?
Thanks in advance.
A couple of friends have lawn treatment chaps treat their lawns a couple of times a year, but I'd prefer to know what options there are to DIY - I'm sure it can't be too difficult to make it a bit better than it is at present (without becoming obsessive about it).
Can anyone offer a few tips about what I should be doing and when throughout the year?
Thanks in advance.
i have success with ours
once spring comes cut it and treat with a quality weed n feed type spinkle on product , once the moss starts to die rake it out , i bought a 2nd hand scarifier machine which pulls out bag fulls of rubbish well worth getting if you can find one you can afford
re seed any bald areas and sprinkle some dirt on top
then once its all tidy i go around with a trigger spray getting the weeds after each cut and use the weed n feed about 3 times over summer
once spring comes cut it and treat with a quality weed n feed type spinkle on product , once the moss starts to die rake it out , i bought a 2nd hand scarifier machine which pulls out bag fulls of rubbish well worth getting if you can find one you can afford
re seed any bald areas and sprinkle some dirt on top
then once its all tidy i go around with a trigger spray getting the weeds after each cut and use the weed n feed about 3 times over summer
Lawncare is one of those things that can consume your whole life if you allow it to! I'm in a similar position to you: for the past few years I've been trying to put in a little bit of extra effort to take my lawn from "s
te" to "not bad", without spending my whole life and/or entire salary on it. But you will have to spend a bit of extra time and money.
Essential equipment:
te" to "not bad", without spending my whole life and/or entire salary on it. But you will have to spend a bit of extra time and money.Essential equipment:
- A decent drop-spreader. I've got the Scotts Evengreen, which is pretty good. One of these allows you to apply feed and/or weedkiller accurately without overdosing and scorching the lawn. Tip: rinse it thoroughly after use, because the feed granules are corrosive and will rust the metal parts rapidly.
- A sprinkler. Useful for watering the lawn in dry spells, and also after applying seed or after feeding. I also bought a simple clockwork water timer, which will shut off the water after a predetermined time. This means you can set the sprinkler for, say, 30 minutes, and forget about it.
- Mowing, obviously. It is better to mow "little and often", never cutting more than a third of the grass length at any one time. I aim to mow twice a week between about March and October-ish. Don't leave it until it looks like it needs it. I do it in the evenings when I get home from work: it's kinder to the lawn because the sun's about to go down.
- Feeding/weeding. The combined "weed & feed" products are pretty good, and the packet tells you what setting to put your spreader on. Don't be tempted to over-dose. Feed about three times during a season: once in spring when the lawn has started growing, again in mid summer, and then a final feeding (with an "Autumn" feed) in late September.
- Watering. Only bother if you get a hot, dry spell. It's far better to water less frequently and give the lawn a really good soaking, rather than giving it a frequent moistening. The latter will not encourage the roots to go deep, and will result in a lawn that's much more sensitive to drying out.
- The autumn "blitz". In late September or early October, I hire a petrol scarifier and a hollow-tine aerator for a weekend. It's a good excuse to play with some man-toys. I scarify (an aggressive action like raking), then aerate (and gather up the cores afterwards), and then over-seed (optional, but recommended). You can use the drop-spreader to apply seed or cast it by hand. Water every day (unless it rains) for a couple of weeks. The lawn will look like crap for a while after scarifying, but will come back stronger.
- If you really want to, you can apply top-dressing during the autumn blitz. But this is quite expensive and hard work. I applied nearly 2 tonnes of it in October 2012, but I won't be doing it this year. I may have applied too much on top of my seed, and got disappointing germination. Might be better to apply the seed on top of the top-dressing. I'd be interested to hear other people's opinions on this point.
Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Monday 18th February 08:46
Great post above - but also have a look at www.lawnsmith.co.uk - all the info and products you'll need on there. My lawn has came on leaps and bounds following the regimen on this site (I use the two season feed system)
+1 for mowing twice a week.
Doing this thickens the roots which also helps crowd out weeds.
I also cut mine on the shortest setting as again, helps keep the roots thick. During the summer it does need a sprinkler on it everynight (ok, might not 'need' it, but its what I do and it looks ok for it).
Before I used to leave it until about mid March for the first hair cut, as I was always told frost could damage it. But I have since found out this is rubbish, and the last couple of years I have started mowing in February (this year in Jan).
Oh one last thing, avoid going to short, too soon. You'll end up shocking the grass and it will turn yellow. This does require patience!
Doing this thickens the roots which also helps crowd out weeds.
I also cut mine on the shortest setting as again, helps keep the roots thick. During the summer it does need a sprinkler on it everynight (ok, might not 'need' it, but its what I do and it looks ok for it).
Before I used to leave it until about mid March for the first hair cut, as I was always told frost could damage it. But I have since found out this is rubbish, and the last couple of years I have started mowing in February (this year in Jan).
Oh one last thing, avoid going to short, too soon. You'll end up shocking the grass and it will turn yellow. This does require patience!
Great link! (Must... not... spend... time... reading... now...)
My lawn looks nothing like this yet, though:
Edited: Just remembered another useful (and cheap) gadget: a clockwork water timer to use with the sprinkler. Now added to my post above.
My lawn looks nothing like this yet, though:
Edited: Just remembered another useful (and cheap) gadget: a clockwork water timer to use with the sprinkler. Now added to my post above.
Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Monday 18th February 08:46
Lawn or nice area of grass? In my opinion there is a world of difference.
A "proper" lawn takes hours of your time and money to really make it good.
For starters you need a cylinder mower with sharp blades to cut the blades
of grass cleanly without damaging the tips. Collect the clippings at all times.
Mow regularly in different directions. As others have stated the use of a
scarifier is essential as is feeding,weed killing,top dressing,watering
when necessary.Also avoid scalping it and keep female dogs off it.
I had a proper lawn once at my old house which was a definite selling point when
the house was put on the market. A secretary of a golf club bought it.
A "proper" lawn takes hours of your time and money to really make it good.
For starters you need a cylinder mower with sharp blades to cut the blades
of grass cleanly without damaging the tips. Collect the clippings at all times.
Mow regularly in different directions. As others have stated the use of a
scarifier is essential as is feeding,weed killing,top dressing,watering
when necessary.Also avoid scalping it and keep female dogs off it.
I had a proper lawn once at my old house which was a definite selling point when
the house was put on the market. A secretary of a golf club bought it.
Edited by mr.man on Monday 18th February 11:02
We have a lawn chap come and feed ours 4 times a year from a well known franchise at first I wasn't so sure if it was worth the cost but a few years in and the lawn is weed free and is the best in the street. I gave it its first cut yesterday on the highest setting our petrol mower had and its looking good even at this time of the year. Well worth the £100 a year we pay the man.
0a said:
What soil do you have, and what "traffic" crosses the lawn? If it's clay and used heavily, you will find a good lawn requires much more work.
The soil seems generally unremarkable, but biased towards clay (nowhere near digging up unfired bricks though).Traffic wise, nothing crosses the front, kids play in the back garden but the garden is large enough to avoid too much wear being concentrated on the same area.
Mr.Man makes a valid point, but...
Feeding the lawn 3 times a year = 1 hour total. It's a really quick job with a drop-spreader.
Mowing twice a week = 1 hour a week (possibly less).
Scarifying, aerating and over-seeding = 1 day a year. And the kids can join in (raking up the cores of earth, collecting up the thatch, etc).
And of course, kids + sprinkler = playtime!
Admittedly, applying top-dressing is a bigger job on a large lawn, and that might be straying into the realms of obsession. But the rest of it needn't take over your life, IMHO.
Feeding the lawn 3 times a year = 1 hour total. It's a really quick job with a drop-spreader.
Mowing twice a week = 1 hour a week (possibly less).
Scarifying, aerating and over-seeding = 1 day a year. And the kids can join in (raking up the cores of earth, collecting up the thatch, etc).
And of course, kids + sprinkler = playtime!
Admittedly, applying top-dressing is a bigger job on a large lawn, and that might be straying into the realms of obsession. But the rest of it needn't take over your life, IMHO.
I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm in the fortunate position to being able to allocate a bit of time to the lawn without it being in any way detrimental to time spent with the kids. Besides which, one of them is a proper grafter and, if I give him the merest hint that there's a project on the go, will want to get stuck in too...
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