Although you may be ready to put away your gardening tools and pull on your autumn wardrobe as soon as September hits, there’s still plenty of time to get some Autumn seeding done – whether it’s a quick repair or full renovation.
As always, you should be mindful of a sudden dip in temperatures. Temperatures must be 10 degrees and above day and night - when sowing your new grass seed in autumn. It’s best to consult a two-week forecast. Once you’ve checked you’re hitting these temperatures; you can confidently sow. We would recommend that you start your sowing sooner rather than later, and you should use mid-October as your deadline for successful Autumn sowing.
Aside from the still-warm temperatures, the other great thing about sowing in Autumn is we’re usually due a downpour or five, which can help take care of the daily watering of your newly seeded area!
Sowing grass seed from scratch in Autumn
When sowing a new lawn from scratch and within a certain timescale before the colder weather sets in, it’s important to use a pre-seed feed that will help boost the nutrients in your soil and speed up your grass growth.
Our Pre-Seed First Feed does just that and works quickly over six weeks to help give your new grass the boost it needs. Feeding your lawn before sowing gets your grass off to its best start and saves you a job when it's fully grown!
If the area where you plan to seed has a lot of weeds, you should consider applying an all-in-one treatment that will prepare your lawn for seeding while getting rid of your weeds. It’s vital that you keep in mind the length of time these products require to work on your lawn before sowing – our Pre-Seed First Feed requires ten days, whilst 3 IN 1 Lawn Rescue needs 14 days to green and rid your lawn of weeds and moss.
Getting your lawn ready for sowing grass seed in Autumn
Lawn ready for seeding, you should consider what grass seed is best for you. Our Everyday Dream Lawn is great for everyday family use, while Tough Stuff Lush Lawn is excellent for pets. New Build Dream Lawn is ideal for those with clay-based soils, and Shade Supreme Lawn will work best in shaded lawns. If your lawn is just for show and doesn’t get much use, then A-List Luxury Lawn will give you the perfect premium look. With the temperatures perfect and your seed at the ready, you should use our guide to help you get it right first time.
Overseeding an existing lawn in Autumn
Autumn is a great time to tackle any weeds or moss that may be lurking in amongst your otherwise green and glorious grass, as they are unlikely to return again until Spring.
An overseed is a great way to remove these issues and introduce new seeds to create a healthier lawn. The first step you need to take in your overseed is weed and moss removal, followed by a scarify (heavy raking to remove thatch and moss) and mowing.
You should then overseed at a rate of 35g per m2 and rake the seed in well and firm in by foot. If your lawn is unlevel or you believe the soil quality to be poor, then you can add topsoil to your lawn. You should water your new seeds every day for the next six weeks – avoiding when it is raining. Keep traffic on the lawn as well as any falling leaves, and consider keeping your new grass healthy with an Autumn / Winter feed when it is fully grown and mown at the 6-8 week mark.
Repairing lawn patches in Autumn
At the end of a fun-filled summer, there may be some small parts of your lawn that are looking a lot worse than others. If you don’t want to take on a full overseed of your lawn, you can simply work on these smaller areas by using our quick six step guide for patchy or thinning areas.
Keeping it healthy
Even if your lawn doesn’t seem to need much attention, an Autumn feed can greatly help to keep it healthy. In addition, keeping leaves off of your lawn can help reduce the risk of disease.