Lawn Care Question:

My lawn’s made huge improvements this year – I’m really happy with how the grass has improved and haven’t actually done much maintenance since July. It is only now that I am wondering what maintenance to do as Autumn is approaching though:

– there is almost no moss this year. Should I scarify nevertheless? Better in Autumn or in Spring?

– only recently, a fair amount of clover has arrived, and the some of the yarrow is back as well. Should I give it a treatment with Verdone, now or in Spring?

Answer:

Moss control is an ongoing process as any let up will see the population quickly increase. Autumn is the primary time for this to ensure the grass is in good health going into the cooler months.

I would suggest, first of all, applying some verdone straight away to knock back the clover and yarrow, along with any other weeds that may be present. Get  selective weed killer here.

Add a little washing up liquid ( just a splash, as in doing the dishes) to the mix before spraying, as this helps the chemical to be absorbed by the weeds, killing them more efficiently.

Try to make sure there is a window of a few hours dry weather following application. I know this isn’t easy during a British summer, but hopefully our international readers have more luck there!

Around the middle of September apply ammonia and iron, get both here, then scarify a few days later to remove the dead moss. The scarifying will also remove the remains of the dead weeds and any thatch (dead and dying grass material near the surface). It will also introduce more air into the soil and encouraging a healthy regeneration of the grass cover after scarification.

I hope this will help you to continue the improvements to your lawn. Do not hesitate to get in touch with any problems.

If anyone else is having trouble with moss in their lawn, try the advice above or have a look at the articles I have written previously on removing moss here and here.

We also stock a few effective moss-killing fertilisers, which are essentially drawing from the advice I offer above. They contains the chemicals I mention above along with other formulations designed to keep your lawn healthy. Have a look here for our particular fertilisers aimed at this application: Organic Plus Mosskiller

Let me know in the comments below whether this advice has worked for you. I’d love to know!

Photo credit: aurelio.asiain on Flickr