You might get a little jealous when you look at the meticulously mown playing fields of Germany’s professional footballers. The lush green stalks stand close together, trimmed exactly to a maximum of 2.5 centimeters. Clover, dandelions or other annoying wild herbs usually lose out on well-maintained soccer turf. In the more than 1,000 allotment garden associations in this country, things often look different. Moss peeks through between more or less light-growing stalks. There a dandelion, here blooming clover. A paradise for bees, butterflies and insects. But anyone who values a healthy playing or ornamental lawn should take care of the eagerly growing rivals. True to the motto: You are the greenkeeper. With the following tips you will not only save sweat when caring for your lawn, but sometimes also a lot of time.
Grass from high-quality lawn seeds shoots up about ten centimeters per month on average over the course of the year. If the stalks were allowed to grow, an adult would be standing about waist-high in grass at the end of a gardening year. For a dense lawn, there is no alternative to regular mowing. The more frequently you mow, the better the stalks will branch at the base. Weeds can also be kept at least somewhat under control through regular mowing. It mows faster, but a little messier, with a sickle lawn mower like this model from Bosch. Here the sickle cuts off the stalks at the previously set height. These often fray and the tips turn slightly brown. Only reel lawnmowers can achieve a smooth cut. However, muscle power is required here because these mowers do not require an engine. Lawn lovers click their tongues at the result. A good alternative to the sickle lawnmower for smaller lawns and allotment gardeners with a slightly larger time budget. If you have little time and are willing to spend a little more money on lawn care, you can also delegate the lawn cutting to a hard-working helper. A robotic lawnmower comparison should make it easier to find the right one.
When and how often should you mow the lawn?
If mowing the lawn is the gardener’s duty, scarifying the lawn can definitely be described as a freestyle. Anyone who is annoyed by moss and lichen in their own greenery should do something about it. When scarifying, small knives score the ground about two millimeters (but a maximum of five millimeters) and thus loosen the unwanted moss and annoying thatch without damaging the lawn or turf. In addition, the knives loosen the soil with their work, so that the stalks can breathe better and the water can be absorbed better. In addition to electric scarifiers like this one from Hanseatic, this also works with a cutting rake, pendulum scarifier or scarifier roller. The latter cost, that’s part of the truth, but significantly more sweat than the electric version.
When and how often should you scarify your lawn?
You can read a current scarifier test here.
Like humans, lawn plants need air to breathe and survive. Blades of grass mainly run out of oxygen when they are heavily used and exposed to a lot of rain. This damages the root and weakens the entire plant. Instead of scratching the ground like when scarifying the lawn, when aerating the lawn, holes are made in the ground and filled with quartz sand. This ensures that excess water can drain away better and the lawn roots are better ventilated. So-called nail shoes, which can be strapped under garden shoes, are suitable for this.
Unfortunately, good old rainwater is not enough to supply the demanding lawn grasses so that the meadow appears dense and lush green. So additional nutrients are required. They are added to the soil via fertilizer. As a rule, gardeners do best with organic, slow-release fertilizers. Spread over the gardening year, you can also get weeds in the lawn under better control. Because it spreads happily without fertilizer because the grasses are too weak to resist it. Furthermore, regular mowing of the lawn also depletes the energy reserves of the grass. The constant regrowth takes a toll on the substance. If you work your lawn with a mulching lawn mower, you need less fertilizer because the clippings that are left on the lawn already contain nutrients that can be recycled by the plants.
When and how often should you fertilize your lawn?
While some allotment gardeners don’t attach much importance to accurately maintained lawn edges, some use nail scissors to tackle the last stubborn stalks. As is often the case, the happy medium is completely sufficient for most people. Because lawnmowers tend to require rough motors and are not maneuverable enough, especially for raised edges, cutting lawn edges requires manual work. True to the motto: get to the lawn shears! Depending on what the lawn edge is like and how accurate it should look in the end, grass trimmers or cordless edge cutters can also help with the final finishing touches.
When and how often do lawn edges cut?
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Depending on how mossy and matted the lawn is, scarifying usually creates unsightly gaps in the lawn. Here you should re-seed the lawn to close the bare spots. In order for the lawn seeds to open and grow, in addition to light (lawn seeds germinate in light), a moderate air temperature is important. If it is too cold, the seeds will dry out. Autumn is a good time to reseed the lawn. As a rule, this happens automatically after the autumn scarifying. Because the bare areas are usually quite small, a hand spreader or a spreading shovel is usually enough to spread the lawn reseeding. If a larger piece of lawn has become limp, it will be quicker to use a spreader.
When and how often should you reseed your lawn?
If there is no natural precipitation for a long period of time, you can quickly see that in nature. Lawns also dry out and turn yellowish-brown. To prevent this, you should water your lawn during such dry periods. Sandy soils in particular need regular irrigation water; ideally from the bulging rain barrel. Loamy soils hold water slightly better and need to be watered less frequently. No matter what type of soil: a watering can is usually not enough, even for smaller lawns. A garden hose with an appropriate attachment or a small lawn sprinkler (here’s a model from Gardena that can be sunk into the ground) are the much more efficient means of choice. The only thing that should be ensured here is that the sprinkler waters as few paved areas or facades as possible.
When and how often should you water your lawn?
Water Saving Tip: The cooler the soil, the less moisture is lost through evaporation. Watering early in the morning or late in the evening saves a few liters of water. A little potassium fertilizer also stimulates the root growth of the grass and at the same time increases its water absorption capacity.
Sources: rasendoktor.de; gardenjournal.net
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