14 Sep WHAT TO DO AFTER THE SNOW HAS MELTED – SPRING LAWN CARE
After the recent unprecedented snow in KZN, we thought it time to start putting the wintery cold months behind us and start prepping for spring!
Winter has a nasty habit of sucking the vibrant colours out of your grass, leaving your garden looking well…. dull. The good news though, is that we can always count on spring to bring a little brightness into our lives!
See our top tips for getting your lawn back to its former glory:
Water it
Even in the driest conditions, grass can still grow if it is properly hydrated, meaning water is the key! So, to start the process of bringing your lawn back to life, provide sufficient water (but be careful, do not overcompensate – drowning your lawn is just as bad as dehydrating it!). The important thing is to water deeply when you do water but not daily as this encourages a healthy root system. Your lawn needs about 3cm to 3.5cm of water a week.
Weed it
Water is the primary source of life for grass, but the same holds true for weeds unfortunately! When you have weeds growing alongside your grass, they fight for the available water; to free up the water available to your lawn, we suggest to hand-pull weeds out at the root.
Mow it
While cutting your grass seems like an odd way to help it come back to life and to stimulate it to start growing again, it’s an effective way to naturally fertilize your lawn – as long as you leave the clippings behind! Grass is rich in nitrogen, which is a major component in fertilizers, so when you leave clippings behind, they decompose and are re-absorbed into the soil, enriching it, and helping your lawn to grow greener and fuller. Don’t leave the clippings in piles but rather spread it out over the lawn.
Aerate it
Water, nutrients… check! However, your lawn also needs air, and while there is no shortage of air “outside”, sometimes it can’t reach the roots – enter the trusty garden fork! When the soil becomes too compacted, air is unable to penetrate and simply aerating your grass by jabbing holes into the ground for the air to get to the roots, fixes this in no time! This can be done manually with a garden fork or an aerator.
Top dress it
Top-dressing is the spreading of compost or Green Gold (of which we supply both) onto your lawn. This provides the underlying soil with a vital nutrient boost it needs after a cold winter. The lawn absorbs this naturally through decomposition, watering and through the aeration holes, helping grass to grow back even thicker and fuller.
If all else fails
If you have tried all the methods above and nothing is working, contact us on office@evangrass.co.za to find out how we can help you replace your lawn with one of our five grass varieties.
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