Maintenance schedule for a luscious lawn

When it comes to maintaining a conventional lawn, it can be confusing to knowing what to do to keep your lawn looking at its best. Here's a guide to keep your lawn looking luscious!

Mowing: March to October

How often ? For most domestic lawns, a weekly or fortnightly mow is sufficient to keep the lawn looking healthy and to suppress weed growth. When the grass is growing quickly, go for a weekly cut. If the grass is growing slowly or there's drought conditions, a fortnightly mow is optimum. From November to February, only mow if it's mild and the grass is still growing and use a higher cut setting. Do not mow in boggy or frozen conditions as this may damage the lawn and soil! What height setting? Aim for a height of 1.5-2.5cm in the summer months, 3-4cm in spring and autumn and 5-6cm in winter. Try not to take more than one-third off the grass blade length in any single mowing as this can stress the grass. Remember to check that the mower blades are sharp and clean to get a great cut!

Aerating: Once every 2-3 years; September-October

Aerating is spiking the lawn to improve the flow of air and water around the grass roots. Aeration helps to protect the lawn against waterlogging and drought. How often? Once every two or three years for most lawns, in autumn. If you have a large lawn or lawns, then aerating a different area each year is an option. How do I aerate the lawn? A simple method is to use a garden fork, making sets of holes at around 10cm apart. Ideally, spike the lawn using the fall length of the tines or just go as deep as you can manage, giving the fork a wiggle to enlarge the holes. Aerator tools can also be bought; some have solid tines (spikes) and others have hollow tines that extract the plugs of soil. For waterlogged or clay soils, hollow-tined aerators are more suitable, producing larger holes. Powered aerators are available too, which are labour-saving and use metal blades to produce slits in the soil; however, these are less suitable for compacted clay soils.

Top dressing - after aerating.

If you have heavy or compacted soil consider adding a 'top dressing' to the lawn after aerating to improve the soil structure. Not to be confused with a salad dressing, a top dressing is a mixture of sandy loam soil, sharp sand and multi-purpose compost which can be bought ready-made. Simply add about 1 shovel-load to every metre-squared of lawn and use the back of a rake to brush into the aeration holes.

Scarifying: Once yearly (March-April or September-October)

Take a look at your lawn. Can you see the soil between the blades of grass? If you can, your lawn probably does not require scarifying. If, however, there is a mass of moss or weeds or dead-grass between the blades of grass, then your lawn probably would benefit from this task. Scarifying involves removing debris (such as moss and old grass clippings) from around the crown of the grass. Removing this debris or 'thatch' helps water, air and nutrients to get into the soil, promoting new grass growth. How do I scarify my lawn? A simple, cost-effective method is to use a spring-tined rake. Simply work across the whole lawn with the rake, moving in one direction, aiming to dislodge the debris. You need to be fairly vigorous with the rake but try avoid over-doing it and removing all the grass! Once you've worked the lawn, go over it once again in the opposite direction. Remove all the debris from the lawn. The lawn will look a bit rough after this task but will benefit it on the longer term. If you have a large lawn, then consider getting a powered scarifier to save time; many are designed to aerate the lawn too.

Feeding with a high nitrogen fertiliser - optional! Once/twice yearly (March-August)

Does my lawn need feeding? Most lawns will be fine without feeding but a feed with a high nitrogen fertiliser can help give it a boost; nitrogen supports green leafy growth. Be aware that feeding a lawn in periods of drought may stress it and some fertilisers may be detrimental to the environment - do not apply more than the manufacturer's recommended rate. When should I feed the lawn? The best time to apply a spring/summer nitrogen fertiliser is in late March or April while the lawn is putting on new growth. Follow the manufacturers guidelines, applying evenly across the lawn when the weather is relatively cool and ideally just before rain is expected (or you can water it in if it looks like being dry). A second application can be made in the summer if appears needed (but not in drought conditions).

Watering - optional for established lawns.

Lawns will usually recover after a period of drought once rainfall returns and so this task is optional. A lawn that has been looked after with scarifying, aerating and top dressing is likely to be able to retain and use rain water more effectively than one that has not. However, if you do want to water the lawn, here are a few tips to prevent an unnecessary waste of water. Water thoroughly but infrequently. It is far more effective to give the lawn a good soaking once a week in dry weather than giving only a little water every day. A good soaking will allow the water to reach the root zone of the lawn where the water is needed - the water should be reaching a depth of about 10cm. Consider using rainwater from a water butt. - Water in the early morning to reduce water loss from evaporation. Use a smart irrigation system that monitors conditions and delivers water only when needed. Note that a new lawn (either newly turfed or from seed) will require watering in dry weather until established to keep it alive!