Post Winter Lawn Hacks

Post Winter Lawn Hack
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The days are longer and perhaps winter has finally gone and your lawn looks terrible. If it’s dry enough to get out into your garden properly for the first time this year, after a tidying up your attention is drawn to the lawn. follow our guide with Post Winter Lawn Hacks.

Where do you start?

1. Rake over the lawn to remove any over-wintered leaves, and twigs.

If any leaves stayed tucked into the lawn over winter it will leave patches that need reseeding.

2. Inspect the lawn for moss, weeds and bare patches.

  • If you have moss and the grass needs cutting, cut asap and kill the moss 3 days later with dedicated lawn moss killer or Evergreen Complete 4 in 1. It weeds, kills moss, feeds and helps proof your lawn against summer drought.
  • If you have just a few weeds still use the Evergreen Complete 4 in 1 as the feed is perfect for a British lawn.
  • If you have bare patches after killing the moss, a week or so later you can sow some lawn seed to repair the lawn. Follow the Evergreen Complete instructions for the time between treatment and sowing.

3. Repairing your lawn with lawn seed.

  • Loosen the soil in the bare patches AND the thin areas around the patch with a fork. Push the fork around 25mm (1″) into the soil. This allows the new grass seedlings to root. Sow with a modern lawn seed mix such as Johnsons Quick Lawn or Scotts Patch Magic. Make sure your sow beyond the patch into the thin grass around it to blend it into your existing lawn.
  • Water in and keep it moist until it germinates. Follow the instructions on the pack.

4. Feeding is very important.

Feeding your lawn is rarely carried out. Every time your remove the grass clippings you are removing a food source. Evergreen Complete replaces about 50% of the annual food that a lawn needs to stay healthy. You can use it in spring and again in summer (water it in) or you can feed a second time with Autumn Lawn food in October.  A well fed lawn completes with moss and weeds better than an unfed lawn.

As soon as your grass starts to grow, which in the north of England is usually in March, you can treat with moss killers. 

The traditional Iron Sulphate based controls are very effective. Within 24 hours the moss has died and appears black. This is ready to rake out & may leave bare patches of soil. You can over seed in the same way as mentioned above. Leave a week or sow after applying the grass seed.

More recently bacterial based moss controls that don’t use active ingredients are widely available. These products are effective but may need more applications & regular applications to beat the moss. Some include grass seed too to thicken your lawn and compete with the moss. Give them a try. 

5. Cutting your lawn.

Your first cuts should be with the blades set high. You can gradually lower them as the grass grows quicker. Raise the blades again in the summer when the dryer weather slows the growth down, Mow regularly. This will keep the lawn in a healthy state. Letting the lawn grow long and cutting (hacking) it back weakens it. The grass takes longer to recover and moss and weeds can get in. Research has revealed that the maximum that should be trimmed from lawn grass is a third before the plants are weakened.

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