Expert tips for grass in top condition
I don’t have lawns in my crammed garden, so I have absolutely no authority to write about them! Luckily, guest expert David Hedges-Gower has provided his tips on how to keep your lawn healthy during autumn and winter.
Over the years, we have been told not to bother with our lawns in the winter. But this can be one of the most important times of year for lawn care. Grass is a very different plant from others in your garden, as many are simply cut back for hibernation.
Lawns are still growing (healthy ones are anyway), and are very susceptible to attack. It’s too early to say whether we’re in for a cold one, but there are some easy and useful things to be doing. Think ‘preparation and prevention’, and you won’t go wrong. Read more about aeration and scarification. Here are some expert tips about edging your lawn. So, what are the main dangers, and how can we defend our lawns?
Keep your lawn healthy – compacted soil
Lawn soil air space is constantly under attack in dry weather, when soils shrink, and wet weather, when air space can be filled with water. Like any other plant, grass is only as good as the soil it lives in. Before it’s too late, give the soil some TLC. Get a hollow tine fork or even hire a mechanised one and aerate the lawn. It will produce little cores of soil on the surface that you must remove – they make excellent compost or seedbed material.
Don’t bother smearing sand into those holes. It will ruin your lawn right now. Leave them open, and they’ll stay open, so when you do get soil movement, they can continue to create cracks and fissures, perfect for those little lawn roots. Most important of all, the garden fork can stay in its shed and be used on the vegetable beds and flower beds – what it was designed for!
The winter lawn: diseases
Debris – particularly fallen autumn leaves – creates the perfect conditions on the surface for diseases. A simple but vital job is to tidy up. Leaves, branches and twigs, even garden furniture if not fixed in place, should all be removed so that nothing can cover the grass and create dark, warm, moist areas.
As with aerating the soil, it’s all about getting the air to your lawn and a little winter sunshine. If you can see leaves on your lawn for three days in a row, it’s time to get the rake out.
Keep your lawn healthy – moss
You will likely have some moss spores in your lawn, and if we hit a mild, damp spell, they can start growing. Applying a simple ferrous sulphate moss killer during the winter gives you and your lawn the edge for next spring. Don’t waste money on a multi-purpose product with feed – the last thing your grass needs in winter is nitrogen.
The winter lawn: keeping fit
Sort out edges where the grass has invaded the border, or level out any lumps and bumps. You can even replace bad patches with new turf if it isn’t freezing. If the grass is still growing, give it a topping-off mow from time to time – make sure the blade is sharp. When sub-zero temperatures do arrive, don’t walk on a lawn covered with frost – you’ll bruise the grass.
For more information, read David’s Modern Lawn Care book. To order a copy, go to www.davidhedges-gower.com/the-book.
