Do you dream of a lawn that's the envy of your neighbours? Well you've just got time to lick that lawn into shape before the summer and at the same time beat any drought conditions before they set in.
If your lawn is more than 2/3s weeds and moss then you may want to consider re-turfing or re-seeding.Cut the lawn with blades quite high. If it's already quite long then give it a few cuts over the next several weeks so that you can lower the blades and cut it down gradually and gently.
Feed with lawn fertiliser Growmore is fine but there are organic fertilisers available too. Approx. 2 grams per square metre (Top tip, weigh this amount just once then see what it looks like in your hand, or in an old mug then use this to gauge further applications) if the weather is still dry you will need to water it in. But do avoid the temptation give it extra! This wastes your money and your fertiliser and won't improve the lawn any faster.
Scarify, treat it a bit rough and use a spring tine rake or power scarifyer to remove the dead grass "thatch" and moss. (Great workout for the upper body and tummy muscles) If your lawn is large you might consider hiring a scarifyer.
Improve drainage by digging your fork to the depth of the tines (about 4"-6" 10-15cm) and then brushing sharp sand and maybe a mix of sand and soil conditioner into the holes. This will allow air and water to get to the roots and deter moss from taking a hold again. Keep mowing lightly each week.
If you must water your lawn, then do it at night or early morning and do give it sufficient water. One of the worst things you can do is to water your lawn little and often as this will encourage the roots to come to the surface and may weaken your lawn still further.
Encourage health in your lawn by regular mowing and feeding. Allow it to recover between bouts of heavy use and it will repay you by greening up and looking lush. If we do face a long hot summer and if watering your lawn is not an option, then don't despair, yellow grass will turn green again when the rains come.
Where there's muck
What do you do with your grass cuttings? If you've got a compost bin, or heap then you'll probably know cut grass is great at heating up the compost and speeding bacterial action. If you've not yet got into composting then you must. It's good for the environment, produces unbeatable soil conditioner and it's free.
You can start with a purpose made bin, or build a heap in a secluded corner. Purpose made bins come with a lid to help you keep out rain and keep the temperature even (don't get alarmed this is a natural process, not a test of your science knowledge!). If you are using the good old heap method you should cover it with an old bit of rug, old compost bags or whatever you can get hold of to keep the heap under temperature and moisture control (see not at all scientific). The secret is to get the mix right. Grass cuttings are good, but on their own they will likely turn into a nasty gooey mess. Weeds (avoid tap roots like dandelions and pernicious roots like bindweed) and annuals that are past their best, garden prunings and kitchen peelings are all good ingredients.
Try and
layer the ingredients so that the very soft stuff, like grass cuttings, is interspersed with harder material like weeds, or woody prunings. If you've got very woody stuff you'll have to put it through a chipper, or hand cut it to about 2.5cm or 1" long with shears or secateurs, leave it longer and it just takes ages to rot down. No tougher stuff? Then tear newspaper into strips, moisten and add to the compost. Brown cardboard would work too, but not the printed stuff.
Keep your compost moist but not waterlogged. If it dries out it will stop the decay process, so don't be afraid to add water. We like to use the water the vegetables were washed in, or other waste kitchen water (also environmentally friendly and it saves on your water bill). If it gets too wet let it dry out by taking the lid off.
In 4-weeks time turn it out with your garden fork and fluff it up before re-filling the bin/heap. Repeat as necessary until you have sweet smelling brown crumbly rich compost. It's easy and easy on the environment because you won't have to put so much waste into your rubbish bin any more.