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Lawn Care Tips.

Basically, Lawn Care is dependent upon five main items.

Care and Attention

The lawn probably needs more care and attention than any other part of the garden. For a start, you have to cut it every week or so! Of which, more later. To have a lawn that is the envy of your friends – or enemies – you have to follow a vicious cycle of operations to attain this.

If you think carefully, you will realise that most lawns are subjected to treatment that verges on ‘cruelty’.

You cut off the very part of the plant – and grass is a plant – that is dependent upon providing most of the food requirement for the plant – the leaves! The leaves of a plant are essential for the healthy growth of a plant. For instance, to get rid of certain stubborn weeds in the garden, you simply have to keep cutting off the foliage to weaken the weed so much that it will eventually die. We cut off the leaves every time we mow, and deprive the plant of it’s main source of energy – photosynthesis – which is vital to the health and growth of the grass plants that make up your lawn. So this is Lawn Care!

Then of course, because we deprive the law of it’s energy (food) source, we have to replace that source of energy by fertilizing the grass, in order to replace all that lost energy that is taken away in the lawnmower box! As if that is not enough, we walk all over the lawn, play games on it, or worse still, let the kids or dogs run riot all over it. It is little wonder that the lawn needs a lot of care and attention!

Feeling guilty yet?

Quick Lawn care Tips

If you want the 'ultimate' lawn, then just follow these lawn care tips. More details are to be found on other area of the site.

Mowing Tip. Do NOT NOT NOT cut your grass too short. If you cut it so short that the brown bases are showing through, instead of foliage, then you are cutting it too short. Little and often is the best advice. Leave some grass foliage on the plants to allow them to regenerate.

Feeding Tip. Because you are regularly cutting off the food supply of the grass plants - the leaves - then you have to help it by supplementary feeding. Spring and early summer are important - much more than autumn/fall feeding.

Watering Tip. Only water when the lawn really needs it - not as a routine. It does little harm for the plant to suffer a little bit of drought. It will soon recover from a little bit of browning. However, don't let it dry out too much and for long periods. Grasses are surface rooting plants, and if the soil in the top few inches dries right out, then some grasses can die - leaving the way clear for drought tolerant weeds to grow.

Weed Control Tip. Do it before it is too late! If you use a combined weed and feed in the spring and early summer, that should take care of most weeds. Use a small spray gun to control other local outbreaks - as soon as you see them. If you 'scalp' the lawn when mowing, and weaken the grasses, then weeds will soon invade.

General Cultivation Tip for Lawns. Bear in mind that our 'normal' use of a lawn, leads to surface compaction. Even consistent heavy watering can cause compaction. The areas at the edge of tree foliage canopies are specially prone to compaction, as the rain fall off hits the ground quite heavily. Aeration, combined with top-dressing is the answer, and is vital for the first class law.

Follow these lawn care tips and you are well on the way to having as near a perfect lawn as is possible!