My Lawn Care Diary: October 2021

So, it’s now coming to the end of October and, if I’m honest, I’ve been doing things slightly later in the year than I would have liked.

It’s not always easy to have a lush, green lawn in Autumn. Especially if you want to renovate it with a top dressing. But hang in there because your lawn will come good if you treat it well and you’ll be delighted by next Spring

So far this month, I’ve applied moss killer at 4g per m2 mixed with 1L of water per m2.

I then scarified with my electric scarifier.

Then I applied an over seed with our Premium Shade seed mix at 25g/m2. My current hand-held spreader holds 300g of seed. So, I worked with 12m2 sections (300/25 = 12). While doing the edges, I sprayed the seed from the outside in. That way, I could make sure there was no stray seed going off the lawn. Another thing was that I had to stay quite low because it was a little windy.

I also decided this month I would apply and/soil 70/30 at 2kg per m2. This will help condition the soil and improve the structure. I finished that around 20th October.

I’d bought a new lawn leveller but decided to use a broom because the sand was really wet and much easier to spread with the broom. I wasn’t too bothered about being harsh on the lawn because it helped remove some of the dead moss as well as any weak shoots.

This is the (dreaded) time that the leaves start falling onto the grass. It’s one of my bug bears! But of course it’s just nature and we love having the trees in our garden. So can’t do much about that.

I will however, be getting the leaf blower out and getting them off the grass because otherwise the new seed won’t germinate as well as it should do. The leave will stop light getting through and more moss will come if they don’t get removed.

I didn’t apply a pre seed fertiliser this time because I’ll be applying our Autumn Lawn Feed in early November. These 2 are pretty close in terms of nutrients, so if you do a

My plan for the Autumn & Winter is to first use our slow release Autumn feed, this one also contains Magnesium giving it a nice greener look. Then come January, I’ll apply our Winter feed. More on that in my next diary.

What can you do in October to protect your lawn?

Below are 3 options for protecting your lawn between now and Feb next year. Doing one of these (not all) will make it much healthier come Spring 2022.

 Note: these options assume you haven’t fed your lawn recently.

Option 1 – Apply Autumn then Winter Feed

Apply our slow release Premium Autumn Lawn feed (10-12 week release) now, then apply our quick release Specialist Winter Lawn Feed (6-8 week release) at the end of January, which also suppresses moss.

Option 1 is a good choice if your lawn is generally in good health.

Option 2 – Apply 2 x Winter Feeds

Apply 2 applications of our Winter lawn feed (6-8 week release) spread evenly apart over the seasons. Do one application now, then apply another application of Winter Lawn Feed in the middle of JanuaryOption 2 is a good choice if you struggle with moss during the Winter

Option 3 – Apply 2 x 100% Organic Autumn/Winter Lawn Feed

Apply 2 applications of our 100% organic Autumn/Winter lawn feed (4-6 week release). Do one now, then another application in the middle of January.

Option 3 is a good choice if you want to enjoy the benefits of being 100% organic – including improved microbial activity in the soil.