In the sea of lawn care tips and tricks shared with us, there is only so much we can digest at one time to maintain a happy, healthy lawn. However, since our lawns are such a big part of our garden ideas, it’s worth giving them some extra attention before the end of November approaches.
We’ve heard fall lawn care tips according to Monty Don, but that doesn’t mean we’re all advising them just yet. David also got some must-have tips to share.
If you’ve been desperately putting off the task of mowing your lawn for the last time before winter, this round of knowledge is definitely worth it (and hopefully will inspire you to move forward).
(Image credit: Future PLC)
David Domoni’s winter lawn care tips
Talking to The perfect home In Winter Lawn Care Tips, English horticulturist David Domony begins: “The only thing to remember is that the grass will continue to live throughout the winter months.”
David has previously shared his tips for improving lawn drainage due to heavy rainfall. However, it also came packed to cover general lawn care bases as well.
However, there are things you can do to help jumpstart your lawn.
1. Lift the pieces
‘The first thing? “Don’t make it too short,” David begins. ‘The greenery inside the grass leaves contains chlorophyll, which takes in sunlight to produce food. During the winter months, there’s less sunlight, so you really want to increase the cutting size.’
“Leave a little grass in your finished plot, so there is more room for plants to get low light during the winter months.”
David recommends not cutting anything less than about 4cm. So, before you use your lawn mower for the last time this winter, consider this.
(Image credit: Future PLC)
2. Collect papers
The second thing, of course, is to keep your garden free of large waste of leaves and debris.
“It’s important to keep the grass growing. “Grass is a huge benefit to the ecological structure of our gardens, not to mention the oxygen it produces, so don’t leave leaf litter everywhere,” advises David.
“When you get too much foliage, you block the light and the grass underneath will die,” he warns. “So, set fire to the big blocks.” It doesn’t matter if there’s a leaf or two, the worms will take it to the bottom, so it’s okay. Only focus on where you get the biggest dumps.
To handle the task of raking up excess leaves in your garden bed, David advises staying away from using large soil diggers or even scarifiers. Instead, what he recommends is using a specific garden leaf rake like this one, available on Amazon.
(Image credit: Future PLC/Lizzie Orme)
3. Leave a “wild” section.
But of course, while you may be on the job of raking leaves from your garden this winter, it’s important not to go also Exaggerate.
David continues: “However, having said that, it is best to leave part of your gardens with some leaf litter and bricks, behind the shed and behind the garage. Small wild sections.”
This doesn’t mean you have to fully commit to the entire wildlife park idea, but David urges that “every park should have a wilderness section where you don’t do anything.” Just let nature go.
This helps encourage insects, beetles, frogs and toads to be in your garden so they have a place to hibernate during this period. Better yet, you’ll also be on your way to making your garden more hedgehog-friendly.
(Image credit: Future PLC/James French)
“So I would say take the leaves off the lawn but don’t throw them in the trash,” David concludes. You can fertilize it well. Then you have the wilderness areas of the park to support nature at the same time.
David currently supports Greene King’s Proud to Pitch In scheme, and speaks about the importance of pitch quality and maintenance for grassroots sports. If you’re part of a popular sports team and want to learn more about Proud to Pitch In, visit: https://www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk/proud-to-pitch-in/.
