Written by Mark Falco for UK Gardening Supplies

Summer is here and with the coming of the sunshine and the heat comes a period of severe wear and tear for the average family lawn. Garden games like football and cricket tear it up, garden parties compact the soil and general neglect or poor maintenance practices can do it more harm than good as you try to keep it looking nice. What follows is a couple of very basic tips for keeping a lawn looking reasonably good.

Nurturing With Fertilisers

For a stronger, lusher, greener lawn you can't beat a little bit of fertiliser applied at the right time and in the right quantities. Be sure to test your soil type before you start thinking about buying a fertiliser and then buy the one which compliments this the most if you want the best results. You should apply the first batch of fertiliser around 1 month before the beginning of the growing season to give your lawn a kick start into the summer and then expect to apply around 3 more spaced around 2 months apart to keep it looking at its healthiest. Be sure to read your manufacturer's guidelines however as this can vary. You can fertilise by hand if you were proper protection but for safer, more effective results we recommend the use of specialist spreaders which get the job done more evenly and accurately. Drop spreaders are recommended for smaller lawn areas which broadcast spreaders, also known as rotary spreaders, will be more efficient at covering larger garden lawns.

Do not be tempted to go to town with fertiliser as this can actually cause the grass to grow to fast and weaken it as well as encourage fungus and weeds to take over. After fertilizing it is usually a good idea to water-in the fertilizer or plan to add fertilizer before expected rainfall unless otherwise stated in the usage instructions.

Watering Your Lawn

Sounds simple enough but it is easy to over-look watering or forget you have the sprinkler on and over-water parts of your garden. Too much water can be as damaging as not watering in the first place. Knowing when your lawn needs water is the first step to getting this right. Just because the day has been a little on the warm side doesn't necessarily mean you garden is crying out for water. There are a couple of simple tests you can perform to know when you need to get the hose out:

The footprint test - simple step on your lawn and the blades of grass should spring back into position. If they are particularly slow to react then it's time to water as healthy, moisture rich grass will always spring back into place.

Leaf rolling and tinting - when grass becomes dehydrated the blades begin to curl and roll which is atell-tale sign and also you might find a slightly blue-ish purple tinge to the leaves in many types of lawn when lack of moisture is evident. Again, time to water.

If you can, it is best to water early in the morning, when the sun is weakest to reduce evaporation or late in the afternoon for the same reason. Mid-day watering should be avoided and it is best to avoid watering over night as soggy grass left overnight can increase the risk of turf disease. Do not over-water either, ensure if you use a sprinkler or hoze you do actually move it around your garden rather than letting big puddles form while other areas of the lawn go untouched. Too much standing water can prevent oxygen reaching the roots and lead to the same symptoms (leaf rolling) as a lack of water.

Lawnmowers and Mowing

You are not Tonto so don't scalp it! The key to mowing a lawn well is to ensure your mower blades are sharp and to mow only down to a level recommended for the type of grass you have. If you do not know what type the grass is then simple do not cut it too short. Buzzing away down to root level isn't going to help and cutting too low on a regular basis is the easiest way to do fast, lasting damage to your lawn.

Never cut grass when it is wet and if your lawn if particulrly overgrown then take a couple of passes to mow it back to the level you want rather than setting the blades low and tearing through the undergrowth. You may rake the clippings away if you desire, but these do not automatically turn to thatch and can be left as an extra nutrient if you desire. Mulching lawnmowers will cut these clipping up very small so they fall between the blades of grass negating the need to raking afterwards.

Choosing the right kind of lawn mower will give you the best results. If you want the very best cut, with those stripes you see on professional bowling greens etc. then aim for a cylinder mower, or a rotary mower with a back roller for a cheap alternative. If you have lots of pits and undulations then a hover mower should glide over these whereas other mowers might 'dig in' and cut a chunk out of the earth.

Letting Your Lawn Breath

Grass is a living thing and like all living things (well most anyway) it needs to breath if it going to thrive. Aeration of your lawn is therefore important as it allows water, air and fertiliser to reach the roots more easily and improve drainage. If you are regularly using your gardem, which will be especially true during the summer months, then your soil is likely to become compacted making it harder for roots to penetrate the soil and for the aforementioned air, water and fertiliser to reach down to them.

You can help out with in a very simple way. Take a garden fork and drive it into your lawn at regular intervals as this will break decompact your soil. For more effective aeration or for larger lawn areas you can buy specialised lawn aeration tools which will make short work of the job driving in spikes or taking cores of soil out of the lawn like an apple corer.

Scarifiers and Dethatching

Tatch is a combination of dead a decaying organic matter which collects around the base and roots of you lawn throughout the year. It comprises things like dead grass, leaves, twigs etc. and without removal can prevent air, water and fertiliser from reaching the roots of your lawn. Scarifying or raking over your lawn is an essential part of a good spring and autumn lawn maintenance routine. Scarification improves the drainage and allows more air and water to penetrate to the roots as well as lowering the risk of lawn disease. Before scarifying a lawn you should ensure there are no moss growths as this will only help to spread the moss around, kill the moss first, then scarify. Scarifying a lawn can be done by hand by raking on small gardens whilst larger lawns might require a power lawn scarifier machine which can be bought or hired for the purpose.

Article copyright Mark Falco, webmaster of ukgardeningsupplies.co.uk where you can find lawn care and gardening equipment including lawnmowers, scarifiers, garden tools and lawn care accessories available for UK delivery.