Lawn Care
Is there anyone in Ireland that has a perfect lawn? I doubt it. It would take hours to create the perfect green space without rushes, moss, thatch or weeds.
My step dad tried for years to get a grass sward in his back garden so smooth that you could play snooker on it. He would be out there everyday with his penknife taking out weed seedlings and threatening earthworms for making casts. He was very particular in general. He once took the whole car to bits because of a rogue squeaking noise coming from the dashboard. He never found the source of the noise and it took weeks to put the car back together again. He never managed the perfect lawn either. Our two female dogs made sure of that with their acidic urine.
Thankfully for our nerves, most of us make do with the lawns we have and give them an odd feed and cut the tufty bits down when we get chance. As the grass is growing quickly now, let’s have a look at some ways to keep the grass healthy without becoming too obsessed (I did cut mine twice this week though. Where’s my penknife?)
Turf or Seed?
If you are laying a new lawn, April to May is a great time to be sowing grass seed. It's best to keep off the seedlings until this first cut so you don't trample and break the baby blades of grass. By the mid summer you should have a respectable lawn.
Turf is quicker but much more expensive and requires equally good soil preparation and lots of watering to help it settle in and grow. Try to keep the footballing kids and digging dogs off for the first few weeks. If you mow keep the cutting height up on the mower.
Maintaining the lawn
Feeding
Feeding properly with an organic lawn fertiliser will make grass greener and thicker. This also helps resist weeds and moss. Overfeeding can have really negative effects on the grass though as it increases the chance of disease because of the fast growth. It could mean cutting it more often too.
Filling hollows
If your lawn has a sunken patch, repair by making an H-shaped spade cut across it with a half-moon edging tool and then peel back the two flaps of turf over the hollow. Add some topsoil, level and firm down the flaps. Fill in the gaps left by the cuts with more topsoil.
Removing weeds
Learn to tolerate a few weeds in the lawn or you will be out every day pulling them up, but if small patches or single weeds need to be removed, pull up by hand with the help of a fork. This helps to get the deeper roots of perennial weeds out.
Surviving dry weather
During long dry spells, mow less frequently, let grass grow longer and resist the urge to use summer feeds that make lots of new growth. Don’t worry if the lawn goes brown this summer, it will recover in autumn.
Worn areas
If part of the lawn is used regularly as a path, prevent it from becoming worn away by laying stepping-stones. Dig out paving-slab slices of turf and set these just beneath the surface of the lawn so a lawn mower can pass over them safely. Try to keep off the grass if there are any late frosts.
Trimming edges
Tidying lawn edges keeps the grass looking neat and prevents it from spreading into borders. After mowing, trim any grass that overhangs the edges with long-handled edging shears or a rotary trimmer.
Repairing edges
Parts of an edge that have been severely damaged are easy to repair. Use a spade to slice through the turf, cutting out a small rectangular piece from around the damaged area. Lift from the ground with the spade and turn it around, so the damaged part now faces the lawn. Press down firmly and fill the damaged area with compost. Sow grass seed over the compost and water.
Bare patches
Bare patches attract weeds, so re-sow them now. Fork the soil to break it up, then firm and level it before applying an appropriate grass seed. Cover with fleece or polythene to keep the birds off and water regularly. Another method for covering bare patches is to use a strip of lawn from a rich growing area to patch the bare area (you'll need to re-sow the area where it came from).
Coping with moss
Show me a lawn in Inishowen that doesn’t have moss in it and I will be amazed. There is a tendency to scalp the grass to get rid of the moss but this isn’t really a good idea. Close cropping weakens the grass sward and gives the moss more room to grow. Correcting the drainage is the way to go but if this isn't possible give the lawn a dose of sulphate of iron. This will burn off the unwanted moss. It can then be raked out.
Clippings
Leave grass clippings on the lawn as they rot down and release up to 30 per cent of the lawn's required nutrients. Remove the clippings from the lawn at the beginning and end of the growing season when decomposition is slow and compost them either in your bin or a separate area set aside. Mix with plenty of coarse twigs or cardboard and paper, turning occasionally to let the air in.
Compaction and thatch build up
If your soil is compacted, fork over the area and brush some sharp sand into the holes to aerate it. If there is a large area to treat you could consider going mechanical. The hire companies have tools to cope with large areas of both moss removal and the build up of thatch, (dead matter) which can restrict growth.
