Some of us look at our lawns and instantly think, ‘chore’. After all, there are all sorts of jobs that come with maintaining a lawn: mowing, strimming, feeding, scarifying, weeding and more! Getting your lawn in shape for the upcoming season can take an entire weekend – or longer. It’s no wonder why some people choose to replace their lawns with gravel, patio or decking, especially if they’re physically unable to maintain all that grass.
However, if you want to keep your lawn and just lessen the amount of upkeep, then you need to turn to products! There are many different lawn care formulas on the market, and many of them can be ambiguous about what they do and how they do it. However, a little bit of research can help you pick the right product.
Here’s a simple guide to what you should look for in a lawn treatment:
Ease of use
Do you have to use more than one application? An effective lawn treatment should only need one application on a reasonably well maintained lawn in order to do its job.
How multi-purpose is it?
Does it do all the jobs you require? Of course, a lawn treatment can’t mow your lawn for you, but it can feed and weed it, as well as keep moss at bay.
Ingredients
Some lawn treatments can contain nasties or unnecessary chemicals. If you’re looking for a treatment that will remove weeds but leave the grass alone, look for active ingredients like Dicamba and Mecoprop-p. If you’re looking for a fertiliser, then you’ll need to keep an eye out for nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. Meanwhile, moss dies out with the use of iron sulphate.
My go-to multi-purpose lawn treatment
There is one product that ticks all the above boxes and more, and that’s Richard Jackson’s Feed, Weed & Moss Lawn Treatment.
Designed to fulfill three lawn care jobs in one application, this treatment is so easy to use and has speedy results. You’ll see the effect of the product on your lawn in as little as a few days. Common weeds, such as dandelions, will begin to shrivel up, grass will appear greener and more lush, and moss will blacken and die off.
It comes in a 5kg tub, which will cover a lawn up to 250 square metres in size, and can be applied from April through to September.
How to apply it
As I said, Richard Jackson’s Feed, Weed & Moss Lawn Treatment is really easy to apply.
The best way to ensure the product evenly covers your lawn is to use a spreader. Spreaders can be handheld, or wheeled for larger gardens or for those who are less physically able. They’re usually quite a reasonable price – some handheld spreaders can be found for around £10 – and you can find them online or at a good garden centre or a DIY store which sells gardening items.
Simply spread the treatment evenly over your lawn, using the measure of 20g per square metre. Then, keep kids and pets off the lawn until the product has been watered in. Apply between April and September when the grass is dry but the soil is moist!
Lawn inspiration
Need some inspiration to motivate you to bring your lawn back to life? There’s nothing like a bit of #LawnPorn to get you on your way to lush greenery! Check out some of my favourites below:
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A few fun facts about lawns
Pink flamingos are the most popular lawn ornament! In the US around a quarter of a million lawn flamingos are sold each year. The first lawn flamingo was sold in 1957, and reached its peak in the 80s, but they’re still extremely popular today.
The average lawn has millions of grass plants. There are around six grass plants per square inch, and since the average garden size is about one-fifth of an acre, this means there are over 1.2 million square inches in a garden and over seven million grass plants.
In summer, over 1000 litres of water is used to water the lawn, per household. About 66% of all water use in each household comes from watering the lawn. Depending on the weather during the summer, this number can vary greatly – which is why hosepipe bans often pop up during very hot and dry periods.
Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan.
Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook – and writes a plant-focused Substack called Grow This, Not That.
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