Keeping your lawn healthy over winter can be a challenge in Ireland. With our wet days, it doesn’t take much traffic for your lawn to turn into a mud track. Here are some tips to keep your grass in good nick – even if it’s icy or we have a couple of weeks of non-stop downpour.
Use an Aerator
Grass is an incredibly resilient herb but over the winter, rainfall, frost and cold weather compact the earth which can damage the root systems of your lawn. Passing over the garden with an aerator can prevent this from happening (provided it’s done during a dry spell). Aerators come in two different sizes, 40″ and 48″, and you have the option between a ‘plug’ aerator and a ‘spike’ aerator. A spike aerator is suitable for loamy soil. A plug aerator removes some of the soil from around the roots of your lawn. This helps your lawn in the long run but in the short-term, it stresses the grass, which means it’s best to use a plug aerator in Spring when the grass is starting to grow and can take some stress. Some of these are suitable for tractor mowers though of course, these should not be used on wet grass.
Keeping Your Lawn Healthy In Winter: Keep Off the Grass!
This is easier said than done – especially when kids are out playing. But when we have our rainy weeks, repeatedly walking on the same areas of the grass is going to kill the grass and compact the soil. This will likely cause long-term effects on your garden. If this happens to you and it’s unavoidable, you can repair the damage in spring by getting out a plug aerator to help break up the soil. Similarly, avoid leaving anything on the lawn. It’s easy to abandon the garden for days or weeks on end during the wetter months. be sure not to leave anything in positions that will cause long-term effects. E.g. cinder blocks, mower accessories or wooden posts that you were using on your garden bed but are now sitting on the grass. Small things like this will leave a scar on your lawn that may take months to clear up without intervention.
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