Q&A - Lawncare

Q. I have lawn which is bumpy and uneven. I would like to make it good. What would you suggest that I do?

A. Much depends on how bumpy the lawn is. If it is only slightly uneven I would be inclined to roll it in the autumn and then remove any high spots and re-seed or turf them. If it is very bad then it may be best to relay the lawn or you can fill in the big dips with fresh topsoil and again either re-seed or turf them.

Q. In the winter the rain turns my lawn into a marshy puddle. Do you have any tips on how to improve the drainage? The lawn is quite large so I can't really relay it.

A. The best thing is to spike the lawn using either a fork or spiking machine (this can be hired) in autumn and spring and backfill the holes with a mixture of grit, soil and grass seed. It will take a few years to improve the drainage by this method and much depends on the underlying subsoil.

Q. Moss has now taken over a good part of my lawn, would it be better to re-lay the lawn or try to kill off the moss?

A. An awful lot depends on how much grass there actually is beneath all the moss. Before getting too drastic apply a moss killer then when it has turned black rake it all out. (hire a scarifier if it is a large area and save your back!). Then spike the lawn to help the drainage (again you can hire machines to do this) and fill the holes with a mixture of compost, grit, grass seed and fertiliser. Finally do a liquid feed if the area isn't too big to get the grass growing quickly. Hopefully the grass will thicken out over the next few months and you can repeat the process in the autumn.