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How to Keep your Grass Green

How to Keep your Grass Green
12th January 2014 Lawn UK
Green Grass.jpg

Everyone wants to have that perfect green lawn all year round.  This might seem difficult, but it is quite easy if you take the right steps at the right time.

Start Out Right

Keeping your grass green starts before you even sow your grass seed.  You should use an appropriate fertilizer while doing the final preparation for seeding. This fertilizer should be high in long-term nutrients such as phosphate, but not have too much nitrogen, which will be part of your later lawn fertilizer anyway.  Your grass seed will be off to a great start if you have given it the nutrients it needs before you sow the seed.

Plan Ahead with a Lawn Fertilizer Program

Design a yearly fertilizer program for your lawn right away and stick to it.  That way you will always have a beautiful green lawn to admire.  It doesn’t have to be complicated, just a few notes on paper to remind you what to buy, when to fertilize and which type of lawn fertilizer  to use at each time of the year.

There are two key components in a fertilizer program.  In autumn and winter you will be thinking about strengthening the grass and providing long-term nutrients.  Fertilizers for that time of year will contain plenty of potassium, which strengthens the grass and makes it more resistant to cold.  Apply this kind of lawn fertilizer from September to the end of the year.

When spring comes it is time to think about getting your grass to grow.  A dense, thick turf will look beautiful, but it will also resist weed invasion and damage from children, dogs and garden parties.

To start the season, probably in March, you should use a quick-release, high nitrogen lawn fertilizer to get your grass off to a strong start.  These kinds of fertilizers don’t last very long, however, so now you have two choices.

You can continue with the same fertilizer every six weeks for the rest of the season, finishing in early August.  You will have emerald green lawn all summer long.

However you might not want to be fertilizing your lawn so frequently.  In that case choose a slow-release fertilizer that will last ten to twelve weeks.  If you apply it in early May you probably won’t need to fertilize again until that autumn feed in September.

Weed and Moss Control

The greenest lawn is always the one free of moss and weeds.  So using a weed-killer once or twice a year should also be part of your program.  The best time is May, when the spring weeds have germinated.  A four in one fertilizer at that time will give you a nice green-up, weed-control, moss-control and slow-release feeding all summer long.

If you have a very weedy lawn, September is also a good time to control weeds.  You should avoid using weed-killers during a hot summer as you might burn the grass.  On the other hand, weeds must be growing for the control to work, so mid-winter isn’t a good time either.

Don’t Forget the Water

Water is the other part of a constantly green lawn.  In most part of the UK a built-in system is probably not necessary unless you have a very large property.  All you need to have available is a sprinkler or two and enough hose-pipe to reach all parts of your lawns.  If you are on very sandy soil you may see your lawn begin to dry-our after a few days of warm, dry weather.  If your soil is more of a loam or clay it may take a week or so of dry weather for it to dry out.  Keep an eye on your grass during dry spells.  If the leaves are beginning to roll-up like a cigarette, it is time to water.

Always water your lawns thoroughly and then wait until they begin to dry before watering again.  Frequent shallow watering will produce shallow root systems that will dry quickly and will not access the nutrients in your soil.

If you know you won’t be able to water your lawn, choose lawn seed that is drought resistant.  These mixtures will easily survive even long try periods, and come back quickly as soon as it rains.

Overseeding

If you do find areas that are not so green, overseeding is the best way to bring some fresh grass to those areas.  Applying new grass seed will quickly bring back the green you want.

2 Comments

  1. Taj 5 years ago

    Have you ever heard of Vinegar as a weed killer?

    I’ve previously heard about salt as an organic option, but recently came across Vinegar as a solution – never tried it but I guess It’s still the right time to do so…

    Thanks!

    • Author
      Lawn UK 5 years ago

      Hi Taj – how did you get on using Vinegar? Would be interested to see the results.

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