It's possible to have a beautiful, dense green lawn throughout the summer! Follow our simple tips for a lawn you'll be proud of.
The essentials for a greener lawn
Tip 1 - Topdressing and overseeding in spring
As soon as the weather warms up, the lawn comes back to life. To help it make a comeback in spring, it's a good idea to rake up any dead grass from the winter to stimulate spring growth.
After this clean-up, topdressing followed by overseeding is a good option for replanting a lawn. This will allow the lawn to become denser and limit the space available for weeds to grow. Topdressing involves spreading a thin layer of soil or compost over the lawn to nourish it and encourage grass growth. Overseeding involves adding seed, particularly in damaged areas of your lawn, to regenerate the grass.
To ensure that the seed germinates, remember to keep the soil moist for 7 to 10 days after sowing. Finally, to provide the grass with the nutrients it can't find in the soil, applying a spring fertiliser is a good idea. It will help the lawn turn green and stimulate its growth.
Tip 2 - Spread fertilizer on your lawn
In the summer, the grass continues to grow. To keep it green and thick all summer long, it’s a good idea to use a spring-summer fertilizer. Contrary to shrubs and trees, grass roots stay close to the surface, limiting their access to nutrients that stimulate growth. For this reason, it’s strongly recommended to lay down some fertilizer in the summer, fall, or ideally, spring.
Botaflora 32-0-4 fertilizer is a homogenous spring-summer fertilizer. This means that all the nutrients—nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium—are contained within each pellet. This allows you to distribute the fertilizer evenly and without a filler product.
Other formulas are also available.
To ensure that your lawn will withstand the harsh winters, applying a fall fertilizer is also wise. The Botaflora line includes a 6 kg 8-0-24 formula, which is perfect for preparing your lawn for winter in Quebec.
Interesting fact: The numbers on the bags represent the percentage of the three elements contained in the fertilizer: nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K), in that order.
Tip 3 – Limit weed growth
This is easier said than done. To keep your lawn thick and curtail the growth of weeds, you can use a selective weed killer.
This will eliminate broadleaf weeds, such as dandelions and clovers, without damaging the rest of the lawn.
If you prefer to avoid weed killers, you can always remove the dandelions with a dandelion weeder, making sure to completely remove all the roots.
A variety of tools are available for this job, including weeders with ratchet mechanisms or weeders with ergonomic handles.
Tip 4 – Mitigate white grub populations
To mitigate the presence of insect pests, it is recommended to diversify your lawn by planting some clover.
Dwarf white clover repels white grubs, an insect that feeds on grass roots. Purchase dwarf white clover seeds and sow them on your lawn.
You can also get rid of white grubs through biological means. Nematodes, for example, are toxic to white grubs.
Our Grub Busters nematodes must be applied from April to June and from August to October to combat certain lawn pests. Try them with our specially designed sprayers.
Tip 5 – Fill out your lawn before the fall
In late summer, you can overseed your lawn, a technique that consists in sowing new grass seeds on existing turf.
The best time to do this is at the end of summer, when the days are hot and the nights are cool. These are ideal conditions for grass growth.
To overseed correctly, you must choose the right seed for your lawn. There are several products on the market, including seed blends for sunny or shady areas. These products are available in 1 kg, 4 kg, 10 kg, and 20 kg bags.
The classic blend is a good option for those who hesitate between the two as it can be used in both sunny and shady areas.
For those who prefer not to water their lawns, coated seeds are also available.
This coating technology helps the seeds in retaining moisture and promotes germination even in environments where watering is insufficient.
And for a bonus, mow regularly
Temperature and climate are major factors. Ideally, grass should be mowed every week. This limits the spreading of weeds and thickens the lawn.
Another quick tip: Even though your lawn looks a lot better without freshly cut clippings scattered about, these bits of grass act as an excellent natural fertilizer.
It’s easy and free!
A few good tools will help you maintain your lawn all season long.
Visit your BMR dealer for useful horticulture tips. A complete line of products is available to meet all your lawn care and gardening needs.
