How a few months have changed our lawns and gardens! If your lawn is anything like mine it has changed dramatically since the spring…

Do not despair, the lawn will recover with a little TLC.
After the drought has stopped i.e. late August or early September lawn renovation can begin – no need to re-lay a new lawn.

So what do need to do and why?
On large lawns I suggest hiring or purchasing a motorised scarifier, this will rapidly remove all the dead grass and thatch in the top layer of the lawn, this work will be a little dusty as your scarifying needs to be just below the dry soil surface. If you are working on small areas a springbok rake can be used to remove the dead grass and thatch instead of a mechanical scarifier.

Once the lawn has been either raked or scarified and the debris removed (this is ideal for the compost heap) you will be left with bare areas on the lawn, do not worry! If there are any low areas on the lawn then this is an ideal time to apply some good quality lawn dressing (3-6mm screened sandy soil is best).

If there is an opportunity and ground conditions prevail it is a great time to aerate the lawn with a solid tine spiker, if this is not possible then this can be reconsidered later in the autumn.

An application of Satugran should follow, Satugran is a granular wetting agent that is applied on a regular basis and helps water to penetrate the soil allowing roots to obtain the water deeper within the soil profile which helps the grass survive in drought conditions but also helps with nutrient uptake reducing water runoff.

Once we have decided on the correct grass seed mix to use, apply evenly to the complete lawn so that we get an even uniform growth, and apply at 50 grams per sq. metre (best applied through a handheld spreader or a push spreader).

After the seed has been applied the lawn will need feeding with an autumn/winter fertiliser which has not got a high Nitrogen content (this will burn any new growth) the best type of fertiliser is a controlled release fertiliser with a high level of potassium and phosphate, these two elements are key in healthy growth, especially root development (Nutralawn Micro autumn & winter)

Once the above has been carried out then the following season your lawn will be back as you expect it.