Autumnal Lawn Care Advice – Look After Your Lawn This Autumn

23 October 2019

Most gardeners, lawn enthusiasts or people who simply value a well-kept lawn, tend to do the majority of their lawn care during the spring.

But, after the summer of sunbathing, gambols and a dog’s paradise on your lawn, it too needs a bit of TLC. As the days get greyer and the nights get colder, you’ll be doing your lawn a fair few favours in following this guide. Now is the time to make some minor changes on your lawn to prepare it for those colder months.

If you have children or pets (or even adults that like to play out in the garden!) - your lawn will have taken the impact this summer, and showing it.

There is no need to have a tired looking, straggly lawn over the autumn and into the winter, just a few things for your autumn lawn checklist and your lawn will still thrive into the winter. Don’t worry, the work needed is not major, just like a spring clean on your autumn lawn.

Aeration: let your roots breathe

Job number one, aeration. Unless you have a rather steep lawn, you’re best to get someone out to aerate your lawn with a professional machine. This service spikes lots of holes into even the smallest of lawns.

This may seem like an odd way to improve your lawn, but actually, it’s one of the most beneficial ways to keep your lawn growth healthy.

The holes that are spiked reduce the compaction of your lawn. Before the aeration, when your lawn is compacted, the roots of your grass would be shallow and spread quite narrowly. The soil will be hard and the grassroots will be struggling for air, water, and nutrients.

Within 8-10 weeks after the aeration, the grassroots will have grown deeper and wider. As a result, your grass will be thicker, lusher and healthier.

Scarification: removing the dead matter from your lawn

Thatch is a layer of dead organic matter that lies between your soils and surface lawn. This layer builds up naturally over time and requires periodical removal through scarification. Our professional scarifier machine is similar to a mechanical rake which essentially reduces the thatch layer by raking this out.

Removing the thatch allows water and nutrients to reach the grassroots, as well as reducing the risk of fungal diseases and pests in the lawn. This service also removes the moss from the lawn.

Please see our Lawn Improver service or Total Reseed for more information on the levels of scarification we offer. Our scarification period runs between mid-August to late October/early November.

Feeding: Prepare your lawn for the winter

Like a bear, your lawn needs to be fed ready for its hibernation. Especially after your lawn has been scarified and aerated, your lawn requires a good feed to help it through its last growth spurt of the year and to keep it looking its best throughout the winter.

The classic trio of aeration, scarification and lawn feeding will help your lawn recover from summer use. Whether its light or heavy use, these three services together are components of basic autumnal lawn care.

 

Mowing Maintenance: shedding your lawn's summer coat

Your lawn hasn’t stopped growing yet so don’t pack your lawnmower away just yet.  Your lawn will keep growing throughout the autumn and into the winter.

During the colder weather, the lawn will slow its growth right down and may even go dormant. A good rule of thumb is to continue mowing as long as it's growing. Keep your mower blades sharp and clean for a fresh cut. Dull mower blades will tear the grass rather than cutting it clean. If the grass blade is torn, this will encourage diseases to enter the lawn more easily. Remember to only cut when the lawn is dry for best results!

Key mowing tip – Never cut more than one third off your grass at any one time. Any more and this can stress the plant and turn it yellow.
 

Rake up those leaves: let your lawn breathe again

Once the leaves start falling and they crunch beneath your feet, it sounds like autumn.

The colours may be warming, but your lawn won’t thank you for keeping its autumn blanket on. Keeping leaves on your lawn will stop sunlight and nutrients such as air and water reaching your lawn. This bed of leaves could also create the right environment for disease and moss to develop in your lawn.

Try to remove leaves at least weekly, a quick solution is to run the mower over the lawn as this will hoover up the leaves.
 

And after all that, sit back and enjoy your lawn

These few small jobs will reward you with the fresh smell of autumn rain on a healthy lawn. 

Care for your lawn with these simple tasks and you will be getting your lawn off to a great start for the following spring!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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