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horticulture -
Compost Corner
It’s not too late to repair and improve your lawn, ready for next spring. In fact autumn is the best time of year to carry out renovation work, the ground is moist and there is time for the turf to recover before the following spring. The following tips can help you improve the quality of your lawn:
1) Mow the lawn on a dry day, if possible adjust the height of cut on your lawnmower in order to leave the grass slightly longer than in the summer, around 4cm is ideal, this will help to protect against damage during the winter.
2) After mowing the lawn, it is ready to be scarified. Scarification is the vigorous raking of the lawn using a spring tine rake and it removes the build up of ‘thatch’ (debris, such as clippings, moss and weeds) at the base of the turf. Thatch can have a major detrimental effect on the health of a lawn, as it prevents water and fertiliser from percolating down to grass roots and can encourage the growth of moss and weeds.
3) Compacted soil can be a problem for lawns and is caused by both machinery and pedestrian traffic. To alleviate compacted soil, it is necessary to aerate the soil, improving drainage and the movement of air in the soil. Aeration can be achieved most successfully using a mechanised aerator (which can be hired), which removes cores of soil from the lawn as it rolls across it. A cheaper, but more tiring alternative is to use an ordinary garden fork to prick the turf.
4) After aeration a lawn can be ‘top dressed’, which basically means sweeping a combination of sand and loam into the holes, improving the soil and root environment.
5) Fertiliser can be applied during autumn and at this time of year should be low in Nitrogen and high in Potassium, which will help protect the turf during the winter, follow the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.
These techniques may not turn your lawn into the new Wembley, or Wimbledon, but if applied correctly can help you significantly improve it.
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