Top 5 Tips to Protect Your Lawn This Winter
For many gardeners, the winter months may signal the end of the gardening tasks for another year and accept that they will have to repair and rebuild any damage next year. This doesn't have to be the case! In this blog we will discuss some small tips that can have big benefits for those who want to protect their lush green lawn and give it the best 'head start' before spring rolls around once again. So without further ado, here are some top tips to protect your lawn during the winter months.
Aerate the lawn at least once per year
Winter is a fantastic time to aerate the lawn as it allows the soil beneath the lawn to breathe and allow any frost to get right into the ground which will aid in breaking up any soil compaction.
Remember to target any particularly hard or damp areas of the lawn to help alleviate any problems.
Keep mowing
Most people don’t bother cutting the lawn throughout the winter, after all you won’t be spending much time outdoors enjoying it. However by mowing the lawn in the winter, it discourages garden pests from settling in and making a home in the long grass as well as allowing the lawn to breathe.
We recommend setting the blades on your lawn mower a little higher than you usually would and mow less regularly than summer time.
Apply seed to any patches
Unfortunately, fertiliser won’t help areas that are already damaged/ dead. Instead, consider applying a generous amount of seed to these spots to help encourage growth by the time spring comes back around. Generally speaking, the best time of year to apply seed is late august – mid September. After the seed is down, remember to keep the grass well watered, although the British winter rain can usually do this by itself.
Rake away fallen leaves
During the autumn, ensure you have a rake or blower at hand to help remove the leaves from your lawn as they can fall thick and fast during this period. Remove as much as you can as not only does this make the garden look much more clean and tidy, but also helps the lawn by opening up pores for the root system below and allowing it to breathe.
Keep off off the grass
This one goes without saying, by limiting traffic on the lawn you limit any kind of damage that would otherwise be part of the wear-and-tear cycle that any garden would normally suffer from. If your lawn is in some kind of communal area, you could always leave a polite sign to let others know.
If worst comes to the worst and your lawn has suffered during a particularly difficult winter, never fear. Spring is just around the corner and is the ideal time to seed or re-turf any dead spots in the lawn. Online Turf offers a variety of high quality turf products suitable for any lawn. Click here to see our products page:
