We’ve reached that time of the year where green-fingered folk can’t wait to fire up their trusty lawn mower, but one garden expert has warned that this task could damage your grass.
Recent research has revealed that March 24 is when Brits perform the first grass cut of the year and prepare for the season ahead. If you're still yet to get the mower out, gardener Michael Griffiths has urged homeowners to avoid "scalping" their grass if they want a luscious lawn during the summer.
Lawn scalping is used to stimulate growth by cutting the grass significantly low, this removes dead grass, thatch, and debris and helps the soil to warm up faster. The mower is often secured on the lowest setting for this process, but Michael claims scalping in April can put your lawn at risk of drought and weeds.
Taking to TikTok, under the username @themediterraneangardener, the grass guru said: "Spring’s here, but don’t start scalping your lawn. Try to keep your grass the same height throughout spring and avoid mowing it too short as that can make it more susceptible to drought and weeds, and moss can take hold."
He then explained that the ideal height for most lawns is around 4cm, while shady areas should be mowed between one to two centimetres higher. The settings can be adjusted on your mower, but if you’ve laid a new lawn, Michael suggests waiting until the grass is at least 5cm tall before cutting.
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According to the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), grass should be kept at about 4cm tall in spring, autumn, and winter, and about 2.5cm in the summer. Those who own finer lawn should keep their grass at a shorter length, at around six to 13mm.
The gardening expert then explained that it’s time to pack up your autumn lawn feed, adding: "This is high in phosphates, so you should move to a nitrogen rich lawn feed which will support top growth." The macronutrient promotes vibrant green grass, as it supports the "formation of proteins that the cells within the grass need to grow", writes Lawn Solutions Australia.
Miachel also revealed the other essential gardening jobs for spring, which include feeding and pruning roses for "better blooms", replanting forced blooms into garden borders, planting lilies and other summer flowering bulbs into pots, and removing weeds before they take hold.
Impressed followers flocked to the comments to share their response to the lawn hacks, as one user penned: "Just saw a guy with a nice lush lawn with some good growth absolutely sculpting it to the ground, his mower was struggling. I was wincing." To which Michael responded with: "Eeeshh - not good. Really common though."
Another advised: "Don’t go too high in nitrogen though as you’ll promote thatch build up. Also a bit of iron to kill off any moss and a light scarify."
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