There's nothing better than a lush green, weed-free lawn in your garden. A lawn can be used for so many things – sitting out on, playing games such as croquet or cricket on, as a soft area for children to play on and it also adds colour to your garden. Learn how to care for your lawn properly and you will be rewarded with a lovely dense green lawn.
Here are some tips on how to care for your lawn properly:-
1. Mow your lawn regularly – Nowadays, there are so many lawnmowers available and you can find one to suit any budget. If you have a large lawn, it may be best to use a petrol driven lawnmower so you are not restricted by electrical leads. You could even invest in a ride on mower. If you really don't have time to mow your lawn then you could hire a gardener to mow your lawn regularly for you.
Mowing regularity depends on the time of year and the growth rate of your lawn. You need to mow it regularly enough so that you never cut more than a third of the height in one mowing session.
2. Cut your lawn correctly – Your lawn should be about 4cm (1 and a half inches) when mown. Cutting your lawn to the correct height will keep it healthy, more resistant to disease and weed seed germination and will keep it green. Keeping the grass this long will also cut down on water evaporation, help the lawn to feed itself and keep the soil shaded. If you cut your lawn too short you may end up with a brown lawn – not a good look!
3. Keep edges tidy – However good your mowing, your lawn will look scruffy if you do not tidy the edges. Use a strimmer or edging tool to keep the edges neat.
4. Rake your lawn – Use a wire rake to remove dead leaves and to scarify the lawn so that sunlight can get to the grass. You can buy an electric scarifier if you have a large area.
5. Aerate the lawn – To aerate a lawn is to add air to it. You can use a garden fork to make holes in your lawn and you can even buy special forks or machines which remove cores/cylinders of soil to introduce air into the lawn. You need to make holes at regular intervals – every 10cm or 4 inches is ideal. Aeration helps to prevent soil compaction and enables oxygen and water to get to the roots of the grass.
6. Water your lawn – Water regularly with sprinklers, if you can, to keep your lawn healthy.
7. Feed your lawn – Grass needs nutrients such as phosphorous, nitrogen and potassium so feed your lawn with a good quality lawn feed. Follow the directions carefully.
8. Renovate – If you lawn is in poor condition, you may want to seed it. First, you need to aerate the lawn, then you should scarify it. Make sure that you remove all leaves and moss by raking them up or using a leaf blower. After this, you can see your lawn. Scatter grass seed thinly and consistently over the area and brush into the aeration holes with a brush or broom. If you have seed left over, go over the area again. You can then top dress with some soil if you want, making sure that this is also well brushed into the holes. Cover the whole lawn with fertilizer and make sure that you water the lawn regularly.
9. Cheat and use artificial grass – Some artificial grass can look very realistic and is great if you don't have much time to spend on caring for a lawn.
10. Enjoy your lawn – It's pointless having a well-manicured lawn if you never enjoy it!
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