If your lawn is looking worse for wear after the lashings of rain brought on by Storm Kathleen, there are three easy things you can do today to save your garden
Wet weather can spell disaster for your lawn – but some simple steps could save it.
Storm Kathleen battered parts of the UK with high winds and lashings of rain over the weekend, and there are more downpours expected throughout this week. If you have a lawn in your garden, the rainfall might have caused your grass to become waterlogged, which can result in dead grass if not treated quickly.
Thankfully though, there are some easy steps you can take today to make sure your lawn recovers from the heavy rain. All you need is a garden fork, some lawn feed, and a free afternoon.
According to Rhiannon Moore, lawn care expert at Toolstation, there are three steps to taking care of a waterlogged lawn, and they’re all fairly simple. Step one is to clear your lawn of debris such as sticks and leaves as soon as any flood water has receded, as this will weigh down your soil. Rhiannon added: “Do not use a metal rake for this, as this will damage the weakened soil surface.”
Next, you should aerate the soil in your lawn. This should be done using a garden fork – which can be purchased from The Range for £9.99 or from Wickes, where it’s currently on sale for £7 – or an aeration tool, although these are often more expensive, with the cheapest one at B&Q setting you back £15.99, and a rolling version from Amazon priced at £28.98.
To aerate a lawn, simply poke holes into the soil’s surface using your tool of choice. The holes should be no more than six inches deep. The process allows air, water, and nutrients to reach the roots of your grass, but it also helps to alleviate soil compaction and aids with water drainage for waterlogged lawns.
Once you’ve done that, the final step is to fertilise the soil. Rhiannon recommended using a lawn feed that is rich in phosphorus, as this will “help to promote root growth as well as replace the nutrients in the ground”. Toolstation themselves sell Phostrogen Lawn Food in a 15kg bag for £22.98, but you can get a smaller 3.5kg bag from Sainsbury’s for £6.75. There are also multiple fertilisers available on Amazon, including a Miracle-Gro lawn feed for £12.37, and Plantura lawn feed that can be bought for as little as £8.99 for a 3kg bag.
However, one thing you should never do after a period of heavy rain is mow your lawn. Rhiannon said: “It’s best to wait until spring when the warmer temperatures will cause the grass to begin growing again. Also, make sure to avoid watering until the ground has dried out.”
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