The clocks have ‘Sprung’ forward (the only way I can remember which way round it is – ‘Spring’ forward, ‘Fall’ back) and with a blast of colour, the amazing crocus displays were over in a trice. As I write this, the cold weather has returned so should ensure the daffodils last a little longer.
The recent warmer days have finally encouraged the grass to grow so if you haven’t been tempted yet, now is the time to give your lawn the first cut of the year. Far better to reset the mower to cut higher than leaving it at the lower setting you may have had it on for its last cut of the year. After two or three cuts at about fortnightly intervals, it can then be lowered to your preferred height and mown as often as needed.
At The Perfumed Garden, we prefer to leave the grass slightly longer than some people, but cut more often taking smaller amounts off each time. As the days warm and lengthen, the growth rate will increase rapidly and mid-April to mid-May is the optimum time to feed your lawn in the Great Chishill area. We prefer to collect the cuttings in a grass box too, as I think leaving them on the grass can reduce lawn vigour and encourages weeds. Depositing only grass cuttings on your composts bin makes for a slimey, stinky mess, so much better to mix with all the vegetable peelings from the house, general garden waste, moss, old compost from pots, used chicken bedding if you have hens, leaves etc. This way the compost can be used on the garden much more effectively. Another use for the cuttings is to lay them over the ground surface under newly planted hedges. This helps conserve moisture creating a natural mulch, albeit not terribly attractive.
Poor drainage, shade and cutting a lawn too short encourages moss and weeds to establish. If you suffer with moss in your grass, I think the most effective method is to use a granular moss killer that can also include a lawn fertilizer. It is best applied using one of the wheeled containers that can be adjusted to dispense the correct amount of product as you push it along. Spreading by hand is fine but it is so easy to use too much and end up with large black patches throughout your lawn where it has been overdosed!
An organic treatment for moss avoiding chemicals, is to rake the lawn with an old fashioned spring tine grass rake or a mechanised grass scarifier. There is no hiding the fact that it is amazingly tiring using a hand rake and you can get enormous quantities of fluffy moss from each area as you scratch away. The mechanised scarifiers are much easier to use but either way, you may end up with some areas of thin grass if the moss has been allowed to take over for a long time. Your lawn will then benefit with an application of an organic feed.
Sunlight, air, timely fertilizer application and regular cutting will help re-establish the lawn. Improving drainage can help reduce moss over a period of time so spiking can be done in September as part of your annual lawn maintenance programme. Increasing sunlight to an area is not always possible if you have trees or shrubs casting shade, so always try to ensure that you initially sow or turf with a shade tolerant mixture if shade is your particular problem.
If your lawn has been really neglected for a long time and you decide to use one of the methods above to weed and feed the grass, you may end up with some larger patches that can be almost bald. Rather than leaving these for the grass to creep back eventually, scatter the grassless areas with a seed mix suitable for your needs and aspect. Using grass seed generally means the old and new grass blend together better. With turf strips or patches, the new area can stand out like a sore thumb for years. The exception would be if you could lift and use a small area of turf from your own lawn. Taken from an unobtrusive part of your garden, such as when extending a flower border, this can work very well and the join will disappear much more readily.
Autumn is undoubtedly the best time to sow a new lawn from seed as Mother Nature usually ensures enough moisture for success, however as long as you are able to commit to watering, grass seed will appear within a week of sowing once the soil is suitably warm.
Ideally turf is best laid during the winter months although as with seed, you can get a great result if you ensure it is watered thoroughly and regularly even through summer.
So crank up your mowers and remember to do the edges too, as it makes a big difference. Whose job is that though? Is it the person who cuts the grass or the person who tends the borders?