Spring into the start of Spring lawn care

Spring really is a fantastic time of the year. The days warm up and everything starts to green up and grow. But before spring arrives it’s best to restore your lawn to peak conditions. Here’s our top tips for getting your lawn back into shape.

As with many things in life, you need to start at the bottom…the soil. If you’re soil isn’t in the best shape, unfortunately there’s no quick fix that works for all soil types so you’ll have to apply the treatment which is specific to the soil profile you have below your lawn.

Clay base – periodically aerate and apply a clay breaker such as Gypsum so the soil gets access to the oxygen it needs.

Sandy soil – apply regular applications of a soil wetting agent such as Lawn Lovers Rescue. This will coat the sand grains and enable them to stick to moisture and nutrients.

Regularly checking the soil pH is important regardless of your soil type. An incorrect pH can cause your lawn to miss out on important nutrients which will eventually lead to overall poor performance. So be sure to test your soil with a basic soil pH testing kit or soil probe, the optimum level is 6.5. If your pH is higher you can use Sulphate of Ammonia to lower it. If it’s lower, a 50:50 mix of lime and dolomite lime will help to raise it, whilst adding Calcium and Magnesium which are often leached from acidic soils.

The soil below your lawn is full of nitrogen-fixing bacteria and they work to turn the nitrogen from the air and fertilisers into a usable form of nitrate. They essentially go dormant during Winter but when the soil temperatures begin to rise again they get back to work. Applying a soil conditioner which contains seaweed extract will give them a boost. Products available include Seasol and Lawn Lovers Lawn Rescue.

When the weather becomes consistently warm we suggest giving your lawn a feed of a good granular NPK fertiliser such as Sir Walter Fertiliser. It contains macronutrients – Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium – as well as micronutrients such as Iron, meaning that your lawn will have a good start on optimum growth, strength and resilience.

Once you have your lawn in order for Spring it will be better prepared for its growing phase and the heat of Summer when it arrives. Spring is also a great time to get your watering plan in place to drought-proof your lawn. A thorough soaking once a week will help to train your lawn’s root system to penetrate deeper into the soil. This will serve to protect the lawn when the extreme heat hits.

To learn more contact the Daleys Turf team today.