Autumn Lawn Care

The lawn is the focus point to every garden so it’s important to always have it looking as good as it possibly can when it comes to the colder months.

In summer the warm weather dries out the grass so it is always best to give it some extra attention when it gets to October time, this not only revitalises it but also makes sure it will last out the harsh winter conditions.

Clean It Up

It’s important to start off by having a complete clean-up of the lawn surface. That means removing any debris and leaves and also clearing any moss.

Moss is often found under shaded areas, in order to remove it spread a moss killer across the lawn and in around two week it should have completely died.

Now rake the entire surface to get rid of any moss and also remove the build-up of dead grass which lies on the top of the lawn (this is also known as thatch).

Thatch encourages the growth of weeds and moss while also stopping the lawn draining properly which is an essential part of lawn maintenance.

How to improve drainage

Drainage is very important in the autumn and winter months, two ways to improve it are:

• Put holes in the lawn by pushing a garden folk in to it and moving it backwards and forwards. This is called aeration, do this all the way along the lawn surface making the holes about 10cm apart. This allows better drainage while also allowing more air to get to the roots.
• Make sure to regularly rake the lawn so that debris doesn’t stop the lawn from draining.

Feeding

To really give your lawn a lift, use an autumn lawn fertiliser to replenish and nourish the roots. It’s important to have healthy roots for the grass leaves to develop properly.

The reason there is different types of fertiliser for spring and autumn is because the change in weather conditions means the lawn will benefit from different things. For example spring fertiliser encourages the grass to grow soft whereas winter fertiliser contains phosphates to help strong growth which is needed to withstand the cold conditions and frost.

Other tips

Now your lawn should be tidy and ready to face winter, here are a few more easy tips to follow which will go a long way in the upkeep of a good looking lawn:

• Remove trees and bushes that cause shaded areas as this is where moss will start to grow
• Rake regularly to remove debris
• Avoid walking on the lawn when frozen over as this can cause damage

Published October 18th, 2013 by Jordan. Article ref 1338

Tags: autumn, garden, grass, lawn

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