Whether your lawn is for family and pets or just for looking pretty, all lawns need care and maintenance to continue looking their best. When spring rolls around, you will turn your attention to whether you need to repair your lawn, reseed it or simply give it a tidy-up. To help, we have created a new lawn checklist, which includes things you should consider to help plan and prioritise your lawns to-do list.
Our new lawn checklist:
Assess the situation
January and February are great times to assess your lawn's current condition and consider such things as the below:
- The colour of your grass – most lawns will yellow slightly in the winter due to a lack of nitrogen. Is this in one spot or throughout your lawn?
- The consistency of your grass – has your lawn become thin and patchy in parts? Is this throughout, or is it only happening in certain areas – what could be causing this?
- The condition of your whole lawn and current appearance – is there moss or weeds? Do they appear throughout the lawn or in one spot? How is the drainage in your lawn? Is there any flooding / does the grass puddle in certain parts of your lawn and struggle to drain? Spot anything else strange e.g. mushrooms or moulds?
- The uses of your lawn – does it need to be hardwearing, or do you want it to be more of a showpiece?
Observing these points, continuing through our new lawn checklist, and working to provide answers for them will help shape your lawn plan!
The colour of your grass
Plan of Action: As said, most grass will yellow slightly in the colder months due to a lack of nitrogen and naturally green up again in warmer temperatures. Regardless, to ensure a green and healthy lawn in spring, you should aim to fertilise your lawn with a SLOW RELEASE: Spring / Summer for full coverage for four months or a QUICK RELEASE: Spring / Summer for fast results over six weeks.
If you plan to sow new seed, our QUICK RELEASE: Pre-Seed will prepare your soil. If you have moss and weeds throughout your lawn, our Feed, Weed and Moss Killer will take care of these whilst also greening up your grass. Feeding your lawn can clear up a host of issues fairly quickly. However, you may notice the yellowing being slightly worse than usual or only occurring in one area. If you have yellowing occurring in just one area, this could be due to several things, such as pests, localised flooding or dog urine. You can find out more on how to solve these issues below:
The consistency of your grass
Plan of Action: Lawns that see a lot of wear and tear can become thin and patchy, and likewise, even the finest of lawns may need repairing or reseeding after winter. If your lawn is thinning, an overseed will help thicken it up and fill in sparse areas. If there are patches in your lawn, you can repair these areas using our guide.
You may not realise how thin your lawn has become if it is surrounded by a layer of thatch (dead grass matter), so it is best to scarify your lawn first to see what you’re working with. When overseeding or repairing, you must use a grass seed mix that fits the purpose. Most UK lawns are made up of a blend of ryegrass and fescue, so don’t worry about overseeding with a mix that isn’t exactly the same as what you currently have on your lawn. You can read more about choosing the right grass seed for you here.
The condition of the whole lawn and current appearance
Plan of Action: Once you have reviewed the colour and consistency of your grass to gain an idea of what needs to be done, it is time to take a closer look at what may be lurking beneath. Weeds and moss are a reality of most lawns. Dotted randomly throughout your grass, they can be treated with handheld spray weedkillers. If they are prominent throughout the lawn, a Feed, Weed and Moss Killer will make handy work of removing them from your lawn.
Whilst weeds and moss are common in most lawns, lots of moss can be a sign of further problems afoot. Moss grows and thrives in moist conditions, and if your lawn is frequently experiencing this issue, it may be a sign that it is struggling with drainage. Drainage problems can arise from having clay soils, compacted soils or from simply having nowhere for rainwater to escape to. Luckily, we’ve prepared some guides on how to help alleviate these issues:
- How to tackle moss in your lawn
- How to get the best from your clay soils
- Do I need to aerate my lawn?
- How to aerate your lawn
Aside from this, other parts of your lawn may catch your attention, and you may not be certain about what is causing the issue. Well, we’ve put our doctor's coat on and diagnosed some common or not-so-common issues that people can come across on their lawns.
The intended use/purpose of your lawn
Plan of Action: Now that you have your lawn back in action – it’s fed, green, and weed and moss free you may wish to evaluate if your current grass is fit for purpose. For example, if your current grass is struggling in clay soils, you should consider overseeding with a mix designed specifically to grow in these conditions. Likewise, you may have some shaded spots where grass never seems to grow that would benefit from a shade-tolerant mix.
You may have neither of these issues and simply need your lawn to withstand wear and tear better, or perhaps you’d like to upgrade the fineness of your lawn with grass that can be closely mown for those stand-out stripes. Choosing the right mix can go a long way to lessening the amount of reseeding and repair you have to do year after year, so it’s worth finding out what best suits your needs.
We hope our new lawn checklist helped you determine what your lawn needs to thrive. But, if you have any questions or would like further advice, please get in touch, and we will be happy to help.