Caring for your lawn after major renovations
Unless extremely lucky with the weather, your lawn will require vital TLC from yourself in the coming weeks in order to gain the best results. We only carry out important mechanical works at the correct time of year, but water will be required regardless just like with any other plant.
Here are our best tips for the best lawn following renovation.
Keep off the grass as much as possible
Your lawn is very delicate at this point in time – thousands of new grass plants have been sown and are fighting to absorb as much water as possible to put down its first roots.
Your lawn will be strong enough to cope with light traffic after 6 weeks but, until then, be gentle. Ideally you would only be on the lawn to mow before this time - take care with turns and make sure to mow on a high setting.
Water Daily (at least)
After major surgery, just as we would need to keep well hydrated, so will your lawn.
Do not assume that rain will be enough – not yet. It is vital that the top centimetre of soil is kept moist to provide the best conditions for germination for the thousands of new plants.
After two weeks and with the first new shoots present, this can be reduced to a thorough watering every other day in order to encourage roots to dig deeper and to allow the lawn to dry out enough to get mowing.
If there isn't germination of new grasses after 10-12 days, it is likely that you are behind the curve with watering.
Mowing - there is a lot of it to come!
You should carry out the first cut of the lawn within three to four weeks of renovation. We suggest that within this time it may be worthwhile to service you mower. If taking your mower to a professional, just be sure that they're likely to have the machine back to you in good time. The grass will be 30-40mm long at this point.
The exact timing will depend on many factors; it is vital that you pick a dry day, keeping the blades high, removing no more than a quarter of the plant with the first few cuts.
From here you should be mowing as often as twice per week to start with only the tips of the grass being cut, and watering as often as every other day for the next month if the weather is not helpful.
What next?
After approximately 6 weeks, your new lawn will be well established with a handful of cuts completed. The pre-seed fertiliser that was applied at the time of renovation will have now been used by the grass.
We will return to check progress, adding further seed if required and carrying out your next lawn treatment which is vital for your lawn to continue to strengthen. If the maintenance of the renovated lawn isn’t up to scratch, with time it will revert to the standard of your old lawn.
For your lawn to continue to strengthen from this position, it is advisable that you keep up the new good habits of mowing as required 1-2 times per week while the lawn is growing well, and watering thoroughly 1-2 times per week when the weather is hot and dry.