What you’ll need:
Renovate & feed
Spring’s finally here – or if not, it soon will be. ‘Spring’ is a beautiful word and is guaranteed to stir the hearts of any gardener. It’s a time for optimism and renewal – and an excuse to get outside and enjoy some fresh air.
The one part of your garden that really deserves some special attention is your lawn. Think about it; everything else in the garden that comes to life at this time of year is given time to emerge, to grow and mature; and then it takes its early departure long before the hard winter has set in again. Grass is different. By now it is beginning to grow again – and will be expected to look good right up until we finally declare the gardening year over. Your lawn really needs some TLC right now if it’s going to perform all year, and putting in the work now will mean you can enjoy it all summer.
Scarifying your lawn
Here at Homebase we always think that scarifying is one of the best jobs in lawn care. It’s a bit like a combination of brushing down the sofa and shaking out the cushions. The result is a revitalized lawn that looks great and is ready to deter weeds and moss.
During the colder months, the thatch layer between your lawn and the soil will have become thick and impenetrable. As the moisture collects on the surface, moss takes hold and gradually begins to take over. This makes the lawn a tough place for young new grass to survive.
Scarifying is actually a gentle technique, raking and teasing out the dead grass and much of the moss, letting air, rain and sunlight reach the soil surface, and allowing the tiny grass plants to grow strongly once more. For very small areas it’s perfectly easy to use a hand-held scarifying rake; but for most gardens, a mechanical scarifier will make the job much easier.
Reseeding & feeding
March is a great time to assess any areas that need reseeding; get them going now so that they are fully blended in by the summer. Why not also give your whole lawn a spring feed? A good lawn feed in spring gives a much-needed boost to new root development, and the best application is one that prevents moss as well.
This month you should also repair any bare patches. These can be caused by moss, drought, weeds and sometimes just old grass. It’s easy to repair bare patches if you get a product containing a carefully blended mix of plant food, rye grasses and fine fescue grasses. You will soon lose those bare spots and be unable to tell where they were.
Top tips:
- Always plan ahead for your lawn – proactive care is much better than reactive repair.
- Scarifying your lawn is the natural way to stimulate new plant growth in your lawn and, if done regularly, it recovers more quickly too.
- Scarifying can be a messy business, so try to scarify lightly and in two directions. It’s better for the grass and the lawn will look as good as new before you know it.
