The dry spring and summer have been putting a lot of stress on lawns.
If you’re a keen gardener, or wondering how to revitalise your patch of turf before putting your home on the market, you’re probably looking online for all sorts of tips and tricks.
Keeping your garden in pristine condition can be challenging when the summer heat starts beating down.
Most buyers will be sympathetic to your plight, of course. But working on your lawn to bring it back to its former glory doesn’t do any harm.
These nine essential tips will help your grass thrive during the summer.
Watering
A common mistake is to water the garden in the evening. Water will sit on the roots and initiate disease or a rotting process. It’s best to water during the early morning or late afternoon, as the heat of the day and evaporation will ensure the roots do not become soaked and rot.
Playing possum?
Brown grass may look dead, but that may not be the case. The best way to tell is to pull on a piece of grass. If it stays in the soil, then the grass is dormant. If it comes out easily, then yes it’s probably dead.
Save the grass
Dormant grass can come back within two weeks if you take a few essential actions.
Raking
The first step to reviving dormant grass is to rake over it to allow air and moisture to enter the soil, and to pick up leaf litter, especially from gum trees. This is called dethatching.
Forking
You should use a garden fork to aerate the soil. You don’t want the earth to become too dense, as this will kill the grass. By using a fork or garden aerator (essentially a drum of spikes that rolls over the grass), you will ensure your lawn receives essential nutrients.
Weeding
Dandelions and the like have to go. Use a favourite weed-puller to get rid of them. Do not break out the poisons, as this will hurt the grass, too. With the weeds gone, the grass will have more water and nutrients.
Feeding
Boost your law with a nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium feed.
Top-dressing
Once you’ve done the basic survival tasks, you can sprinkle top-dressing soil over your lawn to enrich the existing soil. You’ll boost the grass and improve the soil structure at the root level. Mulch is an excellent alternative to top-dressing soil.
Mowing
Ease up on the mowing while your grass is recovering. It’s a good idea to let it grow a little longer than usual, say 5cm-6cm, while you remain concerned about its health. Also, take the catcher off your mower so the grass clippings can feed the lawn.