Autumn Lawn Care
Believe it or not, the lawn care year starts in autumn. Our ancestors always regarded the end of summer as the beginning of the new-year, and indeed, Mother Nature seems to think the same way.
Autumn is when new seeds are sown, gardens start to recover from the stress of summer usage, and gardeners start to plan for next summer. So what lawncare tasks should you be doing this season? Chris Webster from Keep It Green Garden Maintenance advises.
Lawn Mowing in Autumn
Mowing is the single most important thing you can do for your lawn in autumn. The most common lawn diseases are caused by microscopic fungi that thrive in warm damp conditions. You may be putting on extra layers of clothing as the air starts to feel chilly, but soil temperatures are still toasty warm. And so is the temperature right down amongst the grass blades in your lawn. Add to that increased air humidity and you have the perfect breeding ground for Fusarium patch disease.
Regular mowing, not only reduces the height of the grass blades that trap moist air, it also “wafts” the grass around and helps to disperse moisture and circulate fresh air within the sward. If you are lucky enough to live near a golf course, you might notice the greenkeepers “switching” the grass. A switch is a long, flexible cane that is flicked over the surface of the grass to shake off the water droplets that create a disease conducive atmosphere. I’m not suggesting that you go out every morning as the sunrises to switch your lawn – but by mowing at least once a week, you’ll certainly help to control the moisture levels.
Advice for autumn mowing:
· Mower blades must be super-sharp – blunt blades wound the grass and allow disease to take hold
· Mow regularly – even if you only take the tips off the grass blades
· Always collect the clippings
· Maintain a family lawn at around 5cm. A fine lawn can be mown a little shorter at around 3cm
· Never scalp your lawn in autumn – the grass plants need those leaves to harvest what little sunshine there is and to protect the soil from frost.
· Move toys, furniture, tools etc off the lawn as soon as you have finished with them – don’t wait for mowing time
Leaf Clearance
Surely leaf clearance must be the most tedious autumn lawn care job there is. Just as you think you’ve finished, another lot falls. Don’t give up though. Every autumn leaf that is left on the lawn over winter will have produced a bald patch come the spring.
My top tip for leaf clearance is to run over the lawn with the mower and grass box. This will pick up most of the leaves and it won’t take long to move the rest with a leaf blower.
What to do with all of those leaves? I thoroughly recommend creating a compost bin, especially for autumn leaves. It does take 2-3 years for them to break down and form leafmold, but when they do you’ll have the very best mulching material ever produced by nature.
Lawn Edging
As summer draws to a close, the beds and borders in the garden start to lose their colour. For the next few months, interest in the garden comes almost solely from structural plants, hedges, topiary etc. Precision trimmed lawn edges are essential for winter. They make the whole garden look sharper, more manicured, and yes, loved.
Lawn Treatments
While some plants seem to hibernate over winter, the plants in your lawn are being super-busy beneath the soil surface. Top growth seems to slow, but the roots are still growing and still working to protect the plant from frost and disease.
Your autumn lawn care regime should definitely include an application of autumn-winter lawn feed. It’s imperative that you choose an appropriate feed and don’t feel tempted to use up what’s left of the summer fertiliser. Autumn lawn feed needs to be relatively low in nitrogen. Nitrogen encourages fast growth, which in winter is not sustainable for the plants. Think of it as the equivalent of feeding your child on a 100% fast food diet. He or she will get big but not strong!
You may also want to consider scarifying and aerating your lawn in autumn. Aerating helps to improve drainage and encourages plant roots to grow deeper into the soil. Scarifying gets rid of all that thatch that slows down airflow. It’s also a big help in the fight against moss.
Turfing and Seeding
New turf can be laid at any time of year, but in my opinion, turf laid in autumn establishes far more efficiently than summer laid turf. It normally requires less care too. Mild weather, warm soil and plenty of rain are exactly what the grass plants need to get settled. And with Mother Nature’s input, you’ll hopefully have less watering to do.
Sowing grass seed is definitely a seasonal job. And that applies as much to oversowing as it does to creating new lawns or paddocks from seed. Spring sowings usually establish well, but remember that a seeded area needs at least 6 months before it’s ready to receive traffic. Isn’t it better to sow in autumn knowing that you won’t be using the lawn over the winter period?
Help with Autumn Lawn Care
The team at Keep It Green Garden Maintenance are very experienced in all aspects of lawn care. No lawn is too big or too small for our lawn care experts. We have professional-grade mowers that cope well with wet grass. We also have blowers to clear away those unwanted leaves and spreaders for applying lawn feed.
Contact us today for a free quotation for commercial lawn care and domestic gardening. We’re here to help.
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