Lawn Problems – Common Lawn Issues & Easy Fixes
A lush green lawn is something to admire and feel proud of. It can take hard work to get it looking good which makes it even more crushing when weeds take over, bald patches appear or it resembles something you’d line a rabbit hutch with.
If, despite your best efforts, you’re experiencing lawn problems - read on. We’ve listed some common lawn complaints and easy ways to fix them.
Common Lawn Problem 1 - Weeds
Weeds get everywhere and can appear to be indestructible. To rid your lawn of weeds you may need to be prepared to put in some graft.
Plan of Action:
1. Dig up the weeds: This may lead to a baron-looking lawn in the short term. In the long term, with a good lawn care regime, your grass will remain a weed-free zone. If you’d rather spray weeds with a weed killer be careful not to spray the lawn (and of course follow the user instructions)
2. Once you’ve dug up the weeds re-seed any bare patches
3. As you mow the lawn in the future dig up any weeds as you see them – this will stop them taking over your beautiful lawn again
4. Make sure your lawn remains healthy and strong – this makes it more difficult for weeds to bed in
Common Lawn Problem 2 - Yellow/Brown Lawns
Browny, yellowy lawns, or discoloured patches on lawns, are unsightly. To get your grass back to its best you’ll need to establish the cause of the discolouration. The most common cause of brown/yellow lawns.patches are listed here:
Common causes of yellow lawns:
• Pets
• Bad mowing behaviour
• Weather
• Soil type
Pets: There is little you can do about your pets doing their business on the lawn. One way to minimise brown/yellow patches is to flush their toilet activities with a bucket of water (as and when you can).
Bad mowing behaviour: If you leave your lawn to get long, and then cut it quite short it can cause the grass roots to become weak and die. As a rule of thumb try and cut off no more than 50% of the height. At different times of the year you’ll need to adjust the cutting height of your mower to ensure it doesn't damage the lawn. For example, early on in the spring especially, make sure you don’t cut the grass too short as it can damage it. As the weather gets warmer, and your lawn becomes stronger you can start to lower your mower’s cutting height and cut the grass shorter.
The Weather: If the weather has been particularly hot and dry (if only) then it can make your lawn dry out and become yellow. When it is hot like that try and water your lawn a bit. If you do this in the evening the water won’t evaporate in the heat of the day. Making sure your lawn is strong and healthy throughout the year will also help it last in the heat better.
Soil Type: If your soil is made up mostly of clay or silt it can get hard in the warmer, dryer months. Dry soil does not soak up water too well, making it a bit of catch 22 situation. Good practice, albeit time consuming, is to aerate your lawn in the spring and autumn to help it become strong and last through the hotter summer months.
If none of the above seems to be the cause of your yellow lawn, consider getting a soil pH testing kit to see if any nutrients are missing. Knowing what it needs will help you determine what fertiliser to get to breathe some green back into it.
Common Lawn Problem 3 - Bald Patches
It’s not uncommon for a lawn to have bare patches and the great thing is, they’re easy to fix.
Common causes of bald lawn patches:
• Over-mowing
• Over-raking
• Heavy lawn scarifying
• It’s been worn out/hidden under things like bins, paddling pools or garden furniture
Bring it back to life…
Simply re-seed the bald lawn patch. Be sure to cover the newly laid seeds with a net (or the birds will get an easy lunch).
If you have any pieces of turf going spare you could lay this down as an alternative to laying seed. Alternatively, cut up a bit of lawn not being used, or that’s unseen, from elsewhere in the garden and lay this.