CARING FOR YOUR
LAWN
TURF
Your newly laid turf requires special attention in
order to prevent it from drying out or dying. The
whole lawn requires daily watering for about eight
weeks after it has been laid until it is fully settled.
You should water the turf either in the early
morning or in the evening when the sun is not too
strong. You should also avoid walking on the turf
for at least three weeks. On regenerated
schemes there will be a requirement to install a
capping layer and then add certified subsoil and
top soil to the garden areas as part of the
remediation strategy. This is in line with local
authority approval, due to this process it does
take several growing seasons for the natural
drainage of your lawn to become established.
Please note: turf only becomes a lawn
with a lot of care from you.
LAWN CARE
SPRING
A single dressing in early Spring using a compound
fertiliser, containing nitrogen, phosphate and
potash, will supply most of the lawn’s requirements.
Apply in mild showery, settled weather as the grass
is beginning to grow freely during early to mid-April.
AUTUMN
If your lawn has suffered from Summer drought or
heavy compaction, apply an Autumn fertiliser high
in phosphate and potash but low in nitrogen, to
encourage healthy roots during September.
SCARIFYING
Scarifying is the term used to describe the removal
of thatch from turf using a rake. If thatch is present
deal with this as the first step in the Autumn
programme of renovation, followed by aerating,
Autumn feeding, top dressing and re-seeding as
necessary.
AERATING
Aerating is the process of spiking or deeply piercing
the lawn surface to reduce soil compaction,
improving air circulation within the soil.
TOP-DRESSING
Top dress the lawn with a sharp type of sand, which
is available from builder’s merchants, normally
called grit sand. The general purpose of the top
dressing is to level the surface, you should spread
approximately 50% peat and 50% sand mixture.
Spread the sand with a shovel and brush it into the
surface making sure that you do not smother the
grass in order that it can recover.
MOWING
The height of cut and frequency of mowing are
important factors in grass maintenance. Cutting
too close weakens the turf and leaves it susceptible
to moss and low growing weeds. Coarser grasses
become more dominant where it is allowed to grow
too long and is mown infrequently. Grass should be
cut once a week during the growing season.
CUTTINGS
Most gardeners remove cuttings from ornamental
lawns as there are usually few periods when they
will rapidly shrivel and disappear from the surface.
If not collected, they are likely to remain, to spoil the
appearance of the lawn as they slowly decay. Often the
mowings will contain viable weed seeds, such as annual
meadow grass or the severed stems of white clover
or speedwell which, if scattered, will take root to the
overall detriment of the grass.