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Lawn Tips

Mowing, feeding and the moss that keeps coming back.

The rule that covers most of them

Cut high, cut often, never take more than a third of the blade at once, and fix the cause of moss rather than the moss.

A British lawn is mostly a question of mowing height, drainage and whether the grass is being asked to grow where grass does not want to grow. Most moss problems and most bare patches are symptoms of one of those three rather than problems in themselves.

What it covers

MowingMossFeedingRepairWatering

Every tip in lawn

6001
How high to actually cut a lawn

Higher than most people do. Around 4cm for an ordinary family lawn, and never remove more than a third of the blade height in one cut.

Mowing
6002
Why you have moss, and what actually fixes it

Moss is a symptom of shade, compaction, poor drainage, low fertility or cutting too short. Killing it without changing one of those means it returns within a season.

Moss
6003
When to feed a lawn, and with what

A high-nitrogen feed in spring, and a different autumn feed high in potassium and phosphate. Using the spring one in autumn produces soft growth that disease attacks.

Feeding
6004
How to fix a bare patch in a lawn

Scratch the surface up, sow seed mixed with compost, firm it down and keep it damp. Spring and early autumn work; midsummer usually does not.

Repair
6005
Whether to water a lawn in a dry summer

Generally no. An established lawn goes brown and dormant in drought and recovers when the rain returns. If you do water, water deeply and rarely rather than lightly and often.

Watering

Tipking is general household information, not professional advice. Test anything on a hidden patch first. Full disclaimer.