"When the grass is growing the lawn needs mowing"
Sounds a bit bleeding obvious but regular mowing, done the right way, will help protect your lawn from build up of moss and weak patches where dreaded lawn weeds are given a free pass.
If you have lawn weeds, the temptation will be to keep the grass short so you don't notice them. This is really not good for your lawn and will be a big reason why you have weak grass and a preponderance of moss. The shorter the grass, the more likely you will have moss. When you look at your lawn, where you have good strong grass plants, you won't see moss, or much more unlikely than patches of weaker grass. Notice around the edges you get more moss? That's because the grass is weaker and the moss has more chance of establishing itself. Keep applying a moss treatment and if it's small patches a hand scarifier will be more then sufficient at removing the unsightly black patches
Getting rid of the lawn weeds is a simple process and should not be looked at as an annual event but when it is needed. Have a look at the attached file, all of these weeds can be managed. You'll see that a number spread through suckers/tubers so if left unchecked can run rampant...Remember a stitch in time and all that..
Unlike our friends across the water (do we have any of those anymore?), the Americans are big on mulching. In fact it is fair to say that the Americans are more advanced than we are in lawn care. We are a bit behind when it come to mulching and more obsessed with the look of an ordered pinstriped lawn than the health of it. Mulching is not leaving your grass clippings on the lawn, but finely cutting the cut blades into fine particles which then fall to the ground. As 90% of the grass is water you are not only adding back this essential commodity but providing fresh matter for micro-organisms which are essential in breaking down thatch.
For this to work well, the grass length should be kept to a good height and cut regularly. The lawn should be cut in different directions every cut and regularly. If you lawn is healthy and it's wet and warm, you can expect to be cutting the lawn weekly. However, as you are mulching, the time saved in not having to constantly empty the collector every five minutes more than makes up for it.
Depending on how big your lawn is regular forking, especially if you have lots of tiny and not so tiny feet running over it daily. It's not the answer to hollow tine aeration but it will help it.
So in summary here are my top tips for a healthy lawn this summer
1 Don't cut too short - keep a height of 10-12cm
2 Remove lawn weeds regularly, Stay on top of moss, don't let it take hold
3 Keep grass longer in shaded areas
4 Mulch in the summer, collect in early Spring and Autumn
5 Regular lawn feed, NPK fertiliser for the essentials
6 Make sure your blade is sharp, sharpen every 6 months
7 Mow regularly
8 Alter the direction of the cut
9 Fork those high traffic areas
10 Don't cut when it's wet
As always we are on hand to help so if you'd rather enjoy your lawn, let us do the job for you
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