Autumn lawn care tips to help prepare for winter
Now that summer is firmly in the rear-view mirror, it's time to start preparing your lawn for the cooler, wetter weather ahead. It’s important to stay ahead of the curve and recognise in advance how your lawn’s needs change with the seasons. Summer's blend of intense weather and bustling activities can be demanding on our lawns. However, with the arrival of autumn's refreshing rains and reduced activity, it's the perfect opportunity to give your lawn a much-needed boost to ensure it's in prime condition before the chill of winter arrives.
Cheryl Harper, Managing Director of lawn care experts Greensleeves, has put together the following top tips to help prepare your lawn for the months ahead.
Scarify to satisfy - the key to keeping lawns lush in autumn
Keeping a check on moss and thatch is crucial for your lawn's overall vitality, especially during the autumnal season. This is due to the cooler and damper conditions at this time of year which allow the pair to thrive. Aesthetically, moss can diminish your lawn's charm, but the real concern runs deeper. If moss growth remains uncurbed, it gradually siphons off vital nutrients in a leech-like manner, at a time of year when your lawn needs all the nourishment it can get.
Lawn thatch is a naturally occurring layer of lawn material that lies between the soil and the top level of the grass shoots. Some thatch is healthy, but if your thatch has become too thick it can cause numerous issues and can restrict oxygen and water getting to the soil and grass roots. The best treatment for combating moss and thatch is a scarification treatment which will thin out and remove much of the moss and dead material that has built up.
Breathe life into your lawn
Staying on the topic of mechanical treatments, aeration is a very effective treatment when combined with scarification. Aeration refers to two different types of lawn treatment – hollow tine aeration and spiking. Both of these treatments are designed to allow water, air and nutrients to more easily penetrate the soil in order to feed your lawn’s roots. Hollow tine aeration works by using a machine to drive hollow spikes into the lawn which remove small plugs of soil and thatch. While the principle of spiking is the same, it is a less intensive method of aeration. If you want to achieve a lawn that turns heads, you need to get the foundations right ahead of time.
Feed, seed, and succeed
After the stresses of summer, it’s time to give your lawn a much-needed feed and overseed. Use an autumn fertiliser to provide your lawn with the nutrients it needs to withstand the winter cold and snow, as well as helping to protect it from various pests and lawn diseases. You’ll naturally be on your lawn less as the days get shorter and the temperature dips, which means you can easily keep off the treated areas for a couple of weeks while the seeds germinate.
Leaf it out
While leaves adorning trees can be a sight to behold, they often become a challenge when they start to fall in autumn, littering drains, gutters, and lawns. For those who take pride in their green spaces, you’ll want to stay on top of falling leaves. Unattended leaves can inflict prolonged damage, compromising the health and vitality of even the most resilient lawns. Large amounts of leaves will smother grass, creating ideal conditions for lawn diseases and breeding grounds for lawn pests. Save yourself time and energy in the long run by clearing leaves off your lawn.
Autumn lawn care is all about repairing the damage from summer while preparing your lawn for winter and laying the foundations for next year. If you’re struggling to find the time to manage your garden or need help or advice with lawn care treatments, you can always rely on the services of a professional lawn care company who can help identify common issues and save you time, energy, and often money. For further information about Greensleeves and how they can help you with your lawn care, visit www.greensleeves-uk.com/