Transforming thin, lacklustre grass into a thicker, healthier lawn can seem like a huge task, when in reality it isn’t difficult to achieve. Autumn is the perfect time to do this, as lawn thickening in September and the colder months included concise steps to help get to your garden dream. Read on to find out.
Improve your soil
Before you can start any process to thicken your lawn, you must test your soil like a pro. Soil testing is simple and yields big returns in thick and healthy grass growth. This process will give you an accurate starting point for your lawn’s needs, as every lawn is unique. This will help you gauge where to start and what the underlying problems are.
Testing lets you know your soil’s pH and other conditions that could prevent you from thickening your grass. By following the test’s recommendations, you’ll be able to successfully grow thicker and healthier grass. For example, if the soil’s pH is too low, the grass won’t take up the nutrients it needs. Your grass may need lime or other soil amendments, to restore its pH balance and nutrient availability to be able to grow thick and healthy, which is why doing a soil test as the first step is a must.
This can be done easily and quickly with a soil testing kit.
Overseed your lawn
Overseeding is the process of sowing grass seed into existing grass to make thin lawns thicker, or to prevent them from getting thin. New grass will fill in-between the gaps of what’s already there, creating a thicker look. Regular overseeding is a pro secret to a perfect lawn. Autumn is the best time for overseeding UK lawns, as cooler temperatures and more consistent soil moisture make things less stressful for delicate, newly forming grass blades.
Overseeding provides an opportunity to improve your lawn’s quality and make it more lush. With premium grass seed, you will be able to achieve all your lawn dreams. However, make sure to choose a grass that’s appropriate for your grass growing region and climate and the conditions of your garden.
Fertilise your garden
With rainfall and irrigation, nutrients in soil often disappear and leach away, but grass needs food, just like all other organisms. Therefore, routine fertilisation throughout autumn will help retain the nutrients you are feeding your grass for a healthier and thicker lawn.
When overseeding your lawn, a starter fertiliser will help promote vigorous root growth to quickly establish new grasses. This will provide the nitrogen your lawn needs for thicker and greener grass. This nitrogen will release slowly to keep feeding your lawn for up to 3 months.
This process can be done by hand, but it is a difficult and long process, as it is hard to tell whether you have put the right amount down. Therefore, it is recommendable to use a spreader, because they will help you to spread your fertiliser evenly for better results.
Irrigate your lawn
Once you have done the last few steps, your lawn should be on track for thicker and lusher growth. It is then important to follow good lawn watering practices over the colder months to give it adequate water, to maintain its thickness and strength. Deep and thorough irrigation will encourage the root growth that lawns need.
Germinating grass seeds need constant watering and moisture until seedling sprout and fill in-between the existing grass. Once the process for lawn thickening has commenced, they generally need about 1 inch of water per week, either through nature or an irrigation system.
This is important to do before winter strikes, as your lawn is more likely to withstand harsh weather conditions and stress when it is properly hydrated. This will ensure you will have a green and healthy lawn in the spring.
Mow your lawn correctly
Making sure you use the best practices and the best quality lawn mowers for mowing your lawn is vital. Once it starts to cool down and the weather worsens, you need to be more careful when mowing your lawn. You should refrain from mowing after it has rained heavily, as attempting to run a lawnmower over a combination of wet grass blades and muddy soil will damage the roots and cause blades to cut grass unevenly.
However, you should be mowing based on your grass needs. Mow your lawn once a week in autumn (weather dependent) to make sure it is absorbing all the moisture and nutrients you are supplying it. Mow at your grass’ recommended mowing height, without removing more than one-third of the height in a single mowing. This will help avoid the stresses that cause thin and unattractive lawns.
Make sure to keep your lawn mower well maintained, so its blades cut cleanly instead of tearing at the grass, as broken grass is more susceptible to lawn diseases and insect pests that could kill your lawn over the winter.
Control your weeds
Lastly, controlling your lawn weeds and making sure your garden is as tidy as possible cannot be overlooked. Weeds compete with grass for sunlight, water and nutrients. In autumn, sunlight and natural nutrients are limited, so it is therefore important to get rid of any weeds at this time. Controlling these will eliminate the competition, so the grass can remain thick and well nourished.
This process can easily be done by hand and as regularly as need be.
For established lawns, you can apply a pre-emergent herbicide to put your garden on track to thicker and lusher growth. However, never use pre-emergent weed products if you are overseeding your lawn, as they keep all the seeds, including grass, from germinating and emerging at all.
Overall, these steps and practices are great weekly lawn maintenance tips, all best done in autumn, before the cold sets in. Combine these processes with other occasional tasks, such as lawn aeration and lawn repair, and you will have a green, thick and healthy lawn all year round.