How to Care for Your Lawn over Winter

A neat, lush lawn is a vital part of the quintessential British garden, and we spend a lot of money during spring and summer getting our lawns in tip-top condition.

But now summer has gone, and for most of us looking after our gardens and lawns is limited to a bit of pruning and tidying.

According to the Royal Horticultural Society, however, lawn care doesn’t stop in autumn and winter. Autumn is actually a good time of year to put in a little effort to ensure your lawn and garden are looking their best next summer.

Care and Attention

Mowing and scarifying your lawn in autumn

Firstly, you can continue to mow your lawn throughout the autumn, and even into early winter if the weather has been especially mild, but stop any mowing as soon as the lawn stops growing, and set your electric or hand propelled petrol lawn mowers to their longest setting.

Secondly, scarify your lawn to remove the moss with a spring-tined rake and get rid of the weeds, as these will suffocate the lawn and stop it growing. If you have a really big garden or a lot of lawn, you can buy mechanical scarifiers which will make the job a lot easier.

Aerating your lawn for better drainage

Then, every couple of years, aerate your lawn to improve drainage. Use a garden fork to create holes about 10-15cm apart and the same amount deep. If drainage is a problem in some part of your garden, aerate each autumn and consider buying a hollow-tine aerator.

Getting the right equipment

The Right Equipment

If you’re not sure about what equipment you need, take a look at a specialist garden care retailer that can offer a broad range of garden equipment, and you can view the latest hand propelled petrol lawn mower as well as hedge trimmers, strimmers and chainsaws if you need to.

And finally, autumn is the time to treat any problems your lawn might have, such as fungal diseases and damage cause by chafer grubs and leatherjackets. There are chemical and non-chemical treatments available, but as the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, so getting into good lawn-care habits will save you time and money in the long run.

Then when winter really sets in, you can sit back and know that a beautiful green lawn is waiting for you next spring.

Summary

This article gives autumn and winter lawn care tips, recommending mowing on a longer setting until growth stops, scarifying to remove moss and weeds, and aerating every couple of years to improve drainage. It also suggests treating problems like fungal disease or chafer grubs in autumn, and using a specialist retailer to find the right equipment for the job.

Questions this article raises

• How often should a lawn actually be aerated for the best results?
• What’s the difference between chemical and non-chemical lawn treatments?
• When exactly should mowing stop for the winter?