5 Tips on Caring for Your Lawn

1. Mow your lawn regularly

This is one of the best tips one can give when it comes to caring for your lawn: It is better to cut the grass not too short but therefore more often as regular trimming thickens the lawn. If you want a lush green lawn then this will take time and effort.

The first trim of the year should occur as soon as the temperatures get warmer and start encouraging growth, which can even be as early as March.

A few rules to keep in mind:

• Try and mow your grass once every 6 days. During intense growth periods you should even consider mowing it once every 4 days.
• Don’t cut off more than the top third of the blades. The ideal cutting length for ornamental lawn is 3cm, for play lawn it is approximately 6cm. The cut can be shorter if the soil quality, and nutrient and water supply are good.
• Don’t mow the lawn when it is wet. This would needlessly hurt the grass blades further and the chance of mycosis increases. On top of that, wet grass blades stick together and could clog up the lawn mower.
• No mowing when it is too hot either. Temperatures above 30C in the scorching sun let the soil dry out too quickly.
• If you haven’t cut your grass in a while then you should cut it back in stages and never cut off more than half of the blade.

2. Aerating your lawn correctly

Moss, weed and the building of grass thatch can be fought by aerating your grass area properly. The first step is to scarify the top layer of the soil to allow rain water to sink to deeper ground levels. Dammed-up water can flow off and thus the growth of moss and algae can be prevented. A lawn should be aerated in the spring and/or the autumn. It is important to not cut into the grass too deeply as this would harm the lawn more than necessary. If you choose to aerate your lawn in the springtime then wait for warmer temperatures (towards the end of March) or pick one of the last warm days in the autumn. Should you decide to aerate your lawn twice a year then the optimal way is to go from left to right in spring and then go up and down in the autumn to create a chess board pattern.

After having been aerated, a lawn tends to look quite pitiful. But when watered enough it quickly recovers and looks healthy again. Barren patches should quickly be filled up with new grass seeds. Just roll the grass seeds into the ground so that they don’t blow away immediately to ensure a quick regrowth. You can find a selection of different grass seeds on Greenland Seeds.

3. The Right Lawn Mower

What is the right lawn mower depends on the location and size of your lawn area. But also your physical condition plays a role because mowing the lawn can be hard labour.

• The scytheIt is the cheapest grass cutting gardening tool. To be able to use it properly though you will need a lot of experience and skill. It is the ideal tool for cutting hayfields or flower meadows, though.
• The cylinder mowerIt is enough for small grass areas and is powered by muscle strength. The blades in there have to be sharpened regularly.
• The rotary mowerThis is a very popular lawn mower in the private household. It is ideal for cutting grass no higher than 15cm. The blades in the mower also have to be regularly sharpened otherwise the cut grass ends up looking shaggy.
• The electric mowerThis is a highly advisable mower when your lawn area is up to 500qm large as long as you have enough electric hook-ups outside.
• Electric mower with batteryIt only has a limited battery life and is thus only suitable for small lawns. They are very quiet, though but require quite a bit of upkeep.
• Petrol lawn mowerThis lawn mower is perfect for larger and winding lawns. It manages grass of up to 10cm and with regular cleaning, oil change and servicing it has a long life span.
• Mulching MowerThe great advantage a mulch mower has over other types of lawn mowers is the fact that it immediately cuts up the grass so small that it can just remain on the lawn as fertiliser.
• The ride-on mowerGreat for large gardens but not ideal for small lawns because it just isn’t manoeuvrable enough.

One rule to be kept in mind for all lawn mowers: Clean them before you put them away for the winter. All the metal components should be oiled before going into winter storage.

4. The Right Fertilisation

Mowing the lawn takes away nutrients from the plant. To help it cope with the sudden loss of nutrients it is a good idea to add them artificially in the form of fertiliser. Otherwise the grass can be susceptible to various illnesses, drastically decrease its growth and clear the way for weeds.

However, sometimes less is more. You don’t want to overfertilise your grass either as that can leave nasty marks in it. Adjust the amount of fertiliser according to how the lawn is used.

• If many people walk over it then you can increase the amount of fertiliser being used.
• Ask yourself how many nutrients the soil can save.
• Use more fertiliser when it isn’t raining much.
• For good growth your grass will need nitrogen, phosphor and potassium. Other nutrients that are important in lesser quantities are magnesium, calcium, sulphur and the trace elements copper, iron, manganese and zinc.
• If you have just freshly sown your grass seeds then they will require more nitrogen and potassium.

It is best to fertilise the grass when it is cloudy and likely to rain. The rain water dissolves the nutrients and brings them to the roots. Don’t fertilise while the sun is out as this can burn the grass and kill off huge chunks of the lawn. Distribute the fertiliser evenly and the best idea is to take half of the recommended quantity and go over the area twice. That way you can cover areas you might have missed the first time around.

5. A Few General Tips

• Don’t walk on the grass in frosty conditions because this can break it as the blades aren’t as elastic anymore.
• Don’t have a football match right after the rain! Grass needs to recover from the downpour otherwise it can be severely damaged.
• Remove fallen leaves from the ground because the lack of light can leave barren patches.
• Remove the earth of mole hills as the grass underneath will die off.
• Water the lawn when it hasn’t been raining for over two days. Water it early in the mornings or in the evenings. Watering should be avoided while the sun is out as the burning glass effect can destroy chunks of the lawn.