ESSENTIAL Aftercare Following your Renovation

 Your lawn has just undergone an intensive makeover. In order to recover, it will need the right nutrients, lots of water and time to settle. After 11+ years of research and development, we have found that the following 3 steps are essential for you to get the best value and the quickest recovery from your recent lawn renovation.

 

  1. Water daily!

The grass plant cannot absorb nutrients from the soil unless those nutrients are aided by sufficient water. If the soil is dry, no nutrients will get into the root-zone – where it is needed, rendering the whole renovation useless! DO NOT ASSUME THAT RAIN IS ENOUGH – the soil will dry-out between rainfall and, at times, actually repel light or short rainfall, leaving the seed un-germinated or even germinated grass to die. This will make recovery sparse and it will take much longer for your lawn to look as good as you want it to. Water in the evening when the lawn is not in direct sunlight and use either a sprinkler or a hosepipe with a rose attachment. Water daily until seed has germinated and the new plants are at least 5cm tall.

 

  1. Stay off the grass!

The existing grass plants in your lawn have undergone a rigorous treatment that will stimulate re-growth and renewal. It is now at the point where any more activity on the lawn will be detrimental to the grass. Further to this, grass seed added, which must not be disturbed. Unfortunately, disturbance from birds is inevitable and cannot be avoided. To combat this, we have seeded the lawn at a very heavy application rate but adding to this disturbance is counterintuitive. At the moment, growth is soft and tender and vulnerable to bruising so it needs time to build strength.

In 3-4 weeks time your lawn will be able to cope with light traffic. In the meantime, PLEASE stay off the grass. Any methods you can find to stop the birds from eating seed will be beneficial. You’ll find ideas for homemade bird “scarers” on the internet and in many cases, just opening your doors and walking onto your paths will be enough to cause the birds to flee.

 

  1. Mow when the grass is 7-8cm tall

Choose a dry day, when there is no risk of frost. Ensure your mower blades are spotlessly clean and very sharp. Blunt blades rip at the grass and leave ragged edges that can get infected, causing browning and killing-off of the vulnerable new grasses. Attach your grass box to the mower and set the blades high. Mowing on a low setting will scalp the lawn, which would be fatal! Aim to remove about 25% of the length. For the first cut, mow once, and then mow again at 90 degrees to the first cut. This will stimulate growth. Wait at least 3-4 days before the next cut. For the next 6 months or so it’s important to never remove more than 25% of the grass blades at each cut. If you are not able to mow little and often, think about asking Nutrilawn or another experienced gardener to help.

 

Try not to worry

Do not be overly concerned if your initial recovery is thinner than you’d hoped for. If you’re following the steps above, nature will take its course and your lawn will thicken. If there has been no prior weedkill to your renovation, we will have to allow your existing weed spectrum to grow with the new lawn. Don’t forget, Nutrilawn will follow-up with 2 germination visits to monitor and help the recovery along and finally, a treatment that will aid greening, thickening and killing of weeds.