Having Your Garden Ready For Summer
Friday, April 23rd, 2010After a long harsh winter, springtime is time to rejuvenate your garden and make sure it is ready for the time of year when you use it the most, summer. Owners of the best kept lawns know that work starts well before the sunshine begins.
The first thing to do when preparing your garden is to rake in thatch and any other solid matter that can clutter up the grass such as clippings and leaves. This can trap moisture in the soil and mould. You can make an exception based on the climate you live in but otherwise raking would have the best impact in autumn, ideally when you are raking up fallen leaves, you might also want to rake up any grass clippings when you mow.
If particular areas of grass have been subject to traffic and activity, such as a footpath or driveway, the soil will compact squeezing out all the air. This will suffer from excessive run-off and provide for a poor root bed for new grass to grow. To fix this you will need to aerate the area which can be done in a variety of ways ultimately perforating the surface of the soil. One fun way is to wear spiked shoes and walk up and down on the damaged area.
If you have bare patches caused by heavy traffic or dogs you will need to spread seed to fill in the blanks. This is known as ‘over seeding’ which involves sowing grass seed over the bare patches along with nitrogen fertilizer. The ideal time to do this is when your grass has just been mowed and in the autumn. This will give it time to take root and grow slowly over the winter ready for the spring boom.
You will need to control any weed problems you have, you will want to apply herbicides in spring to address the issue by preventing seeds germinating. You might need to take further steps if you have ‘over seeded’ as this may fuel a weed problem. However some herbicides won’t be able to distinguish between weeds and grass seed. So be sure to tackle your weeds before planting grass, or leave it until the grass has grown.
At the start of Spring, spread a slow release fertilizer to kick start your lawn’s new growth, it is important to use a slow release fertilizer as the weather in spring can be unpredictable so you could kill it off if it grows too fast and a thick frost appears.
There are many companies who provide a variety of lawn care services and most DIY/garden centres will have a selection of lawn treatment products to help you maintain your garden.
