Presented and Written by Adam Woolcott / 1st September 2022
"Keep the faith and have that vision"
After gardening domestically and professionally for over three decades it’s nothing I haven’t seen before and believe me, it looks much worse than it is, so keep the faith and have that vision because starting right now with some tender loving care and the right tools you can go from desert to oasis.
Bring Your Lawn Back to Life
Because your lawn has looked so sad and dormant you may not have cut the grass this summer for weeks or even months but it’s still important to be hygienic with your lawn. Although the grass hasn’t grown, twigs, leaves, berries, and other detritus will have built up on the surface and these need to be removed.
"Your garden army!"
A powerful but manoeuvrable lawnmower free from the hassle of cables such as a Webb 46cm Self Propelled Petrol Lawnmower will clean up your lawn beautifully, this mower has a mesh bag which I’ve always loved as they create excellent airflow and suction. Being self-propelled it’s effortless and with an option to cut and collect, mulch or side discharge the clippings you have all the choices you need and you know what, even a brown and sad-looking lawn looks better for a quick going over with the mower.
Long term, I’ve realised for years that after a summer like this one mowing alone is not enough, the dead grass, weeds and moss have to be removed from the base of the grass. Left in situ this layer of finished material builds up into something called thatch.
Thatch and Aerate
Thatch prevents light and rain from penetrating, creates a damp and stagnant environment suited to lawn diseases and looks unattractive and this is when I thank my lucky stars I’m not a Victorian gardener because unlike them I do not need to spend days manually raking and collecting thatch, there are now modern tools to do the job.
Webb Garden Power has created a nifty and powerful 1500 watt 2 in 1 Electric Scarifier & Lawn Rake with interchangeable cassettes meaning you can quickly swap from one mode to the other and with its mesh collection box it’s just simplicity itself. I always get an immense sense of satisfaction using these machines and seeing the tines removing all the thatch and detritus that stifles my lawn’s growth and whilst this is bad for the lawn it’s brilliant for putting on the compost heap.
With dual-purpose machines like this once you’ve removed the thatch you can also aerate the soil creating slits that open the ground up and allow your lawn to breathe and absorb the rain for a small lawn a manual Basic Hollow Tine Aerator will do the trick. Traditionally aerating a lawn has been about improving drainage as normally sharp sand is brushed into the slits or holes after aerating to improve drainage. Still, I would now suggest swapping the sand for compost or something water-retaining, and this will again help your grass next year when drought stressed.
You’ve mowed, scarified and aerated your lawn but don’t panic at this point, as it may look like a rugby scrum has just taken place on your lawn, just think of your lawn as a patient that’s just gone through intensive care and now it’s on the road to recovery and just like that patient your lawn now needs good sustenance to reach its peak potential again.
Feed Your Lawn
Once your lawn has had a few weeks to settle down after all your hard work and nature has provided rain and moistened the ground again, then it’s time to feed your lawn with an autumn lawn feed. Autumn lawn feeds are lower in nitrogen but higher in phosphates which helps to toughen up the green part of the grass and strengthen the roots ready for winter and a good start in the spring. If you’ve got quite large areas of lawn why not consider a Drop-spreader for quick and easy application?
"By next year you won’t be browned off - instead your neighbours will be green with envy!"
So there we go, some easy steps to bring your lawn back to life starting this autumn. By next year you won’t be browned off - instead, your neighbours will be green with envy!