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Spring Lawn Care

Read our handy guide to find out all the lawn jobs for spring!

This is the time of year that your lawn will literally ‘spring’ into action following the dark winter months so here is our guide on all the jobs to do during spring. As the grass grows, it’s a great time to feed and condition, kill moss, get rid of lawn weeds and also begin mowing. It’s also the perfect time to sow new lawns from seed. Read our sowing a new lawn guide to find out more. Follow the steps below to get a great looking lawn this spring!

Start mowing with caution

spring lawn

As the weather warms up during the spring months, the grass will start to grow more rapidly. However, don’t cut the grass if the soil is very wet or there’s frost or snow on the ground. Be gentle with the first few cuts of the season. Simply trim off the top third of growth with the mower blades on their highest setting.

Allow the lawn to recover for a few days and then cut again with the blades on a lower setting. At this time of year the lawn may only need cutting about once or twice a fortnight.

Get rid of weeds and moss

After the wet winter months, your lawn may be overrun with moss and weeds that compete with the grass for vital nutrients and soil moisture.

moss on lawn

Another spring lawn job is to kill off moss it is best to use an all in one lawn feed, weed and moss killer.  This will increase the nutrient levels of the grass which therefore kills off the moss. Aftercut All In One is a good product to use to do this. Apply Aftercut All In One a few days after mowing and lightly rake out the moss once it begins to die (10-14 days). You will be left with bare patches in your lawn once the moss is gone. It is essential to grow new healthy grass over these patches to avoid them being overgrown by moss again (6 weeks after application of Aftercut All In One). The patches can easily be repaired using Gro-Sure Smart Patch, which is a grass seed with special aqua gel technology that locks in essential nutrients and therefore guarantees results. The best time to do this is in the spring or autumn months.

See our guide on how to repair patches in your lawn for more details.

The child and pet friendly way to remove moss

Another way to remove moss is by using Moss Master. Westland Moss Master is a natural moss remover and feed that will feed your lawn for three months as well as removing moss without any blackening. The treated moss will turn brown as it dies but then will be broken down by the microbes in the product. This bacteria actually turns the dead moss into feed so there’s no need to rake. Moss Master has a high nutrient package too, creating a drier environment that is less favourable for moss so it also reduces the chance of re-infestation.

It is also child and pet friendly so you don’t have to worry about little feet or paws going on the lawn after treatment.

moss master 80

Small patches of weeds can be dealt with effectively by using Resolva Lawn Weedkiller, or by removing by hand. If you choose to use a weedkiller on your lawn, make sure it says ‘lawn weedkiller’ on it. If you use a normal weedkiller you will kill all your grass.

Feed and conditioning your lawn

All plants need feeding to perform their best in the garden and your lawn is no exception. Westland Lawn Revive is a child and pet friendly natural lawn thickener. It will revive tired looking lawns in three ways;

  1. Improves the soil to boost germination and seed establishment and also improves water management
  2. Fills sparse areas and patches with high quality lawn seed.
  3. Feeds every blade, for a thicker, green lawn in just three days.

lawn revive

Find our more about how Lawn Revive works.

Deal with compacted soil

Make sure you aerate compacted lawns as this helps to promote healthy growth. Aerating improves the drainage around the grass roots. You’ll know if you have a compact lawn because it will be rock hard and also slow to drain after rainfall. Paths across the lawns are often quick to compact as they have had heavy foot traffic.

A good time to aerate the lawns is in the spring. Ideally you should remove plugs of soil using a hollow tine aerator.

kent & stowe stainless steel lawn aerator in use

Alternatively, you could use a normal garden fork and push the spikes into the soil to a depth of about 7-10cm (3-4 inches) if possible. After the lawn has been aerated, fill the holes with Westland Lawn and Turf Dressing. This contains a mixture of sand, peat, soil as well as fertiliser, which together, add exactly the right ingredients to the soil for premium grass growth.

Over-seeding

Spring is a good time to over-seed any sparse areas of lawn. Sparse areas may appear where weeds or moss has been removed or where the grass has not grown very well.

To over-seed use a fork and rake to break up the surface to a finer consistency. Apply at the on-pack overseeding rate, then rake the seed into the surface. Grass should sprout within a week or two depending on conditions.

 

Take a look at our seasonal calendar to find out what lawn jobs you should be doing each month.

 

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