July

Looking After Your Lawn This July

Looking after your lawn in July involves keeping it healthy through heat, dryness, and regular use. Here are the top tips for maintaining a great-looking lawn this month: 

 

🌞 Mowing 

  • Mow regularly, but not too short.
  • Raise the cutting height slightly during hot, dry spells (to around 4–5cm) to reduce stress and retain moisture. 
  • Leave clippings on the lawn during dry spells (if you have a mulching mower) to act as a natural mulch. 

 

💦 Watering 

  • Water deeply but infrequently.
  • Once or twice a week is better than little and often—aim for early morning or evening to reduce evaporation. 
  • Use collected rainwater if possible to conserve resources. 
  • Don’t panic if it goes brown: Most lawns recover quickly when rain returns. 

 

🌱 Feeding 

  • Use a summer lawn feed.
  • A high-nitrogen feed will green up the lawn and boost growth—apply if rain is due or water it in well. 
  • Avoid feeding during severe drought without adequate watering. 

 

🍂 Dealing with Weeds and Moss 

  • Spot-treat weeds with a selective lawn weedkiller if needed (or remove by hand). 
  • Avoid moss treatments now—leave this for autumn or spring. 

 

🐜 Pest Watch 

  • Watch for leatherjackets and chafer grubs.
  • If birds are pecking the lawn or you notice dieback, these may be present. Biological treatments (nematodes) are best applied in late summer. 

 

🧹 General Maintenance 

  • Edge the lawn to keep it neat and stop grass creeping into beds. 
  • Rake off debris and clippings if they start to smother the grass. 
  • Fill bare patches with seed or turf if the weather is mild and moist (but better done in early autumn). 

 

This Month's Key Tips
  • Water plants if dry daily, but be water-wise.
  • Deadhead bedding plants and flowering perennials.
  • Clear algae, blanket weed and debris from ponds.
  • Give the lawn a quick-acting sumer feed.
  • Plant second cropping potatoes now to give you new potatoes for Christmas.