A healthy, green, lush lawn is the centrepiece of the garden. A bit of maintenance at the right time will ensure a great looking lawn all summer.
Feed the Lawn
April marks the start of the growing season and a good feed will set the lawn up for the summer. In addition to making the grass look lovely and green, a feed will encourage it to grow strongly to fill any gaps, smother out weeds and stand up to vigorous use over the summer. When choosing a lawn feed in April be sure to choose one specific for Spring use. Spring and Summer lawn care products contain more nitrogen than Autumn grass feed to encourage a nice green, leafy growth. One point to consider, if it is a particularly late or cold start to Spring, make sure to wait until the threat of frost subsides to ensure the best results.
Mow The Lawn
Once the weather has allowed for growth, make sure to mow the lawn at least once a fortnight. In milder weather once a week. Regular mowing is one of the most important practices for keeping the lawn healthy. Grasses are like most plants – clipping the growing points will encourage a thick dense growth, turning thousands of individual grass plants into a tightly woven lawn.
Remove Moss and Weeds
Once mowing has started you’ll notice if any moss or weeds have taken up residence. You could use a liquid weed or moss killer and apply it diluted using a watering can, but that’s best for small or isolated patches. A better option is to use a product that combines a lawn fertilizer with a treatment for moss and weeds. A dual-purpose product will give the grass a boost and encourage it to spread and fill in the gaps where clumps of moss and weeds have been killed. If the use of chemicals is out of the question, with a bit of effort the weeds can be dug out and moss scratched or scraped out with a strong wire rake.
Overseed Bare Patches
Bare patches in a lawn will quickly fall victim to various passing weed seeds so it’s best to do something about them. If the grass is thinning rather than bare, it should thicken up with feeding. If there is a patch with little or no grass the answer is to overseed the area. When overseeding, scrape the patch over with a fork or rake to loosen the soil. Mix a handful of seed with compost and sprinkle it over the area. Water the seed/compost area well and mark the spot with sticks (if you can be bothered) to keep people off. Avoid mowing over the area until the seed has sprouted to about 4cm. Once the new growth has reached 4cm. give it a little haircut with shears before mowing as usual.