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How to look after your lawn in summer
We understand that the thought of maintaining your lawn during the summer holidays is not that inviting, especially if you don’t have a lot of time on your hands to set aside for gardening – but honestly, it’s way less of a challenge if you follow our expert advice. So, join us as we share some easy-to-digest tips on how to look after your lawn in summer!
Looking after your lawn in summer
Once you realise that looking after your grass in the summer months comes down to just a few easy-to-carry-out tasks that can be done while you relax and enjoy your garden, everything clicks into place, and you will quickly have the beautiful lawn you’ve been hoping for!
Our tips below will improve the condition and appearance of your lawn for the duration of the summer months:
Jump to:
- Mow your grass regularly in summer
- Keeping your lawn hydrated
- Getting rid of weeds
- Aerating to help your lawn breathe
- Feeding your grass with lawn fertiliser
- Overseeding to repair your lawn
Mow your grass regularly in summer
Mowing your lawn more often during the summer months increases its quality. Frequent mowing in the warmer months encourages the roots to spread and the grass to grow thicker, filling gaps in the lawn and blocking out weeds.
To get the best results from mowing in summer, we recommend setting the height of your mower so it cuts your grass between 20-40mm high for a general-use lawn (this is ideal for most lawns in the UK) and a minimum of 10mm for a fine, ornamental lawn. Mowing to these measurements will keep your grass at a good height, so it’s nice and soft for walking and sitting and will be less prone to going brown during dryer weather.
Check out our video below for the best practices when mowing your lawn:
Looking after your mower
While we’re talking about mowing, it’s important to mention that you should keep your mower blades sharp to ensure a clean cut, remove grass from the undercarriage and empty the clippings bag after each use.
Keeping your lawn hydrated as temperatures increase
Generally, you can let nature take its course in the UK because even in the summer, it will rain occasionally, which is usually enough to keep your grass growing and stop it from drying out. However, there often comes a time when grabbing the garden hose to water your lawn will have its advantages, such as longer periods of sunshine and warmth, especially during a heatwave or drought.
Tips for watering your lawn in a heatwave
If there is no predicted rain on the weather forecast in the coming weeks, it’s best to plan for when you will water your lawn. It’s better to water your lawn early in the morning or later in the evening, which will avoid mid-day when the sun is overhead and at its hottest.
Our five tips below ensure you get the best results from watering when British summertime is in full swing:
- Space your watering out so you are soaking your lawn between 10-14 days apart
- You should see small puddles forming across your lawn’s surface while watering
- Water your lawn early in the morning or evening when it’s cooler outside
- Avoid watering in hotter parts of the day since the water will evaporate
- Don’t soak shaded areas of your lawn with as much water as they don’t get as much sunlight
Did you know? If you water your lawn too frequently every now and again, then shallow roots may be produced, which causes additional stress on your lawn during a drought. On the flip side, watering too often with too much water encourages weed growth and increases the chances of grass diseases and common lawn pests. So remember, think about how much and how often you are watering your lawn to get the best results.
Getting rid of pesky weeds
Removing weeds from your lawn is pretty straightforward for the most part – but there are a few exceptions where weeds can get out of control if not removed correctly, and we’ve seen a few examples of weeds overtaking customers’ lawns in the past. This can be anything from seeing only a few broadleaved weeds popping up to having so many weeds on your lawn that you can barely see any grass! Whatever your situation, we have a solution, and they both eradicate the weed problem quickly so you can get back to enjoying your garden.
How to best get rid of a few weeds on your lawn
If you only have half a dozen or so weeds in your garden, these can be easily removed by hand, using either a small garden trowel or a weed fork. Removing them is as simple as pulling them out by the roots – and thankfully, getting rid of weeds in smaller quantities doesn’t take too long.
Once you have removed the weeds, it is a good idea to fill the hole with some topsoil, level it out, and then overseed it with some fresh grass seed. This will fix the gap in your lawn caused by pulling the weeds out and tidying up the look of your garden.
How to get rid of a lot of weeds?
The task changes a bit when weeds have overrun your garden, leaving you scratching your head and wondering how you will ever overcome this weed invasion! Thankfully, the answer to this dilemma you’re facing is to use a Feed, Weed and Mosskiller, which does three jobs in one: it tackles weeds, kills moss and feeds your lawn the nutrients it needs to bounce back stronger than ever.
After the Feed, Weed and Mosskiller has done its job, you will need to remove the remains of the dead weeds and overseed the areas with fresh grass seed.
Aerating to help your lawn breathe
Aeration is a simple task that doesn’t take too long, and the benefits will be noticeable in 7-10 days. This process is best carried out using a spike aerator, but if you don’t have one of these, you can use a traditional garden fork and still get decent results!
What is lawn aeration?
Lawn aeration is when you create small holes in the soil, which loosens the soil to decrease compaction, improve drainage, prevent waterlogging of the roots, aid circulation and help your grass get easier access to nutrients.
Check out our video on lawn aeration, which outlines what it is and how to do it:
Feeding your grass to help it flourish
Feeding your lawn in summer is a great way to give a boost of nutrients to help it grow strong all summer long. Even against the rising temperatures and increase in traffic – a well-fed lawn will overcome all this additional wear and tear and continue to grow better than ever!
Feeding your lawn in early summer
If you’re feeding your grass in late spring / early summer, then our SLOW RELEASE: Spring/Summer fertiliser is ideal. This granular fertiliser feeds your lawn with nutrients over 4-months to promote greenness and growth; only one application is required for the entire summer. This long-lasting fertiliser feeds your grass well into autumn, when you can think about feeding it again to prepare your lawn for winter.
Applying a fast-acting feed mid-summer
Using a QUICK RELEASE: Spring/Summer granular lawn food or our Make it Green liquid fertiliser are the best options to give your grass a quick feed, encouraging growth and a rapid green-up!
Overseed to repair bare and thinning areas of your lawn
Overseeding is one of the best ways to repair damaged, thinning and bare areas of your lawn, giving your grass a new lease of life while significantly increasing its appearance.
So, how do you overseed a lawn?
Overseeding a lawn is a simple step-by-step process of preparing the soil by removing weeds, raking and clearing away debris, wetting the soil and then evenly sprinkling the fresh grass seed over the top.
We have included our video below on How to Sow Grass Seed to help you get the best results the first time:
Some tips for preparing your lawn for overseeding:
- Remove any debris, leaves, sticks, or stones from your lawn
- Weed the lawn either by hand or using weed killer
- Scarify to loosen the soil and remove moss
- Allow your lawn to settle for 10-14 days, which will encourage any dormant weeds to appear
- Remove any newly appearing weeds by hand
- Fertilise the soil with a quick-release fertiliser
Now you have prepared your lawn for overseeding; you are ready to sow your new grass seed!
Be careful when overseeding in the summer due to the hotter conditions. While grass grows and germinates better in summer’s warmer temperatures, be sure to hold off sowing new seeds during a heatwave or drought. Simply delay sowing until temperatures have returned to normal – then sow your grass seed as normal, and it will grow brilliantly!
Summer lawn care requires a bit more effort
While it’s true that a little extra care is required to keep your lawn looking its very best in the summertime – if you follow our advice, you will easily preserve the health and stunning green colours of your grass, regardless of how much wear and tear your kids, pets, or family gatherings put it through!
Some further reading if you want to dig deeper into lawn care: