Often a bit of old-fashioned hard work is needed to get your grass looking great. To help you get the lawn of your dreams we’ve outlined a few lawn care activities to help get your grass back into shape.
Aeration
Aeration is a lawn care activity that will help alleviate soil compaction, better-allowing oxygen, water, and nutrients to travel in the soil profile.
Aerating your lawn will help when:
- Water is having trouble draining away, making your soil profile sit damp.
- Water is pooling on top of the surface.
- The area receives a lot of wear, causing the grass to thin out.
- The soil profile is compacted.
- There are bare patches you and wanting to help the lawn spread back over.
- You are wanting the lawn to grow a more vigorous root system.
- You are wanting to improve the overall health of your grass.
There are a few ways you can aerate your lawn. Aeration sandals will give the area a light aerate, but aeration is best done with either a sturdy garden fork or a tyne aerator.
When aerating with a garden fork or tyne aerator, drive the fork into the ground and give it a good wiggle to help fracture up the soil profile. Best to insert the fork into the ground around 10 cm apart.
Regular Mowing
Some of us love regular mowing, but others hate it! However regular mowing has so many benefits for your lawn!
Regular mowing will:
- Help keep a consistent growth pattern
- Help make mowing an easier task as the lawn won’t become overgrown
- Encourage lateral growth to become thicker
- Help reduce stress to your lawn, helping it become healthier
When mowing it is best to mow frequently enough so that only one third of the leaf blade is removed with each pass. In the warmer months, this may require you to mow 1-2 times a week, and in the cooler months once every few weeks depending on your local climate.
Removing Weeds
Although hand weeding can be a bit of work, it is one of the quickest ways to remove weeds from growing in your lawn. When pulling out weeds, ensure you are removing the whole root system to help prevent them from growing back. When weeding try to grab the weed close to the ground, then pull straight up.
Tips:
- If you have a bigger lawn, break up your yard into smaller sections. Over a few days, you should be able to tackle the whole area, while making it a less daunting task.
- If possible, try weed after it rains or after watering’s while the soil is damp.
Hand weeding tools or weed pullers like the Wolf Garten Ergo Weed Puller can help make pulling out weeds by hand easier.
It is best to pull out weeds in your lawn sooner rather than later to help prevent them from spreading.
Please note, when removing Nutgrass, Onion Weed, and Soursob it is best to use a selective herbicide as they have underground bulbs which spread when pulled out.
Watering Your Lawn
When watering your lawn, it is best to make sure you use a sprinkler that covers your area effectively. If a whole area can’t be reached by the one sprinkler, you will need to move the sprinkler across the lawn sections at a time to allow for an even coverage.
Watering in the morning before the heat of the day is best as it will help prevent the lawn from sitting damp overnight.
Like with many things, consistency is key to achieving a great lawn! With regular mowing, watering, weeding, and aeration your lawn will start to take shape!
For more helpful tips and advice, check out our lawn care blogs here.
