How to repair your damaged lawn after the hot summer weather.
Over the summer, your lawn can really suffer.
The weather is hotter and we use our gardens much more than the rest of the year.
So it’s inevitable that your grass will show the signs come autumn!
It may be brown, thin and patchy and generally not looking as good as you want it to!
But don’t despair…
It may not be as bad as it looks!
The good news is that BROWN grass doesn’t necessarily mean DEAD grass!
Brown grass will revive itself after a good rainfall.
So you might have to play the waiting game until it rains to see what you’re dealing with!
If after a good watering your grass has repaired itself, you can give it a helping hand for next year:
- Keep your mower blades on a high setting over the winter and into spring.
- Apply a lawn feed in the autumn to aid recovery.
- Aerate your lawn to avoid compaction and allow the rain in. (Make sure you use spikes and not hollow tines for this.)
What can you do if it doesn’t recover naturally?
If after a few weeks and some rainfall your grass isn’t showing signs of repairing itself, don’t worry. You can give it a gentle nudge by over-seeding and adding lawn dressing!
- Scarify if necessary – gently remove any thatch and/or moss with a rake
- Remove any weeds
- Rake your lawn to break up the surface
- Scatter grass seed and rake over to ensure an even spread and get the seed into the soil
- If you are also adding lawn dressing, brush a layer over your lawn
- Water where you have seeded, sit back and wait for your new grass!
The seed should start to grow in 7-10 days – simple!
What about patches?
Where the grass is dead in patches, you can remove it and add new seed.
- Scrape away the dead grass using a small trowel
- Rake the soil to loosen it
- Add a layer of grass seed (also add seed to the surrounding grass to blend together the old and new) and water.
You should see new grass growing within a week.
And if it’s beyond repair?!
If there’s nothing you can do to revive your grass, the time may have come to invest in a new lawn!
The idea of laying new turf may fill you with dread but it’s quite a simple job.
Take a look at our blog on How To Prepare For Laying Turf for our top tips and advice.
We have a handy turf calculator on our website so you know how much turf you need to order.
And our wide range of turf types means we have something to suit all needs.
Our Hard Wearing Garden Turf can withstand dry conditions so is perfect for dry summers!
Take a look here to see which would be right for you and your garden.
Good luck, and as ever, if you need any help or advice just get in touch!