What to Do After Laying New Turf in the Middle of Summer
Lay new turf in the middle of summer and the job is only half done when the last roll is down. Fresh turf has no roots into the soil beneath it, so in hot weather it can dry out and…
Category Lawn
Clay Soil Lawns Bake Hard and Crack in Summer (and How to Soften Them)
If your lawn turns rock-hard and starts to crack in summer yet sits soggy for days after rain, you are gardening on clay. The fix is not more water in the dry spells or better drainage pipes in the wet…
The Best Time of Day to Mow Your Lawn During a Hot Summer
The single best window to mow in a hot summer is mid-morning, roughly between 8 and 10am, once the dew has dried but before the day reaches its peak temperature. A late afternoon slot, around 4 to 6pm, is a…
Why Feeding Your Lawn in Hot Dry Weather Can Scorch It Brown
If the forecast shows a run of hot, dry days, the safest thing you can do for your lawn is put the granular feed back in the shed. Applying a standard high-nitrogen lawn fertiliser to dry, heat-stressed grass is one…
What Really Happens to Your Lawn When You Stop Mowing It
Letting the mower stay in the shed sounds like the easiest gardening decision you could make, and for a few weeks it really does help wildlife. But a lawn left completely uncut does not turn into a flower meadow on…
How to Cut an Overgrown Lawn in June Without Stressing the Grass
Come back from a fortnight away in June, or finally tackle a corner you have been ignoring, and the grass can be shin-high. The instinct is to drop the mower to its lowest setting and hack it all off in…
Birds Pecking at Your Lawn Could Mean Grubs Are Feeding Below the Surface
If crows, magpies, rooks, or starlings have started working over your lawn at dawn, jabbing their beaks into the turf and leaving small round holes, they are not after the grass. They are hunting grubs living in the root zone,…
Leatherjackets Could Be Eating Your Lawn Roots Right Now Under the Surface
If patches of your lawn are yellowing and thinning, the turf feels loose underfoot, and birds have started tearing at the grass at dawn, the cause may be living an inch below the surface. Leatherjackets are the grey-brown grubs of…
Sandy Soil Lawns Brown First in Dry Spells (and How to Fix It)
If your lawn is the first in the street to fade to straw the moment the rain stops, the soil underneath is almost certainly sandy, and no amount of extra watering alone will fix it. Sandy soil drains so fast…
How to Water Your Lawn in Summer So Less Evaporates and More Soaks In
If you only change one thing about watering this summer, change the clock. Watering between 4am and 9am puts almost all the water into the soil where the roots can use it, while watering at midday throws much of it…
