How to keep your lawn healthy in spring / summer

How to keep your lawn healthy in spring / summer

If you wish to keep your lawn lovely all summer long - some maintenance will be required! Find out how best to keep your lawn healthy in summer.

Knowing how to keep your lawn healthy in spring and summer will ensure your garden is healthy and lush all season long. By regularly maintaining your grass using the steps below, you’ll help to minimise any damage to it at the end of summer caused by hot, dry weather or just a few too many BBQs!

1. Mow when needed

Knowing when to mow your lawn is equally as important when it's long and when it's short – mowing when the grass is growing high to keep it in good condition and knowing when you are mowing the grass too short! Yes, we can all get a little too mower-friendly when we see how wonderful our lawn looks!

Not all grass types will survive close mowing, and you can damage your lawn by mowing it too short. Finer-leafed varieties such as fescues and bent grasses will tolerate close mowing for an ornamental appearance; this means mowing the grass to around 10-15mm. A 25-40mm mowing height is sufficient for a hard-wearing family lawn.

During summer, we recommend mowing your lawn once or twice a week. This helps to keep it looking its best and become used to its weekly chop! Keep reading for the next step in how to keep your lawn healthy.

2. Water well in dry weather

It may seem obvious, but watering the lawn in extremely hot weather is often forgotten, usually because sunbathing seems to be a higher priority! Investing in a sprinkler is a good idea if you don’t have time to water or have a larger lawn.

Watering your grass helps it keep growing and stops it from drying out in hot weather. It also ensures that your soil is nice and moist, as dry soil can cause further problems. We have had many enquiries from customers wondering how to repair their lawn from last year’s drought; lucky enough, here’s a guide we prepared earlier on how to repair your drought-damaged lawn!

3. Apply a quick-release fertiliser for a healthy lawn

Our year-round fertiliser guide recommends applying a SLOW RELEASE: Spring Summer fertiliser. This offers four steady months of continuous feed. However, there may be some occasions – like the big family BBQ, where you wish your lawn to look even greener. On these occasions, we recommend applying a Quick Release Liquid Fertiliser or a QUICK RELEASE: Spring / Summer granular fertiliser. These nitrogen-rich fertilisers give your lawn a quick burst of greenness, so your lawn is dressed to impress. It will also give a boost of feed, so any seedlings that may be struggling in the heat are pepped up with potassium!

4. Consider your next steps to keep your lawn healthy

At the end of summer, most lawns see a lot of footfall, fun, and frolicking. Unfortunately, this also means wear and tear and maybe some yellowing grass from where a trampoline has been!

If you have thinning spots or bald areas or want to put your best foot forward going into autumn/winter, overseeding is a great idea. There are many benefits to sowing seed at the end of summer/beginning of autumn, including a lesser need to water, feed or keep the seed away from pesky peckers!

Allowing the seed to germinate in early autumn will prepare your lawn for the following spring. So, save yourself a job and start early, and whilst everyone else is rushing to reseed next spring, you’ll have had a head start!

Now you have some more tips and knowledge on how to keep your lawn healthy, but if you have any questions or queries that may seem unique to your garden lawn, please get in touch, and we will be happy to help!