I’ve just spent days hauling heavy lumpy bits of equipment around and raking and shovelling and generally getting rather tired all in the interest of the annual lawn maintenance. Yawn.
A few weeks ago I used an autumn lawn fertiliser (low nitrogen so as not to encourage lots of soft green growth just before winter) and then this week set to doing the hard bit. First MsV and I scarified the lawns which necessitates lots of raking up of the resulting loose thatch, grass and bits. Then I hauled a heavy hollow tined aerator around which is like a hyper driven apple corer and takes little cylinders of soil out to allow air down to the grass’ roots. All these soil cores need to be raked up of course because for some unknown reason the aerator doesn’t collect the bits itself. Lunacy. And then we spread 4 tonnes (or do I mean tons – worryingly I don’t actually know) of topdressing over the formal lawns consisting of 1/4 fine topsoil and 3/4 sharp sand, which should work its way down into the holes left by the aerator and help to relieve compaction and improve the soil. This required more raking action to spread about and work in.
If I never see another rake again it will be too soon. Oh well, it’s all over for another year and at least this week has been really rather pretty.
The Sproutling Writes 