A step by step guide on how to look after your lawn

1. RS Gardening Services | Lawn care tips
Using the IPC method
Indentification
1. walk over the ground first - make mental notes on what seems to be problem
Whether its mossy - bad drainage
patchy - Have you got pets is their a fox
problem
or it could be too stoney
2. what colour is it ;- Red tip often sign of red thread on fine turf
yellow often means malnourished - what was the weather like -
was there a drought did you have heavy down pours

2. is the grass in shade
are there trees or
overhanging shrubs near by if so then you got a problem with roots or too much shade
Could also be that the
couch grass is too long and needs to cut short
Prevention
1. Moss tends to caused by bad drainage - either after heavy uses of the ground
especially clay which can compact and impede drainage
2. unfortunately there is no real way to prevent your pets from doin what comes
naturally to them - so either if have a garden big enough to have a play area
in which your dogs can play which you can fence off. or just live it with - same
thing with foxes i’m afraid
3. red thread is a fungus that affects fine turf - it can be prevented by using a
switch broom first thing in the morning to knock of the dew from the leaves as
that creates a perfect environment for it - then spray it with a fungicide specifically
for lawns- when feeding the lawns do not use a high nitrogen feed as this will
make the leaves sappy and weak to fight it off
4. yellow leaves during drought conditions - should be watered early in the morning
and last thing in the evening to avoid water evaporation avoid feeding it again as
you probably not doing it any favours - grass will grow back as soon as the
climate changes
5. yellow leaves in spring - these are the long stalks of grasses that have grown
because the grass wasn’t cut low enough the year before - in that case strim
the the grass back to ground zero and feed it with fertilizer and water it in
Control
Moss can be treated by -
1. improving drainage in autumn - by spiking the lawn with a aerator - this leaves
small deep holes in the ground and relieves compaction and allow excess water
and air to mingle between the roots
2. after that back fill the holes with good topsoil mix depending on your soil type ie
for clay you need more sharp sand ratio to peat and loam and high ratio of
peat and loam to sand for loose soils
3. these are then rubbed in using the stiff broom or loot ,into the holes - to prevent
them from ceiling up
4. always work backwards

3. 5. leave till the spring and try and avoid walking on wet grass if you can put down
temporary pathing
6. by now the grass should be just breaking through the topsoil
● another cause of moss over hanging branches of shrubs cut these back or cut
around the shrub
● in spring you can start your feed and weed regime most feeds contain a moss
killer -

4. 1. remove the moss with a rake a method known as scarifying - always do this
when the moss is dead and not green otherwise you are just spreading the
spores
2. you might find that you are left with bare patches - these you can fill in by
reseeding

5. Spring and Summer lawn care
Feeding
When the grass is starting to grow it’s essential to give it a good start for the season
with a good quality lawn feed.
These come in two types and two category ;-
● Spring to Summer feed :-
1. Weed and feed with moss killer
2. Evergreen without weedkiller and moss
● and Autmn feed
Spring and Summer feed
These come in either granules which heavily rely on watering in if it doesn’t rain -
though now with the days of modern science you get them that relies on drew to
activate.
The only set back is that its expensive
Verticuting or scarifying
This is done after the application of the moss killer or weed Killer
It not only removes ;-
● Moss from the lawn
● and other debris like leaves
● It also helps the blades of grass to stand out for cutting

6. ● It also helps to slit the rhizomes of the grass producing more shoots and
growth
● However the harshness of it does take its toll on the grass and may look
unsightly
But the when the grass recovers it will look even better than before

7. Reseeding
As I mentioned before after you the treatment you will probably be left with bare
patches after the moss has been removed & depending on the severity the patches will
either have to reseeded or returved
By rule of thumb you should over sow the recommended dose say 30g/m2
this is to allow for competition from the birds and poor germination.
The area should be patted own with a lawn rake to make sure that the seeds have
contact with the soil from above and down bellow