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Autumn Lawn Care

Autumn is the perfect time to give your lawn a check over and repair any wear and tear from the summer months. Your lawn can easily be repaired with a few simple steps in preparation for the coming winter months.

Moss control

If your lawn has patches of moss, it is always best to treat these areas first.

To get rid of the moss, use a moss killer. These can be purchased at your local garden centre. Do not worry if lawn appears to go black after treating the area of moss, this is just the moss dying off. After about two weeks you can rake over the lawn to remove any dead material.

The best way to prevent moss returning is to ensure that your lawns condition is as good as you can get it. Moss is often a sign of poor growing conditions, bad drainage, excessive shade, compaction, low fertility or over-acidity, are all possible reasons.

Poor drainage and compaction

To treat poor drainage and compaction, you should aerate the lawn and apply a top dressing. To improve the fertility, you should feed the lawn with a suitable lawnfeed material. If the lawn is suffering due to too much shade, prune back overhanging trees and shrubs. To reduce acidity, you can apply lime - such as ground chalk or ground limestone. Use sparingly or to manufacturers instructions.

It is important to rake over the lawn as this helps to remove any old grass clippings, moss, leaves and other rubbish that can build up in the turf. Getting rid of this material allows water and fertiliser to reach the grass roots.

If your lawn suffers from compaction (Areas of the lawn that get heavy traffic - such as paths and play areas) It is a good idea to aerate the lawn. To do this, push a garden fork into the ground to a depth of about 15cm (6in), and then move it backwards and forwards to create air channels in the soil. Remove the fork and do the same at 10cm (4in) intervals around the whole garden.

After you have aerated the soil, it's a good time to apply a top dressing. A simple mixture of three parts loam, six parts sharp sand and one part peat substitute will suit most soils.

Apply at about 2kg per sq metre (4lb per sq yard) and brush it into the lawn surface.

It is also a good idea to feed the lawn using an autumn lawn fertiliser. This should be high in phosphates and potash and low in nitrogen, it will encourage strong roots to develop.

Don't be tempted to use a spring fertiliser. These contain high levels of nitrogen, which is unsuitable for growth at this time of year.

Apply the fertiliser as instructed by the manufacturer. Do not be tempted to use extra as it may scorch the grass.