How to get your lawn into shape after summer

Autumn is an ideal time to make good any damage done by Summer and, more importantly, set your lawn up for the last few weeks of the growing season.

After a long hot Summer, with heatwaves, flooding and more time spent outdoors your lawn regime is probably a bit out of wack and this can have an ongoing effect on compaction, soil health, fertility and your lawns appearance.

Here are some easy maintenance tips to set your lawn up for Winter:

After a long hot summer, many lawns are not in peak condition and have become compacted through wear, especially with pets and kids, and may look a bit under the weather following summer weed infestation. To see whether compaction in your lawn is a problem, grab a long screwdriver and stick it into the ground in a few places to see how far it will go (be careful of any irrigation or electrical cabling). You should be able to easily push it in for up to 100 to 150mm (4-6 inches) without too much resistance and if not it would be a good idea to look at aeration to rectify the problem.

There’s still time to do a couple of low-mows before your lawn growth stops. A “hard mow” or “scalping” can be just as beneficial as scarifying or coring when it comes to dethatching a lawn. This should only be undertaken a couple of times a years and works for warm season grasses (Buffalo, Couch, Zoysia and Kikuyu) only. If your lawn feels “spongy” then now is the time to make sure it is done before it starts to cool off or your lawn won’t grow. If you are unsure check with the team at Daleys Turf.

It really is beneficial to try and clean-up any weeds before they go to seed and create issues again for you later on. One of the easiest ways to reduce weeds is to have a happy healthy lawn, that way the lawns smothers the weeds, an environmental alternative to the spray bottle. Check your soil, aerate and topdress if necessary, mow regularly and fertilise to keep your lawn healthy and if weeds are still an issue either hand-weed or look at a selective herbicide that’s safe for your lawn – Daleys Turf Lawn Store has a number of weed killers suited to a range of weed types.

Fertilising with a balanced fertiliser with micro-nutrients and trace elements at the end of summer, will replace some of the things lost over summer and keep your lawn in better health. 

The end of summer is the perfect time to start lifting your mower height to help with the process of photosynthesis and keeping those pesky weeds suppressed.  Mowing over the leaves with a catcher can act like a vacuum cleaner and clear the leaves from your lawn.

For more lawn care tips and tricks, or to order your new natural lawn, contact the team at Daleys Turf today.