Is your lawn looking bare, tired or just plain lacklustre?  You don’t have to deal with having a less than stellar lawn as there are plenty of simple repair tips that will help to get your lawn looking shipshape in no time.  Here are some of the best. For more information or ideas, have a chat with your local lawn and turf professional.

Aerating the Lawn

Aerating your lawn is one of the best ways to help repair minor damage that has occurred as a result of the soil beneath becoming too compacted.  Compacted soil affects root growth as well as how well the water penetrates through the soil.  Compaction also affects drainage and poor drainage can contribute to lawn damage.  Aerating your lawn is very simple and it’s basically just punching holes into the lawn to help it breathe better and to loosen the soil.  You can do it yourself with a garden fork, just walking a grid to ensure that you are punching holes evenly into the soil.  Another way to aerate lawns is through coring, where a hollow tube penetrates the soil and removes a “core” of it, leaving a clean hole in the ground.  You can use a manual coring machine or one that is self propelled.

Levelling the Lawn

If your lawn has become uneven over time, it can affect how well the water drains from it, as well as making it look less than its best.  The best way to even out a lawn is to use a combination of filling with topsoil and excavation.  Basically, you remove soil from the high areas and use it to fill the low areas so that the soil becomes level.  Alternatively, you can use a roller to level out minor fluctuations in the soil level.  If you have used a combination of filling and removing soil, you may have to lay new turf or plant seeds to help the lawn to re-establish.

Topdressing Your Lawn

Topdressing is an excellent way of repairing your lawn and it just involves spreading a thin layer of soil over the top of the lawn.  Topdressing is used to control thatch as it provides a layer of soil that is free of thatch (the dead vegetation that is found at soil level).  Topdressing your lawn can also help to keep your lawn level and it is ideal for providing much needed nutrients to your turf.  Topdressing is also necessary to cover seeds and rhizomes so they can grow into new lawn. It also helps to protect your lawn against the winter cold.

Oversowing your Lawn

If your lawn has dead or bare patches, it can really detract from its overall look.  Thankfully, these are easy to repair through a process called oversowing.  Oversowing is where you scatter new grass seeds over the existing lawn followed by a thin layer of soil.  The seeds sprout and grow, filling in the dead and bare patches.

Fertilising Your Lawn

If your lawn looks a little lacklustre and it keeps succumbing to weeds, the simple fact is that you need to make it stronger and the best way to do that is through fertilising.  Pick a good lawn fertiliser and apply it according to directions.  Always make sure that you water the fertiliser in well and that you don’t go overboard.  Fertilising should be done more often in the growing season but you should also do it before the lawn goes dormant for winter, and as it comes out of dormancy.