Lawn care information for October

Last month we looked at the benefits of scarifying and aerating and what they can reveal is where there is weakness in the lawn as a result of compaction, incorrect fertilising, shade and general wear and tear. This may lead to bare patches and October, before the frosts, is a good time to overseed, which can be done by using a spreader, or an overseeder machine if the area is large, to ensure an even spread.

Once again, you need to scarify, aerate and spike the lawn if not already done and then overseed to apply grass seed to root between the existing grass. You may well say the grass will grow back without help to fill patchy areas but sideways growth serves to encourage more dominant grass to take a hold. Overseeding will promote a more even lawn growth and colour whilst filling in bare patches to ensure a thicker, more uniform lawn.

Seed should be broadcast on a dry day with no breeze to cause drift of the seed into borders, working in two directions to ensure areas are not missed. It's worthwhile to then apply a top dressing to help the seed growth and protect it from birds.

It's likely the leaves will be falling by the end of the month and these need to be swept off the lawn, which you might do with a power blower or collect using the mower or garden tractor or simply rake up. Bagged up in bin liners and left to rot down or added to the compost heap they will make good leaf mould to fertilise the garden borders. Worn patches of grass can be repaired with fresh turf if you don't want to overseed.

Simply cut out an area using an edging tool, spade or for large areas a motorised sod cutter and then cutting the new piece of turf to fit. When laying several turves they should be staggered like bricks in a wall so you don't get any gaps appearing. Wormcasts are common on the lawn in October and they can be removed with a broom, preferably when it's dry, and a spring tined grass rake can be used to remove moss.

On the last point, if you have been treating the lawn to Viano MO Bacter organic fertiliser you should be free of unsightly black dead moss.

MO Bacter should be applied between March and the end of September. You can still apply Recovery Organic Fertiliser in October to a lawn that has suffered from stress and needs an autumn greening up. If the lawn is normal but in need of some nourishment then an application of Universal Lawn Feed will do just that, and an acid lawn with thatch will benefit from a feed of Bio Lime.

The Viano range of organic fertilisers is available from the Pitchcare shop