March 24th, 2020 by Sarah Miles

As the evenings get lighter and better weather is on the horizon, spring is a great time for giving our gardens a spruce up to get them ready to be used again. Lawn care is a big part of that and offering it some attention now will certainly pay dividends in the coming months. A beautiful, well-maintained lawn will do more to make your garden look lovely than anything else.

Here is a guide to spring lawn care that you can start doing now:

Scarifying

Scarification is the removal of organic matter, such as dead grass, lawn clippings and moss, from around the stem of the grass plant. A new lawn doesn’t need scarifying, in fact you can do more harm than good, but if your lawn is well established then it’s a good idea to do this around once a year, either in spring or autumn (ideally spring). As well as getting rid of the matter you don’t need, it can ‘rough up’ the soil, giving any grass seed or feed a better chance of penetrating the ground and working well. If you have plenty of elbow grease and time, you can scarify using a rake. If you want to make life a little easier you can use a scarifying machine. These are available as a manual tool or an electric appliance which look very much like a lawnmower. Because you’ll only need to do this once a year, the cheapest option is to hire one for the day or weekend.

Mowing

Chances are you probably haven’t mowed the grass in quite a while as it doesn’t really grow much over the winter. Once the weather starts to become warmer and we have more hours of sunlight (the number of hours of sunlight actually has more effect on plants and grass than the temperature) you will notice the grass starting to grow again. Now is a great time to begin your mowing routine. Your grass will benefit from regular cutting right through the spring and summer to keep it looking nice.

Grass height is important. You should aim to keep it at the same height all spring; generally around 2.5-4cm high. If it is subject to a lot of wear and tear you might want to increase this this to around 5 cm. Don’t be tempted to cut it too short (perhaps in the hope of being able to leave it longer before mowing again). This can weaken the grass and allow weeds and moss to become established.

Feeding

To get a lush lawn, you need to feed it to give the grass the nutrients it needs to be strong and display that lovely green colour we all want. Strong, healthy grass is better able to fight off pests and disease. The main ingredient that will get your lawn looking lovely is nitrogen because it helps with growth and colouring. A slow release lawn feed such as Pro-Kleen Grass Green provides a high concentration of nitrogen that will keep feeding over the next few months. Iron sulphate will also help as iron promotes a healthy, vibrant lawn and will also suppress worm casts, make your lawn hardier, and remove moss. Try Pro-Kleen Iron Sulphate.

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Treat weeds and moss

When we say ‘treat’ we don’t mean take them out for lunch, we mean kill them! Weeds are the bane of every gardener’s life and nothing can ruin the appearance of a lawn more than weeds and moss. The best way to prevent these appearing is to take care of the health of your grass. Regular mowing and feeding, as outlined above, will minimise weed growth and enable your lawn to fight them off. They are persistent though so if they do make an appearance you can use a weed or moss killer directly on these interlopers.

Patches

You may find that you have some unsightly patches on your lawn where the grass has died. These not only spoil the look of your lawn but create perfect conditions for weeds to establish themselves. A lawn patch repair product will contain grass seed, coir ad slow-release feed. Apply this now to any patches that have appeared over the winter and they’ll be covered in plenty of time for spring evenings and summer parties.

As with all gardening jobs; the effort you put in will be rewarded by the end result and your lawn really is your garden’s centrepiece so give it the attention it deserves.