There are some lawn care mistakes that are often made. We explain what these are and how to avoid them. This can prevent bare spots in the lawn and uneven growth.
Common Lawn Care Mistakes After Winter
Winter is the period when grass stops growing. However, this rest period does not mean that you should neglect your lawn. Especially in March, at the end of the winter season, most hobby gardeners make a few mistakes that then lead to bare spots and uneven surfaces.
1. Mowing the lawn too short: This slows down growth
In March, most hobby gardeners go outdoors and start gardening with enthusiasm. This also includes mowing the lawn. But be careful – you should never mow the lawn too short. The rule of thumb is that you can shorten the blades of grass by a maximum of 1/3. Cutting more will weaken the grass and slow growth. Bare spots and moss are often the result.
2. Care mistakes: Remove clippings
Many gardeners remove clippings immediately after cutting. Actually, it's only a mistake if the lawn is otherwise healthy and you don't notice any moss or weeds. In this case, the clippings can remain on the lawn. It serves two functions: fertilizes the soil and is more environmentally friendly than disposing of the clippings. However, if you leave the clippings standing, you should reduce the fertilizer application by around 30%.
3. Lawn care mistake: Fertilize too much
Fertilizer applications traditionally begin in March and April. But even in this case, experts advise against exaggerating. You should be very careful with synthetic fertilizers in particular and administer minimum quantities at the start of the gardening season. There are fertilizers that can damage the entire lawn if you overdo it. Home remedies can also cause damage by significantly increasing the amount of nitrogen in the soil. In many cases, large bald patches are the result.
4. Fertilize in spring and not in summer!
Not only the amount, but also the period in which the fertilizer is administered plays a decisive role in the final result. In March, the dormant phase of most types of grass ends and then the growth phase begins. The first fertilizer application usually occurs after scarifying, with further fertilizer applications occurring in late spring and late summer. Midsummer, on the other hand, is not a good time because you can...Lawn area after fertilizationshould be watered extensively. Fertilize the lawn in autumn to promote root growth and give it a boost for next spring.
5. Lawn Care Mistake: Watering too often
Anyone who waters their lawn as often in the spring as in the spring is doing it wrong. Watering should only be done if there is not enough rain. If you water too often, the grass will not grow deep roots because there is enough water in the top soil layer. In summer, when it is dry, the lawn will burn and die because the shallow roots cannot reach the water deep into the ground. Therefore, water less frequently but more thoroughly in spring.
6. Water in the evening
The lawn will be watered tomorrow morning between 5 and 6 a.m. This gives the blades of grass all day to dry. Watering the lawn in the evening promotes the growth of fungi and allows moss to spread.
When attempts at repair fail
If you have already made lawn care mistakes, attempts to repair them often fail. Why is this and what can be done better next time? We explain.
7. Reseeding the lawn: Why it doesn't work in spring
A possible solution to the problem would be to reseed the bare areas. But when this happens in March and April, the attempts usually fail. This is mainly due to the weather: lawn seeds have difficulty withstanding large differences in temperature. In extreme weather conditions they do not germinate or sprout. The end of April to mid-May is therefore a better time to reseed the lawn. Then the night frosts are over and it often rains - good conditions for the seeds to sprout quickly.
8. Lawn seeds not growing? Bought the wrong lawn mix
If the lawn seed does not sprout, this is often due to incorrect watering (see above). But it can also happen that you have bought the wrong mixture. Cheap mixtures often contain grass varieties that are not compatible with cutting.Regular mowinghas negative consequences, which usually become apparent in the following year. Bare spots arise because a type of grass no longer grows and did not survive the winter.
9. Straightening uneven lawns fails: the soil is impermeable
An uneven lawn is the result of dense soil. If the water cannot drain away, bulging areas will appear. However, soil improvement is not always necessary. Most of the time the soil needs some time to recover from winter. So it's better to wait until the beginning of April to fill holes with a permeable sand mixture.
10. The lawn is not growing thickly? Drought and frost are to blame
Young blades of grass are very susceptible to frost and drought. If the lawn seeds are sown too early, they will not be able to root through the soil because of the frost and will not sprout as quickly.
