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Based in Hampshire Elite Garden buildings is a family run business with over 25 years of experience. We specialise in Summer houses, home offices, workshops and garden sheds. From delivery to installation we have an experienced team to take care of all the hard work.

How to Recover a Drought Damaged Lawn

Lawns have suffered terribly due to extreme heat and drought stress. When soil moisture levels drop too far, many lawn grasses simply will not recover. Let’s take a look at what can be done now to improve the situation.

1. Assess the lawn fully

Take an objective survey of your lawn. Does it have plenty of weed grasses – those with broader leaves Speedwell Yarrow Self Heal or flat growth habits? Does it have difficult to control lawn weeds, such as yarrow, self-heal or speedwell?. Now is the time to think about a total-kill of all lawn vegetation so you can start the make-over with a clean canvas. Is your lawn uneven? Does the lawn have dips and hollows that you want to address before you begin other work?

2. Irradicate weed grasses Once you have started the renovation of your lawn, and the new seed has germinated, it’s going to be more challenging to irradicate any undesirable grass types. Assuming your lawn doesn’t need a total kill, the time to deal with these issues is before the new seed is sown. Broad spectrum herbicides can be applied before the renovation work, to kill any undesirable grasses.

3. Deal with weeds Grass plants can withstand the application of specialist plant control products but to do so they need to have reached a certain stage of growth. Application of selective weed control before that point will kill the young grass, along with the targeted weed. Therefore, deal with any weeds before the renovation begins by applying the right plant control product for the target species. As mentioned above, some lawn weeds can be more challenging to control, so deal with those first.

4. Check for grass eating grubs It’s often not obvious that you have a problem with chafer grubs or leather jackets until a drought stressed lawn fails to recover when the rain returns. It is worth digging some sample holes around the lawn to assess the situation in the soil and check what pests may be present. If found, they Chafer Grub need to be dealt with through biological control.

5. Relive compaction

Roots grow in the air gaps within the soil. Fewer air spaces mean less root density. Roots are Aerator Aeration essential for access to nutrition and moisture, to relieve stress and help the grass resist pest and disease attack. Using a specialist lawn aerator to create space within the soil ensures healthy root development for your grass plants.

6. Remove dead organic matter

Red-Thread Fusarium The build-up of dead, organic matter on the surface of the lawn can have a serious impact on the amount of moisture and nutrition reaching the root-zone. During times of drought the grass leaf dies, laying on the surface of the soil and can result in issues with lawn thatch. Thatch is the place where pathogens such as red-thread and fusarium patch will establish themselves, causing issues with fungal attack. Scarifying or power-raking the surface of the lawn will remove this build-up efficiently.

7. Select the Right Seed Mix Plant breeders are continually developing grass varieties that are quicker to germinate, greener, deeper rooted, more drought or shade tolerant, disease resistant and more hard-wearing. By selecting the right seed blend for your soil type, lawn position and how you want to use your garden, you will have a better-looking lawn that can cope with how you use it. Seed can be direct drilled into the soil or broadcast on the surface.

8. Top dress An application of compost-based top-dressing will boost soil microbial activity and help support your new lawn. It will also create the perfect seed bed for your newly sown seed.

9. Drag matt After top-dressing it’s a good idea to use a drag matt on the surface of the lawn. This will knock the dressing off the high points and into the hollows, giving you a more even finish to your lawn renovation.

10. Wetting agent Used effectively in the golf industry, this technology is relatively new in lawncare. By breaking down the surface tension of water molecules, the wetting agent aids absorption into the soil and helps to reduce the time it takes for water to drain through the root-zone. This makes water work harder and reduces the amount that needs to be applied.

11. Nutrition Applying the correct balance of Nitrogen (leaf growth), Potassium (root development) and Phosphorus (food production) for the new grass plants is essential. It’s important to get application rates right too and to use controlled release nutrition.

12. Water All living things need water. Once your lawn renovation is completed its important not to let seeds or young grass plants dry out, until their roots are deep enough to find moisture.

13. Weed control New weeds in a new lawn are inevitable. Dormant weed seeds will be activated by the mechanical processes used when renovating a lawn. In addition, new seeds will arrive on the wind or with birds visiting the garden and pooping them out. The perfect conditions created for the new grass seeds are perfect for weed seeds too. Once the new lawn has established well enough a treatment program for weed control can begin.

Now is the perfect time to renovate a lawn. It’s labour intensive but the results will give you a garden you can be proud of. We are happy to help if you don’t fancy taking on the task yourself.

Ian Kenyon sits on the committee of the UK Lawn Care Association and owns Shrekfeet Professional Lawncare. He is always happy to offer friendly, professional advice and help: T: 01962 460146 www.shrekfeet.com