Feeding and weeding
I HAVE never felt the need to feed our lawn in 20 years, but where fine grasses are struggling on poor soils this could be the answer. Wait for the grass to recover from winter and mow when necessary with the blades set high at first. Gradually lower the blades to just over 1in (2.5cm), settle into a weekly mowing routine and assess the health of the lawn.
Should grass seem poor, apply a nitrogen-rich lawn fertiliser between May and July, while the soil is moist. An autumn feed high in phosphates and potash will help a lawn thicken up.
Having also never used a weedkiller on our lawn, all the ‘weeds’ featured in the rogues gallery of lawn-care books have been elevated to the status of wild flowers. Those that weave in among the grasses, such as creeping buttercup, daisies, speedwell, bird’s-foot trefoil and yarrow, are welcome and mowing puts paid to thugs like dock and thistle.
On smaller lawns, broad-leaved plantain and dandelion might spoil the look, but are easily winkled out using a screwdriver, narrow-bladed trowel, long-bladed knife or hori-hori (a useful Japanese digging tool). Clover benefits a poor lawn, as bacteria in root nodules are able to fix nitrogen from the air to the benefit of grass roots.
Adding bulbs and allowing patches of lawn to grow into mini meadows will coax other wild flowers to appear, including sheep’s sorrel, cat’s ear and knapweed. If you are chemical-free (and don’t have a dog), you can harvest a few sorrel leaves for salads and make tea from yarrow.