Autumn is a critical time for getting your lawn in shape ahead of the winter months. After a lot of hard use and of course the stresses of the long hot summer, your lawn will respond well to some timely treatments to keep it healthy and strong.

It’s also in autumn that we see a lot of the most damaging problems on lawns like Moss, Disease and Puddling after heavy rain.

A lot of this is down to a build up of thatch at the surface. Thatch builds up when the grass is growing fast and is simply an accumulation of old roots, shoots and dead leaves from the grass plants. When your soil is in top shape the lawn can usually handle this and break it down naturally into much needed plant food. However, when oxygen is in short supply in your soil due to compaction then it can sometimes need a bit of help from us.

Here are some of the common Autumn lawn problems and how we deal with them.

Thatch

Thatch encourages diseases such as fusarium and insect pests such as leatherjackets and chafer grubs. It can also contribute to the onset of Localised Dry Patch where your soil becomes unable to take in water.

What can be done about thatch?

We’ll assess how much thatch your lawn has and recommend a plan that might include Scarifying and/or Deep Aeration with a mechanical spiker.

Compaction

Compaction is simply the process of air being squeezed out of the soil by downward pressure from the foot and maintenance traffic on your lawn. On heavier soils this can become a big problem as  it impedes natural drainage, making your lawn liable to puddles and bare areas.

It causes shallow rooting of grasses and encourages weed grasses such as annual meadow grass  and is a contributor to un-even surfaces and loss of grass cover.

What can be done about compaction?

When we inspect your lawn, if we find that it is compacted, we will recommend a remedial program of de-compaction using our deep slit tine spiker machine.

Moss

We often think of moss as something that likes wet conditions, but Moss will infest any area where there is less competition from grass or other dense plants.

There are many varieties of moss and they will infest saturated thatchy soil, but also dry patch ridden, completely arid soil. The common denominator being that the grass sward has been compromised or weakened by other factors.

What can be done about moss?

We will treat your lawn for moss using a natural Iron based product and follow this up with scarification after the moss has been killed off to remove the dead moss and aerate the lawn surface.

Autumn Fertiliser

Autumn and Winter is a stressful time for your lawn so it’s important that your grass plants are ready for the onslaught.

The most important nutrient at this time is Potassium as it is essential for strong, disease and cold resistant plants and this makes it the most critical nutrient in autumn and winter.

Potassium is subject to luxury uptake by plants and as such can sometimes be completely absent in the soil at the end of summer and will need to be boosted in autumn and winter to make sure it is available to the grass plants.

What needs to be done?

We will apply a well balanced Potassium rich fertiliser in autumn to make sure your turf has all the nutrition it needs to fight off the pressures it will face from the cold, wet and dark conditions of winter.

Arrange your free Autumn lawn appraisal today. We’ll inspect your lawn and provide you with a quote to undertake all of the autumn maintenance your lawn needs.

Call 0800 027 6561 today to arrange a visit from one of our professional greenkeepers!