LOOKING AFTER YOUR LAWN
Keep the grass ticking over until spring, says Ruth
FIRST came the scorching summer, and now we have a damp and sporadically freezing winter. Neither of these things is helping lawns look their best, but there are things you can do to keep yours looking reasonable.
Grass keeps growing if the temperature rises, so if you decide to get the mower out set its blades high and only cut the grass if it is dry.
If you have lumps and hollows in the lawn, cut away the affected turf and rake the underlying soil flat before returning the turf and lightly treading it down before watering. Do this on a mild day when the lawn isn’t frozen or saturated.
Moles become more active around now. Various sonic and chemical deterrents are available, but if you are happy to live with a few hummocks, simply brush off the soil and reseed the bare patch when the weather warms up.
Some people – including me – use the soil to pot up lifted plants. One reader wrote in to tell me I would never have any success doing this, but so far the plants I have overwintered in molehill soil are thriving.
Just as the sward keeps growing through mild winters, so does the grass at the edges of the lawn. It soon becomes straggly and encroaches on the soil, which looks unsightly and provides a hiding place for pests. Solve this problem by going round your borders with a half-moon edger or edging shears to create a neater appearance.
Waterlogging is another danger in areas of clay soil or if you have a lowlying, sloping lawn.
You can alleviate the problem by piercing the top couple of inches with a garden fork or running an aerator over the ground.
This helps open up the soil and lets air and moisture down to the grass roots.