The Lawn Care Guide – July

Feed me! Feed
me!

If your lawn is
looking thin, weak and generally as if it needs a good tonic you could apply a
light dressing of fertiliser. It doesn’t need to be anything fancy or
expensive. You could use tomato fertiliser or even rose fertiliser. You just
need to ensure the nutrient ratios of Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium are
low. You don’t want more than 10% Nitrogen in the mix. Applied evenly the
fertiliser will spruce up the grass nicely. Alternatively you can apply a turf
conditioner but that might be a bit more expensive. 

A mulching deck on the
garden tractor will be a benefit if you want to leave clippings on the lawn to
protect it from the sun and drought. Less frequent mowing is likely now and
it’s good practice to raise the cutting height of the mower or cutting deck so
you don’t cut too short and expose the grass to the harsh sun. 


The grass plant
and soil microbes have a high demand for oxygen at this time so pricking the
grass with a garden fork to aerate it is beneficial. If you have a large area
you’ll probably want to aerate using an attachment for the garden tractor or a
walk behind aerator. This is best done though when the ground is not so hard,
after some early autumn rain. 


To help green up the lawn that’s scorched and
patchy, exposing thatch, irrigating heavily and infrequently will help the
plant develop a strong root system. Little and often watering encourages a
shallow root system. You want the water to sink deep so the roots push down to
get the benefit. 


If it is very dry you may have some persistent weeds and you
need to deal with these before they seed. Dig them out with a small trowel or
fork if there aren’t too many and patch with some grass seed mixed with
compost, then water with a watering can. If there’s a lot of weed wait until
September to give a weed and feed treatment. So, a little tender care for the
lawn will see you through to the autumn when you can begin a regime to help
build a healthy sward for next year.