Spring lawn weed and feed.

Spring is the time to set the foundation for the year. There is plenty of moisture in the soil and temperatures are beginning to rise so spring is a great time to get a base feed of fertilizer to give the plant the best start. It is also a great time to apply herbicides to prevent the broad-leaved weeds from getting a foothold. Your lawn may also have some moss creeping in following the wet winter months, spring is a good time to eradicate this using iron and scarifying. It is also a great time to aerate the lawn following the compaction from rain and foot traffic during the winter months. Overseeding is recommended too as it’s a great time for seedlings to establish and thicken the sward.

What will a basic spring treatment involve? Following a free site visit (recommended as no 2 lawns are the same) I will suggest what feed your lawn needs to give it the best start. This will be in the form of a fertilizer, herbicide and moss control.

If you wish to have any aeration (see what is aeration?), scarifying (see what is scarifying?) I can quote for those as separate additional treatments.

Summer

Summer is the time when your lawn needs extra help to look its best. The sun can scorch the plant and dry out the soil creating a harsh environment. Or, being the UK where we can have all the seasons in one day it could be very wet. Weeds will take advantage of a weakened grass plant and invade any space available.  I can help alleviate these issues by applying slow-release fertilisers that spoon feed the plant, moisture control products that will help the plant utilise the water available in the soil more readily and growth regulators to slow leaf growth which means less frequent mowing for you and herbicides to knock back the weeds.

A basic summer treatment will include slow release fertiliser and weed control. A deluxe treatment will include a growth regulator and moisture control.

Autumn.

Autumn is the time to prepare your lawn for the colder temperatures and less daylight. This means the plant begins to slow down its leaf growth and less sunlight means less energy for the plant. Now is the time to encourage deeper root growth and disease resistance by adjusting the food supplied to the plant. It will need less nitrogen and more of the lesser utilise nutrients like calcium, magnesium, phosphorous and potassium. Iron will also be required to help harden the plants cell walls against disease and also slow the encroachment of moss. Autumn is also a good time for aeration and scarifying to improve drainage rates and remove excess organic matter following the summer. Overseeding can also be done in the autumn while soil temperatures are still reasonably high and moisture is becoming readily available again.

Basic Autumn treatments will include low nitrogen fertiliser with micro nutrients, moss control and a final herbicide treatment. Other treatments such as excess moisture control and aeration, overseeding and scarification can be added as required.

Winter

At this time of year the grass will be dormant (unless it is particularly mild) so we need to protect the plant from disease, moss encroachment excess moisture. Now is the time to apply penetrants to help wick excess moisture through the soil profile and continue to strengthen the plant with applications of micro nutrients such as calcium, magnesium etc.

Basic Winter treatments include low nitrogen fertiliser including micro nutrients and root feed. Moss control. Other treatments such as moisture control can be added as required.