Compaction is a real risk in the winter months. It’s best to keep off your lawn as much as you can to avoid causing too much damage.
Compaction in a lawn is quite easy to spot. The ground will feel hard, bare patches may appear and water won’t drain as efficiently.
Causes of compaction include walking over the same area frequently (e.g. a path), sports/games (e.g. a football goal left in the same place), or even just mowing the lawn, using the same pattern each week.
There are a number of things you can do to reduce the effects of compaction. Spiking the lawn, using aerating shoes, or a garden fork is the easiest solution.
As they saying goes, ‘prevention is better than cure’, so try and keep off the lawn during these winter months.
