June lawn diary 2015

Much of May was characterised by sunshine, showers and a cooling wind which kept temperatures lower than expected. With the Wimbledon fortnight less than a month away the ground staff at the All England club will be busier than ever trying to ensure the grass tennis courts are in peak condition for the start of the tournament. Whilst their regime will almost certainly involve cutting the grass daily, a weekly cut on most domestic lawns ought to be sufficient during the summer months.

If during periods of drier weather, the lawn starts to show signs of drought stress it will quickly lose its colour, springiness and texture. Watering of lawns is best carried out in the late-afternoon/early-evening and a good soaking once a week will prove more beneficial than light and frequent watering. However, given its extremely hardy nature, grass is generally very tolerant of the dry and will quickly green-up as soon as wetter conditions prevail.

I get asked regularly whether it's possible to adopt a completely organic approach to lawn care. The answer to this depends on the sort of lawn you are striving to achieve. If you take a relaxed view on the presence of weeds and moss then yes is the answer with 100% organic lawn feeds available and able to provide turf with all of their nutrient requirements. Moss can of course be raked out by hand or by using a scarifier. Unfortunately there is no truly organic means of getting rid of lawn weeds and the use of a selective herbicide remains the only option.

For help and assistance on all lawn related matters please get in touch with your local lawn expert.

Ian Corlett – Lawn Partners professional lawn care
Published in "the listing – your guide to Royson" June 2015.