Lawn maintenance might not be on the top of your to do list other than mowing the grass but it’s just as important as the rest of your garden. We’ll take you through everything you need to know to keep your lawn green all year round.
Your lawn doesn’t have a big root system like trees, so it’s important to regularly feed it to maintain its density and bright green colour.
There are different types of lawn care products:
Depending on your grass and climate you should be fertilising at least twice a year, in autumn (to protect for cooler months) and spring (to boost growth).
When applying fertiliser, do it in the mornings and use something natural or organic designed to ‘slow release’. Ensure you give your lawn a good drink afterwards, otherwise, it might burn. If required, keep weeds and lawn pests at bay by applying chemicals and pesticides, only as needed and directed.
There are three key steps to perfect lawn mowing: regular edging, whipper snipping and mowing.
Do your edging and whipper snipping first, then finish off the yard by mowing with a sharp, high blade. Most people don’t know that cutting your lawn a little higher is actually a good thing; it helps to keep the weeds away and gives protection against evaporation for the soil and roots. If you cut it too short, it can actually cause more stress and damage to the grass.
Get an Airtasker lawn care professional to give your lawn a great cut! They have all the rights tools, and they’re experts at edging, and cutting in and around trees and garden features.
To keep your lawn hydrated and healthy, you’ll need to adopt a good watering routine in the hotter months.
Deep watering is a technique used to encourage the roots of your lawn to grow deeper, away from the top layer of the soil where heat and evaporation will damage them. Deepwater your lawn by watering less often, but for longer. The best time of day to deep water (or for any watering routine in summer) is either early in the morning, or late afternoon.
You could also look at a reticulation system to help keep the grass watered on a regular basis.
Wetting agents to help soil particles hold water for longer are also a handy trick for keeping your lawn wet.
Your lawn needs a breath of fresh air too. Aerating your lawn relieves soil compaction and will allow air, nutrients and water to get down to the roots. You can aerate your lawn using a power aerator, or a garden fork for a smaller garden.
To make it easier, work your way around the garden in a line and if you overlap it doesn’t matter – it’s actually a good thing!
If your lawn has already suffered the effects of heat and evaporation, you can still turn it around by giving it some much-needed care.
Top dressing: If your lawn is suffering from a poor care routine or lack of topsoil, it might be necessary to try ‘top dressing’. Top dressing involves spreading a blended soil mix over your lawn.
Patch work: Dying patches of grass can be saved by using products such as lawn repair if caught early enough. If it’s gotten down to bare dirt already, you might need to patch up parts with turf.
If your lawn is regularly maintained and well drained you shouldn’t have too much of an issue with weeds. But when the grass becomes a bit thin or weak they can become a problem. Your type of grass will determine whether you use a spot technique or use different chemicals. Just be aware that you might then have to do a top repair on the grass as well as it might die too.
Lucky for us there aren’t too many lawn pests in Australia. But for areas where beetles and crickets can be an issue, there are treatments that you can buy from your hardware store.
Love our lawn tips? We’ve got more summer gardening tips where that came from!
This post was last modified on
Airtasker unveils changing labour force trends and the professionals leading the charge.
Get a peek into how busy parents juggle multiple tasks.
Airtasker’s latest trends report spills the beans on what tasks Aussies have been up to…