A beautiful lawn does not happen by itself. He needs care and plenty of it. The grasses have to be cut, fertilized and watered regularly and there is a lot of other work to be done. Lawn care starts with buying seeds. If you choose the wrong seed, it will never be an even patch of green. Then it should be scarified and fertilized in spring so that the lawn can start well in the hot summer. There is still plenty to do from June to November, although it thins out towards the end of autumn. You can read in the following text what has to be done when and how.
Table of Contents
Characteristics
- Most maintenance-intensive garden area
- Various performance characteristics
- A distinction is made between ornamental and utility lawns
- Lawns for use and play should contain perennial ryegrass, meadow meadow grass and red fescue
- Lägerrispe is important for shady lawns
- For ornamental lawns – red fescue and crested hairgrass – not very tolerant of footsteps
- Very drought tolerant – tall fescue
- Red fescue and sheep’s fescue – requires less mowing
- In Germany seed is classified by DIN
- This is called standard seed mixtures, simply RSM
Lawn care in summer
After the lawn has been properly prepared for the hardships of summer in spring, the main tasks now are mowing, watering and removing weeds. Regular mowing is the most important thing for a dense green carpet. Equally important is irrigation. Drought or even drought weaken the lawn. Weeds deprive the grass of nutrients and displace them. Therefore it is important that they are removed. If this is done regularly, the weeding does not degenerate into work.
June
- Mow the lawn at least once a week, preferably twice a week, until the end of June (solstice).
- Second dose of long-term fertilizer
- Irrigate the lawn depending on the weather
- Remove weeds (weed puller)
July
- Mowing on a weekly basis (growth slows down)
- Raise the cutting height a little
- Beginning of the month 2nd fertilization (if not at the end of June)
- Water sandy soils twice a week, loamy soils once
- Cut out weeds – before the seeds ripen!
August
- Mow once a week
- Gradually mow to normal height after vacation
- Continue watering during dry periods
- Drought weakens the lawn
cut the lawn
Mowing the lawn can be fun with the right lawn mower that fits the size of the area, the type of lawn and the height of cut you want. The selection of devices is enormous. If you have no idea, you might choose the wrong device.
Which devices are suitable for which area?
Different lawn mowers are suitable for small lawns than for large ones. The decisive factors are the power and the cutting width. A distinction is made between cylinder mowers, electric mowers, battery mowers and petrol mowers. There are also the large devices, i.e. ride-on mowers or lawn tractors and, of course, as the last craze, the robotic lawnmowers. These are available for all lawn sizes.
- Up to lawn sizes of 150 m² – cylinder mowers, small electric mowers or battery mowers, cutting width 32 cm is sufficient
- 150 – 250 m² – electric mower or battery mower – cutting width 32 to 34 cm
- 250 – 500 m² – powerful electric mower or petrol mower, cutting width 36 to 44 cm
- 500 – 1,000 m² – Powerful petrol mower or ride-on mower, cutting width 46 to 60 cm
- 1,000 – 2,000 m² – ride-on mowers, lawn tractors or riders, cutting width 76 to 96 cm
- Over 2,000 m² lawn tractors or riders, cutting width 105 to 125 cm
The correct cutting height is important when mowing. This can be adjusted on the lawnmower. Decorative lawns are kept short. It should be cut to 2 to 3 cm and often. The most commonly used playing and sports turf is cut to 3 to 4 cm. When it’s hot, you leave it a little longer, which reduces evaporation, which saves on the water bill. Shady lawns have the ideal height of 4 to 5 cm.
water the lawn
Lawn doesn’t stand a chance without water. However, it makes no sense to water every day in summer. When grasses are left wet for too long or constantly, they become susceptible to disease. Mushrooms and mold in particular are spreading. Also, it is best to irrigate in the morning. The ground isn’t that warm yet, so less of the precious water evaporates. In addition, the grasses dry out again by the cooler hours of the night, which in turn helps to prevent diseases such as fungal infestation.
technology
- Square sprinkler for angled areas
- Circular sprinkler for large areas
- Some models adapt to the contour of the garden – sector sprinklers
- Automatic irrigation systems
- Pop-up sprinklers are ideal
Fertilize the lawn – summer fertilization
The lawn is fertilized in spring, usually with long-term fertilizer. This can be repeated in the summer. It is important to use the right fertilizer and to fertilize at the right time. The right time is around the end of June to the beginning of July. Usually it is not that hot and the fertilizer can work optimally.
- Slow-release fertilizer works quickly and over a long period of time and is quite practical
- Do not fertilize during sunshine and high heat
- Evening is the best time for this
- Dose evenly
- Be sure to water after fertilizing or fertilize immediately when it rains
What to do with the lawn clippings?
Lawn clippings are too good to dispose of in the organic waste bin. The cutting waste, which is rich in nitrogen, is far too good to be thrown in the bin. Smaller amounts can be easily composted. It is important that the grass is dry. The best way to do this is to spread out the grass and let it dry. In addition, the lawn clippings should be mixed with coarser garden waste or wood chips. This prevents rot. Rotting works best in a closed composter.
The fresh green can also be used for mulching. It is simply spread out in thin layers under trees, shrubs or even in the vegetable patch. This has the advantage that the soil does not dry out as quickly and does not muddy up when it rains. In return, soil life is encouraged and weed growth is inhibited.
Lawn care in the fall
Mowing continues in the fall. The grass growth decreases, it no longer needs to be cut as often. Depending on the weather, mowing takes place until October, sometimes even until November. If you didn’t get around to it in the spring, scarify now. Time is in September to the end of October. Some lawns can also be scarified in spring and autumn. It is also beneficial to aerate compacted lawns. Autumn is once again ideal for laying new lawns. The earth is still warm, but the sun isn’t as bright and the temperatures aren’t as high. Damaged areas in the lawn are also now being repaired and it is time to plant spring flowering bulbs. These look particularly beautiful in the middle of the lawn.
September
- One mowing session per week, sometimes every 14 days is enough
- Possibly scarify
- Aerate compacted lawn
- Time to rebuild
- repair damaged areas
- Set early bloomers
October
- Mow as needed
- collect foliage
- Time for fall fertilization
- Lime if necessary
- Last chance for a new lawn
- repair damaged areas
- You can scarify until the end of October
- plant flower bulbs
November and December
- Mow if necessary
- collect foliage
- Have a soil sample tested (every 3 to 4 years
cut the lawn
The grass doesn’t grow as much anymore. Nevertheless, mowing must continue. How often depends mostly on the weather. If it’s warm and sufficiently humid, they will grow better than if it’s already cool and/or dry. In most cases, pruning no longer has to be done weekly, but every 14 days is often necessary, at least in September. In October it will be less and in November you can usually stop the cut completely. A cutting height of 3 to 5 cm should be set for the last cut. The lawn must not be too short so that it can still carry out photosynthesis and fight moss and weeds. If the lawn is too long, the grass will be crushed by the snow in winter. Disease and fungi can spread in the flattened grass. This can also happen
Then it is time to give the lawnmower a thorough cleaning and take care of it. It is “mothballed” over the winter. In order for it to continue to function well in the spring, it needs some lawn care.
scarify the lawn
If you didn’t manage it in the spring or if you have a very bad lawn, you can scarify again or for the first time in the autumn. There are special devices on the market, scarifiers, which are used like lawn mowers. The turf is scratched, dead grass, mulch (old clippings) and moss are removed. Some weeds are also killed.
aerate the lawn
Aerating the lawn makes sense when the soil has become too firm and the water can no longer drain properly. If backwater forms, this promotes moss and fungal growth. The process of aerating is called aerating. Aerated after scarifying. Professional devices are rarely worthwhile, they are quite expensive. An aeration fork works best for smaller areas. With this, the tines are hollow inside, which means that you punch a lot of small holes in the ground every time you dig into the ground. 100 to 200 of these holes per m² are ideal. The excess soil is removed. Then it is fertilized. The holes then have to be filled with sand, ideally with round-grain sand. The sandy areas loosen up the soil, the earth as a whole is no longer so firm.
fertilize lawn
In autumn it is time to prepare the lawn for winter. This includes fertilizing. Must be mowed first. In addition, all leaves must be removed from the lawn. If there is fallen fruit, this must also be collected and disposed of. It is advisable to rake out old lawn residue from the summer. The dense felt prevents the lawn roots from getting enough air. Of course, this only applies if there was no scarification.
In autumn, the grasses need different fertilizers than in spring and summer. The demands change. Nitrogen is no longer important now, growth should be completed. Potassium is important in the fall. At least 18% of it should be present in the fertilizer. Special autumn lawn fertilizers or Patentkali are suitable.
If the soil is very acidic, lime can be applied again in October. This prevents it from becoming totally acidic. Moss is deprived of its livelihood. Special products such as Cuxin Grünkalk, which also contains magnesium carbonate, are good value.
It is always better to fertilize on a rainy day than on a sunny one. This way the fertilizer is simply better distributed and the individual blades of grass can absorb it better. If there is no rainfall, the area must be subsequently irrigated.
remove weeds
Weeds should be removed regularly. It is best to take the weed puller with you on every garden tour and immediately stick out what catches your eye. That way, you don’t end up with an exhausting, lengthy marathon that’s neither fun nor good for your back.
Replanting of lawn
Fall is also a good time to replant lawns. This requires a few steps. It is worth preparing well for this work. If something is done wrong when creating a new system, you sometimes have to fight for years to compensate. The seed is important. It must match the location and the plant substrate. If you make a mistake when choosing, that’s it for the beautiful lawn.
- Do not sow too late, preferably in September
- Dig up the soil – about 2 to 3 weeks before sowing
- let the ground rest
- Then tear up and crumble the soil
- Sow as evenly as possible
- apply initial fertilization
- Water
- The soil must not dry out under any circumstances for the next three weeks
- Water daily but do not muddy
- When the stalks are about 8 cm high, mow for the first time
Frequently Asked Questions
Which flower bulbs are particularly suitable for planting in the lawn?
Bulbs from flowers that tend to go wild are ideal. There are various crocuses, but wild tulips and some daffodils also do well. It is best to plant in groups. It is important that the green of the plants is not mown before it has dried up properly and can easily be pulled out of the ground. It is therefore unfavorable to always stick individual bulbs. It’s easier to drive around groups with the lawn mower.
After the lawn has been replanted, more weeds than grass grow there. What should I do?
Something went wrong with the selection of the seed. This is something that happens quite often with cheap products. Here you can cut out weeds or destroy them with chemical agents. Many garden owners use fertilizer that also contains weed killers. This also works quite well in the short term. I would definitely advise against families with children, because children play on the lawn. If you have pets, however, it is better to fight them manually. If there are larger gaps in the lawn, you should sow them again, with better seed, of course. Rather invest a few euros more and have less work and hassle. Of course, there is no guarantee that expensive seeds are automatically good. Look at customer opinions and testimonials!
