HOW TO KEEP YOUR LAWN HAPPY

The best way to get a healthy, lush lawn all year-round starts in spring with dethatching, aerating, fertilising, re-seeding and, finally, mowing. But exactly what is the best way to do all these activities?

AERATE

Whether or not you’ve decided to dethatch your lawn, aerating is a great way to allow oxygen to penetrate the soil, especially in high traffic areas that can get compacted and stifle growth. Also, aerating allows fertilisers to easily reach the grass roots. There are a few ways to aerate your lawn. Most of the manual methods, like using a garden fork, are pretty slow but effective, so allow plenty of time for a bigger lawn. If your soil is hard, give it a deep water the day before to make the job easier.

PS : If your knees are a bit dodgy, or you don’t have much time, there are motorised options you can rent.

FERTILISE

Spring is a great time to fertilise your lawn as it’s the initial growing time. Gardening outlets have shelves full of fertilisers for different lawn types, soil types, sun or shade, spray-on or sprinkle-on, so read the instructions carefully to get the best results. If you’re using a dry or powdered fertiliser, don’t forget to water it in! A motorised spreader is ideal for evenly distributing granulated fertilisers. If you prefer a liquid fertiliser, a motorised sprayer will help you knock this off quickly; and if your lawn is subject to weeds, a ‘weed & feed’ spray can do wonders, too.