How to look after your lawn in Autumn

After a dismal summer where we endured grey skies and dodging rain drops it’s fair enough to say that our lawns have suffered with us too over the period. In order to keep your lawn in top shape it will really need a bit of tender love and care at this time of year.

In autumn it is essential to keep looking after your lawn as it is still growing season. Spending time now to look after your lawn will make sure that it doesn’t suffer at the hands of a harsh winter to come.

So what do you have to do in order to achieve the goal of a healthy looking lawn throughout the autumn period? Well it will only take a few simple steps, the right equipment and the will power to look after your lawn will suffice.

Mowing

Autumn is the time of year when the growth rate of grass will start to slow down. This is due to the drop in temperatures and the days becoming shorter, this will result in the need to mow your grass becoming less frequent.

Feeding

In order to keep your lawn in top condition you will need to make sure you supply your lawn with an autumn feed. This is because over the period you will need to provide your lawn with essential nutrients so it doesn’t become infested with disease and will remain strong throughout winter.

Scarifying

Scarifying your lawns means that you will need a spring-tine rake to rake your lawn. This important process needs to be done thoroughly to eliminate dead grass, moss, and other debris. Doing this process will allow your grass to get better access to water and food which in turn will create a healthier lawn.

Aeration

Aeration is the process of taking a fork or a spiking machine and piercing the lawn in multiple places in order to improve drainage, heal the effects of constant use and improve the air flow within the soil. Doing this will put you on the path to a perfect lawn.

Topdressing

Topdressing is a procedure to fix any uneven or malnourished patches within your lawn. Simply dress the top of your lawn with your mixture (you can buy a premade topdressing from a good garden centre). To make sure that the mixture is perfectly spread over your lawn invest in a garden broom, this will ensure that the mixture covers the holes you have made previously.

The process of looking after your lawn can provide good exercise and quality fresh air, but most importantly it will provide you with a lawn that you can be proud of. For more information on gardening tips and products check out our website World of Mowers.

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Mountfield SP505R - Product Review

We all aspire for the perfect lawn, but nothing quite looks as good as a well striped lawn on a beautiful summer’s day. The SP505R is a high specification rear roller mower ideal for maintaining exactly this.  It is powered by a 160cc Honda GCV160 OHC recoil start engine and features a forged aluminium chassis which carries a 20 year anti-corrosion warranty.

There are a fair few manufacturers of 'Roller' mowers around, however what the Mountfield SP505R has is a very sturdy steel roller on the back, heavy enough to give those pleasing stripes and also stops the machine from going off the edge of the lawn into surrounding greenery. The engine (a Honda) starts easily and the controls are simple to operate. The four speed transmission offers ground speeds to suit all cutting conditions and the grass collector works extremely well on dry or damp grass.

So if you’re going for that fantastic Wimbledon look the Mountfield SP505r really is the mower for you!

Summer Lawn Care

In the UK it’s often a rarity that we get the chance to enjoy the summer sunshine, but when we do, we like to enjoy the most of it in our garden with friends and family. It’s fair to say that relaxing on a great looking green lawn makes the summer experience even more pleasurable. But for a lawn this can be the most stressful time of the year. So what can we do to help our lawn look its best?

Watering

Summer is the time when drought can occur and a lawn can turn brown and straw coloured. The most important thing we can do is give it a much deserved drink. Your lawn typically needs between 1 and 1.5 inches of water per week. If it’s really hot and your lawn starts to yellow you may need to increase this. Try to water your lawn once a week rather than spreading your watering out. The general rule here is early morning or in the evening, which probably suits most homeowners. Remember to follow any local regulations when using water in summer (especially with current hosepipe bans).

Mowing

As temperatures hot up and we move into summer the growth of your lawn may actually start to slow down, mow as and when necessary never taking more than one third of the length of the plant off in any one cut. Don’t mow the lawn too short when it is very hot as this can cause damage to occur. Use an edging iron to keep lawn edges neat and tidy. If the conditions are ideal for growth you may need to cut twice a week to keep it looking good. Check out our range of mowers here.

Feeding and Conditioning

For maximum summer lawn care, apply a summer feed to help it grow well. There are several chemical feeds available which are designed for the summer months and will help keep your lawn green and crisp during hot weather.

Planning a Summer Lawn

Looking after and maintaining a beautiful lawn is a rewarding experience and past time. The results speak for themselves and are there for all to see. A grass surface is also one of the safest surfaces for you and your family to enjoy.

It doesn’t take a lot of effort to keep your lawn looking good throughout the summer season and with the right tools and treatments at your fingertips you simply can’t go wrong. 

Mowing in Wet Weather

Mowing the grass in the rain can be miserable and without the correct equipment, you will not be doing the grass any favours either. Some commercial mowers such as the Mountfield S461 and the Hayter Motif 53 can handle the task; most residential lawn mowers aren't up to it. At best, you may end up with a badly cut lawn. At worst, you can end up with ruts and dead patches that are a pain to repair.

There are numerous of reasons why rain gives grass the upper hand when you try to mow, Grass behaves like people when it's getting rained on: it hunches over. The result is that many blades of grass get pushed over, not cut, when you try to mow. At least until the sun comes up, when all of the uncut grass should once again stand at attention. Some of the wet grass may stick to the mower blades, making it cut less efficiently.

Wet grass can stick to the mower's undercarriage, eventually getting thick enough to impede the mower blades and slow their rotation, further diminishing the mower's cutting ability.

Most mowers have mulching blades that create suction. Cut grass gets sucked up and cut into tiny pieces when it's dry. But when it's wet, the grass clumps up and doesn't get mulched.

If your grass has been saturated past its root depth, and if your mower wheels or shoes slide laterally, they can literally push the grass, roots and all, out of place, leaving ruts.

If you do decide to mow in the rain, make sure you are using a top of the range mower that is up the task.

Spring Lawn Care

As the trees blossom and the flowers start to bloom you might start to think about the aesthetics of your garden. Preparing your garden over the spring months will be important for a fantastic looking garden in the summer. Here’s how you should approach spring lawn care.

Begin with Raking
Raking your lawn is one of the most important things you can do in the spring to get a healthy lawn. Make sure the ground is relatively dry and isn't soft and squishy. By raking, you pull out all the old dead grass and lift up some of the matted grass to keep fungus problems to a minimum. It does take a considerable amount of elbow grease, but it really is the best thing you can do for your lawn. A good raking in the spring effectively acts like a basic de-thatching that helps the thickness of the grass in the summer.

Feeding and Fertilizing
A good feed with a lawn fertiliser, not only makes the grass greener, but it makes it grow thicker and increases its strength, vigour and health. This will make the grass more robust and better equipped to compete with weeds, moss and weather-related stresses. In spring, the best results are achieved by using a granular feed and a lawn spreader that supplies a vast amount of nutrients over the entire garden.

Mowing
Mowing lawns outside of the summer might seem drudgery for some, but it is an important factor in the quest for a great looking garden in the future. Regular mowing insures healthy turf and mowing at the appropriate intervals will not only insure a beautiful lawn, but will provide sustenance for the roots.

Most grasses should be maintained at a height of about 2 inches during the spring and at 2½ -3 ½ inches during the hot summer months. The reason for the higher height during the summer insures that shade is provided for the underlying growth and higher growth enhances the retention of moisture in the soil, thereby reducing requirements for watering.

The most critical rule for determining the best time to mow is to insure that no more than 1/3 of the grass blades are cut at any one time. Cutting more than this length will damage the grass. First, it will deposit more thatch in the form of cuttings on your lawn than is healthy and second, the root system and small shoots of growth will be quickly exposed to the harsh summer sun which causes stress on the plants.

The 1/3 rule means that grass will likely require more frequent mowing in the spring when the grass has just been fertilized and is growing rapidly and less often during the hot summer months when growth is slower.

Start Preparing
If you neglect your lawn during spring, you could end up paying for it the rest of the year. Start preparing now and benefit from a beautiful looking garden in the future.

Scarifying your lawn ready for Mowing

As we head towards March it may be a bit early to think about cutting the lawn especially as it may still be covered with frost. However it’s not too early to think about preparing your lawn to be cut. Over the winter while the grass doesn’t grow particularly long but there does tend to be growth of moss and grass thatch.

This moss and grass thatch growth won’t be removed with a traditional lawn mower. While raking and lawn rakers will remove the growth of moss, the wires used in rakes are not great at dethatching a lawn. Using a lawn scarifier is more effective than a rake as it has steel cutting blades that cut the thatch and prune the lawn as the lawn is cut downwards rather than cross cut that is done in mowing.

While March is the time for lawn scarifying, it shouldn’t be done if your lawn doesn’t need it. Brown grass or spongy grass doesn’t necessarily indicate thatch growth as they can be caused by other issues, the best idea is to take a sample of the lawn, and check for thatching between the grass and the soil anything from half an inch to 2 inches indicates a thatching problem and you will be best using a lawn scarifier to solve the issue.

So why not examine your lawn as we head towards March and buy a lawn scarifier ready to dethatch your lawn when it’s needed.