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 Is
your lawn not looking its best?
You should always try to do some routine
lawn maintenance on your lawn at least once a year. The majority of
the work should take place in autumn but you may wish to add a
spring and/or summer feed if the weather is cool and the soil
moist.
The Gardening Register is pleased to provide your guide to lawn maintenance
which will help you to keep your lawn looking its best throughout the year.
This comprehensive guide details the steps to take to lay a
new lawn from
turf or seed. If you already have a lawn but it has broken or damaged areas, we
will tell you how to repair it and if you have other
lawn problems or pests the
guide will help you identify and deal with them.
To get you going here is a quick checklist to good lawn
maintenance:
-
Mow
the lawn, but not too short, then mow it again at right
angles to the first cut
-
Rake thoroughly with a spring-tine rake to
remove any grass which has not been collected as well as any
thatch which has developed over the year. This process
is known as
scarifying. If you have a large area of lawn powered
scarifiers, or lawn rakes, are available. If carried out in
the spring don't be too vigorous as the lawn may not
recover.
-
Every two to three years
aerate by spiking all over with a garden fork. For clay
or waterlogged soils use a hollow-tine aerator which
extracts plugs of soil from the lawn
-
Top-dress with a sandy mixture working in well with the
back of a rake
-
Apply an autumn lawn fertiliser following the
instructions on the pack
-
In the Spring (late March or April) feed the
lawn with a spring/summer lawn fertiliser
-
During the summer you can reapply the
spring/summer lawn fertiliser if required. Ensure the
weather is cool and moist and do not apply after August
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