Lawns that are dense, green and luxurious are the aspiration of many property owners, particularly during the summer season. A lawn with sparse or patchy sections can be enormously frustrating. Yet discovering how to achieve thicker grass can sometimes seem like an elusive puzzle.
Indeed, you may have attempted numerous approaches without achieving your desired outcome. You want straightforward solutions for creating a fuller lawn that you’ll be delighted to display, especially since the recent UK hot weather has most likely turned your lawn brown. That’s where gardening expert and founder of Yardwork, an online plant nursery and landscaping platform, Michael Clarke steps in.
The gardening expert has shared that the “best way” to thicken lawns and make them “greener and thicker fast” for the remainder of summer is through a three-step process, with each task taking no more than five minutes to carry out.
He stated: “The best way to thicken lawns and make them greener in summer is to aerate, using a mechanical core aeration machine, overseed, and fertilise.”
Aeration involves creating small perforations in the soil by extracting existing soil “plugs”. This enables nutrients, oxygen, and water to penetrate deeper into the grass root zone, particularly in areas with firm, compacted or heavy clay soil compositions, helping to “stimulate the growth of much thicker and greener grass”.
Following aeration, it’s “advisable” to distribute grass seed to encourage new growth between existing grass blades and cover with a thin layer of topsoil, protecting the seed from consumption by birds or other creatures.
Spread the grass seed uniformly either by hand or with a spreader, sowing first along the length and then across the width of the area.
Gently rake over the seeds to make sure they’re in contact with the soil, which will help speed up germination.
Using a quality fertiliser is key for infusing nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium into the root zone to “establish healthier, more robust grass blades”.
For those keen to go above and beyond and “keep weeds from sprouting”, regular mowing is essential to prevent them from competing with the grass blades and gradually thinning out your lawn.
However, when mowing, it is vital to mow at the right height. The gardening gurus at This Is My Garden warned that “one of the biggest mistakes homeowners make with their lawns is to mow them too low”.
Mowing your lawn close to the ground can cause a long list of issues for your grass, starting with never allowing it to grow full and thick.
Instead, the mowing height should be set at three and a half to four inches during the spring, summer and early autumn.
At this height, the blades are long enough to protect the soil. They also allow new, emerging grass to grow underneath their cover.