How to... prepare your lawn for winter
Try these tips to improve the quality of your lawn for next year
Continual use over the summer makes for a pretty exhausted lawn by this time of year. Mowing makes the lawn compacted, meaning that rainfall and nutrients will find it difficult to reach the grass roots. Grass clippings and moss can also accumulate on the lawn's surface, making it more difficult for water and air to get down into the ground.
After mowing, use a spring-tined (wire) rake to vigorously scratch out all the dead organic matter and moss from the lawn surface. On a large area, you may want to hire a lawnmower attachment or mechanical scarifier. Your lawn may look a bit untidy once finished, but the extra oxygen and water getting down into the roots will work wonders.
Get more air into the ground by driving your garden fork into your lawn to a depth of about 15cm/6in at 15cm/6in intervals. Brushing sandy topsoil into these holes will further aid drainage.
Seed any bare patches. Use a rake to roughen up the area, sprinkle on some seed and rake it in.
Feed the lawn with a high-phosphate feed to encourage root growth.
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