A well-maintained, healthy lawn can enhance your curb appeal, promote the growth of plants and flowers in borders surrounding the grass and encourage wildlife and birds. However, if you don’t know how to care for your lawn, it can be a bit intimidating – especially as it requires year-round maintenance.
Here at Dependable, we love all things grounds maintenance! Whether you require a team to look after your outdoor spaces for you, or are just looking for some tips and tricks to help you make the most of your green spaces, we are here to help! In this article, we are sharing our top tips for a healthy lawn.
Regularly mow your grass
In order to keep your lawn looking its best, you have to keep on top of mowing it. In warmer weather, you should be looking to mow your grass weekly, whereas in autumn and winter, you probably don’t need to cut it more than once a fortnight.
And it isn’t enough to just mow it regularly, you also have to mow it correctly. It’s important to set your blades to the appropriate height so that you don’t cut your grass too short. A lawn that has been cut too short can go brown quicker, and is also more susceptible to disease and weeds. Try to ensure that you’re not removing more than one-third of the grass length in each session. Remember to keep your lawn mower blades sharp for clean, even cuts.
In summer, it might be a good idea to raise the cutting height of your blades around 5-10 cm to stop the grass going brown in dry weather. If it does go brown, it isn’t necessarily dead and should come back once it has been watered.
Water your grass frequently
As well as regular mowing, you also need to stay on top of watering your grass – especially if it is young. A healthy lawn requires about an inch of water per week, including rain water. If you live in a particularly dry area or are going through a drought, you will probably need to manually water it yourself. Try to use rainwater collected in a water butt to manually water your lawn, as it tends to soak deeper into the soil than tap water, reaching the roots of the grass faster and providing it with the necessary nutrients to grow.
If you need to use tap water, it might be worth collecting grey water from your bath or sink, as this is a more sustainable way of watering your lawn to reduce waste – especially if you are in an area that has a hosepipe ban.
Feed your grass
To keep your lawn looking good you need to feed it – especially in spring and in the middle of summer. The best time to fertilise your grass is when it is forecast to rain. This is because the rainwater will wash the fertiliser down to the roots and stop it burning the blades of grass. Another way to prevent this is by using organic fertiliser rather than its chemical alternative. If it doesn’t rain, water the fertiliser into the roots manually. Your grass should look greener and more luscious within a few days.
Weed your lawn
Preventing and managing weeds is important for maintaining a lush, green lawn. Regularly inspect your grass for signs of weeds. Either manually remove them using a trowel or use weedkiller. If you are using weed killer – make sure to use carefully and read the instructions to prevent damaging your grass.
Fill any bald spots
When the rest of the ground is looking pristine, you don’t want bald patches spoiling the look of your lawn. Luckily, it’s very easy to sow grass seed in the gaps or make fillers from unused turf.
If using grass seed, rake the ground to gently loosen the soil. This helps improve seed-to-soil contact. Choose a high-quality grass seed that matches the rest of your lawn. Some seed blends are specifically designed for repairing bald spots. Seed the area and water it immediately. Make sure the soil is moist but not waterlogged, and keep it this way until the new grass is established. Once it has started to grow, look after it as you would the rest of the lawn.
If using fillers from unused turf to replace the bare patch, use a small shovel to dig up the soil in the area and make sure it matches the depth of your new grass. Place the pre-cut grass over the bald spot. Press it down firmly so it’s level with the rest of your lawn, with no gaps.
Edge your lawn
The final step in making your lawn look neat and tidy is to trim the edge of your lawn with long-handled shears to prevent the grass from encroaching on your garden borders or around any paths. If the grass has already invaded the borders, use a spade or a half-moon edger to reshape it and create a shallow trench, or consider installing permanent edging to keep the grass in check.
How Dependable can help
If all of this seems like too much work to continue throughout the year, or you have multiple properties that need grounds maintenance work, Dependable can help. We have a dedicated grounds maintenance team that is able to keep on top of your green spaces.
Get in contact with us today and discover how we can help you.
