LAWN & ORDER
I’m a gardening pro & swear by a FREE hack to banish brown patches on your lawn – do it now before it’s too cold & wet
Scroll down for more gardening tips and tricks, as well as the essential jobs you need to do this month
IF you want your grass to look fabulous, you’ve come to the right place.
There’s nothing worse than nasty brown patches ruining your lawn, but thanks to gardening pros, your grass will impress your guests in no time.
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Whilst lawn care is a year-round task, it turns out that autumn is an important season to look at the problems lurking in your grass.
During the tough, cold weather, lawns need enough nutrients and growing power to dodge seasonal disease.
As a result, feeding grass with a nutrient-rich fertiliser in the summer is a gardening task many Britons undertake in the lead-up to summer and can even be applied well into autumn, as long as the product you use is specifically formulated for autumn application.
However, whilst many gardeners blame brown patches on their heavy-handed approach to lawn feed, experts at have set the record straight.
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The experts, who specialise in lawncare services, explained: "We often get asked about “brown” patches in the lawn.
“Typical customer comments are, “It is a result of poor fertiliser application.” In reality, when we examine the patches, it's normally down to animal damage."
The experts shared that brown patches caused by animal urine are difficult to spot early on, as the nitrogen's initial effect actually makes the grass look healthier.
Described as "lush green patches" filled with lengthy blades of grass, the lawn experts explained that this happens as the animal urine breaks down into an additional source of nitrogen.
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They added: "This then creates a nice green flush. However, too much nitrogen will burn and damage the grass plant, creating a brown spot in the lawn.”
Reversing the damage done to grass can achieve the same green flush and according to the experts, their free hack couldn’t be simpler.
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It turns out that sometimes, all you need is water - yes, you heard that correctly.
The experts urged gardeners to pour water on spots where the animal has urinated to neutralise the nitrogen.
October gardening jobs
The Sun's Gardening Editor, Veronica Lorraine, has shared the jobs you need to tackle in October.
"It’s a good time to trim deciduous hedges - like box, yew, hawthorn, hornbean and beech - plus hedge trimmers are a great upper body workout!
Make leafmould - gather up all the fallen leaves and fill either bin bags or plastic carrier bags. Seal the top, stick a few small holes in the bag - and then store for a year or more. Free compost!
It's unlikely you’ll get any more red tomatoes so have one final harvest and chuck the plants on the compost. See if you can get the green ones to ripen by putting in a drawer (some say with a banana). Also keep the seeds from a couple - and plant again next year if they went well.
Finish getting in your spring bulbs. Ideally you’d have done daffs and alliums, but tulips are better in the ground when the soil temperature gets a bit colder.
It’s good to leave some plant litter in the ground - it adds to the nutrients as it rots down, and provides shelter and food for insects. But remove the manky brown bits collapsing all over the lawn/winter structure.
Mulch - it not only suppresses weeds, but keeps the soil warm, improves water retention and adds a little winter duvet to your outside space.
October’s a good month for carrots, peas, asparagus, broad beans, and rhubarb."
However, if you suspect your pet is doing the damage, train them to use other areas in the garden.
Alternatively, according to lawn experts, feeding the lawn with a fertiliser specially formulated for use in the cooler months of autumn will mask the brown spots.
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At the same time, another worthwhile method is to scarify the area, aiming for bare soil by removing as much of the damaged grass as possible.
The gardening gurus advised: "Rake the patch so that the soil is fine, loose and level. If it is not level with the rest of the lawn, fill it in with topsoil and rake it to level."
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But if you want to ensure your garden leaves your guests and neighbours gobsmacked, it's important to do it now.
According to the experts, you must scarify before it gets too cold or wet, as mild, damp conditions are ideal for carrying out such maintenance.
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