Be Prepared: 5 Tips to help put the colour back into your lawn this autumn

This summer is getting hotter and may well result in putting our lawns through some of the very toughest experience they have ever had to face. But grass is one of the most resilient plants on the planet – it is designed by the true expert, Mother Nature, to survive far worse than this! So it follows that working the right way, nature’s way, will get it back to a healthy green the fastest. We just need to understand what’s been happening in the 30+ degree heat, both above and below ground – and then lend a hand to speed up recovery.

So when the conditions are right to start, look at…

SOILS
The combined heat and drought will have shrunk the soil – guaranteed. And grass hates dried and compacted soil. It needs air and water to thrive and maintain strong root systems. So once the heat passes and the soil stops baking, we need to start our autumn renovation below ground with some aeration, because the key to any plant health is good working soil.

But PLEASE don’t follow the advice to go around digging into the lawn with a garden fork! Your mission is to de-compact the soil, not just add some holes and using a solid tined garden fork will NOT achieve this. I cannot understand why we are still encouraged to use this crazy technique. It is back-breaking and delivers almost nil benefit.

Instead, use the tools designed for the job. Hollow-tine aerating forks and machines do exactly what your lawn needs; they remove cores of soil without further compressing what’s left, and this creates those essential small channels for improved root development, water percolation and nutrition longevity.  A machine can aerate a small-medium (250m2) lawn in just 20 minutes.  A hollow tine fork takes longer but is still fine for a small area.

IS THE GRASS DEAD?
What’s the point sorting out the soil if the grass itself has died? Well, believe me that any healthy grass will not have died below ground. The dead brown leaves are simply what happens when it shuts down as the mercury rises and the plants’ own reserves are exhausted. And with your newly de-compacted soil, the autumn rains will soon see green growth reappear. But those dead leaves will have created some excess thatch that we now need to sort out.

So we need to scarify – think of it as an autumnal pruning.

Again, the right tool gives the best results. For small areas you can get by with a wire rake, but it will never prune as well as a powered ‘bladed’ machine. A purpose-designed scarifying machine will slice through the shoots, leaves and stolons, maximising the grass’s ability to regenerate from the re-emerging plants (not ryegrass though, that will always remain as one single plant). So hiring – or even buying – one is a very sound investment!

Of course, some patches here and there may need the addition of new grass, and as you are improving conditions in the soil and on the surface you can also do some overseeding too. Choose between a blend of natural species (bents and fescues, or what is often referred to as a ‘luxury lawn mix’) or a dwarf ryegrass mixture (bent, fescue/rye) for increased wear and tear.

MOSS CONTROL
Whether you are doing a renovation or maintenance scarification, now is the perfect opportunity to apply a moss treatment.  Remember to do this following scarification, not before, so that the moss control product can dehydrate the moss plants at the base of the sward.

POST-HIBERNATION FEAST
It’s possible that your lawn actually stopped growing before the long dry spell. And since then it will have been living off its own food reserves, and will now be very hungry indeed. But what do you feed it? And how much?

Over-feeding should not be too much of an issue this autumn, but in these conditions you should avoid a high nitrogen quick release fertiliser. Instead use a feed that has a small amount of phosphate and potassium, as well as Nitrogen. A well balanced feed for these conditions would be something like Truegrass, that is unique in feeding the soils as well as the grass itself.  A real 2-in-1 product!  This will give you just enough food to last for ten weeks or so (depending on application rate)

And this is a totally sustainable lawn feed which has been made from selected recycled food waste, instead of the many sterile polymer (blue and orange prills) fertilisers that so damage our environment!

MOWING
Growth should be starting to slow down as you get to autumn so you can begin reducing the regularity and at the same time gradually increasing the cutting height, but following any renovation keep mowing as you normally would.  Be guided by how often the lawn requires mowing, which is visible to you

So, these five things – soil work, pruning, moss control, mowing and feeding – are paramount if you want to see your beautiful lawn emerge once more this autumn, especially so this year. Of course there is more you can do if you are pursuing finer results, but whatever your goal work with not against nature and you will achieve the lawn that is perfect for you.

 

For the latest industry news visit landscapingmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Landscaping Matters.