How to renovate your lawn
After a long, active summer of wear and tear, lawns can look a bit threadbare at this time of year, especially if there’s been a period of drought. Play equipment and garden games create unsightly bare patches, while a misplaced foot can result in broken edges. Some problems reveal themselves over the summer months, such as mower-scalped high-spots or darker areas of longer grass that are tell-tale signs of an uneven surface. If there are nearby trees and shrubs, you may also have problems caused by roots or overhanging foliage. Don’t wait until spring to tackle these problems, by acting now you can make sure your lawn is in tip-top condition, ready for next season.
Tools for the job
Ways to improve your lawn this autumn
- Apply a spot weedkiller
- Scratch the thatch
- Repair broken edges
- Flatten lumps and hollows
- Aerate compacted areas
- Topdress to level lawns
- Over-sow thin patches
Scratch the thatch Take off your shoes and socks to test the health of your lawn at this time of year. As you walk around, wiggle your toes to see if you can identify any hard, compacted patches or noticeably softer areas. Spongy spots where there’s little or no moss will have a build-up of dead lawn clippings and other debris at the base of the grasses – known as ‘thatch’. If left, this layer will weaken the grasses and encourage a weed invasion. The solution is simple – just give your lawn a good scratch! Using a spring-tined lawn rake for smaller areas or a powered lawn rake for larger ones, vigorously scratch the lawn to remove the thatch.
Moss problems If moss is present, it is a sure sign the lawn isn’t growing well. This is usually as the result of too much shade, although poor drainage, compaction and acidic soil conditions can also be to blame. The only long-term solution to getting rid of moss is to rectify the underlying cause, such as cutting back overhanging branches or thinning tree canopies to let in more light. There are short-term cures, of course - such as applying a mosskiller or lawnsand now or during the spring - but the moss will return with time. If you decide to apply a mosskiller now, do not use a combined treatment that includes a fertiliser, since this will encourage lush grass growth that’s vulnerable to frost and disease.
Worn areas The patches of grass under children’s play equipment, at narrow access points onto a lawn, as well as short-cuts across it, often get compacted and worn from constant use. The lack of air-spaces in the compacted soil will prevent the grass recovering quickly, because any root-growth will be impeded. You can counteract this by spiking the affected areas using a garden fork. Make rows of holes at 15cm intervals, pushing the fork in as deep as you can. Wiggle the fork about each time you push it in to open up the holes. Then scatter a gritty mixture of sharp sand and sieved garden soil over the lawn and work it into the holes using a stiff-bristled yard broom. If the same patch of lawn receives constant wear, consider reinforcing the area with heavy-duty, plastic mesh pegged down flat on the ground, or installing stepping stones.
Broken edges Razor-sharp edges really improve the appearance of a lawn and can have a huge impact on the garden as a whole. Individual broken edges can be repaired by cutting out a turf that includes the damaged area, using a special half-moon edging iron or a border spade. Reverse the turf, so that the damaged area is within the lawn and the lawn edge is complete. Fill the damaged area with sieved soil, level and firm, then reseed. If there are a lot of broken edges, you might want to re-cut the whole edge to get it back into shape. Use a plank as a guide for straight edges and a piece of garden hose for curves. My top tip, here, is to use an old bread knife to achieve the neatest finish – even along straight edges. However, if the edges collapse, because your soil is light and crumbly, the only long-term solution is to install a permanent edging strip that will reinforce the edges.
Bumps and hollows Uneven areas of a lawn become evident during the summer when high spots are scalped by the lawnmower blades and hollows remain lush and green. Small individual lumps and hollows can be rectified by cutting an H-shaped slit over the problem area using a special half-moon edging iron or a border spade. Once undercut, the flaps of turf can be peeled back to expose the hole or lump. Using a garden fork, probe the soil for rubble or roots that might be causing the problem and remove any when found. Then add or remove soil to level the ground before replacing the flaps of turf. If large areas of the lawn are uneven, you could try topdressing the whole lawn with a gritty mixture of sharp sand and sieved garden soil, spreading it level with a straight-edged board. Do not add more than 1cm of topdressing at any one time otherwise you risk smothering the grasses underneath. If necessary, repeat the process during the spring once the grass is growing strongly again.
Trees and shrubs Tree roots and suckers can come to the surface during the summer months, and shrubs and other nearby plants may flop over and shade-out the edge of the lawn. If roots have surfaced, follow the technique described for bumps (above), to expose the root and then cut it out before leveling the lawn again. Troublesome suckers need to be traced back to the root and then ripped off – do not cut them off otherwise they will just keep on sprouting. Again, restore the surface of the lawn after the sucker has been removed. Overhanging shrubs will weaken and may kill the grass underneath, allowing mosses and weeds to invade. You have two options here: either cut back the shrub to let in more light; or recut the edge of the grass so that the shaded area becomes part of the border.
Weeds and coarse grasses Individual weeds can be removed using an old kitchen knife – making sure you remove the carrot-like root of dandelions and other tap-rooted weeds. Patches of coarse grasses can be weakened by systematically slashing the patches with the knife each time you mow. I prefer not to use chemicals, but if you don't mind, a spotweeder is an effective way of getting rid of troublesome weeds - dab it on each one. Where the weeds are more widespread, you might prefer to apply a lawn weedkiller to the whole lawn instead. At this time of year, do not use a combined treatment that includes a fertiliser, since this will encourage lush new growth that will be vulnerable to winter damage. Later, level and reseed any bare patches as described for ‘Worn areas’ (above).
