Most grass seed will sprout within 10 days of being sown – if sown in the correct conditions for growth. This means sowing when temperatures are 10 degrees and above, with good weather forecast for the following two weeks.

If sown in the correct conditions, your lawn should be fully grown at the 6-8 week mark when your grass is hitting heights of 5 – 7cm.

You should water a newly sown lawn once a day, everyday, for 6 weeks avoiding when it is raining. Our UK weather will do a good job of watering an existing lawn for most of the year – but during a drought you should aim to water deeply between 10-14 days apart to help your grass’ root system to build resilience.

From late February onwards your grass will resume growth and you may be wondering how often you should mow your lawn. In Spring and Summer you should aim to cut your lawn once a week. Cutting your grass too often and too short can stress it, so try to avoid this and enjoy your lawn between mows.

You should wait 6-8 weeks before mowing a new lawn, when your new grass is hitting heights of 5-7cm. Always cut new grass on the highest setting of your lawn mower before gradually reducing to your preferred mowing height. For general use lawns, aim to mow you grass at 20-40mm. For fine ornamental lawns, keep your height at 10-20mm.

Just as unhelpful as leatherjackets, chafer grubs eat away at the roots of your grass, causing the blades to yellow/brown from the bottom up. This also weakens your grass, so if chafer grubs have moved into your lawn, you will be able to pull away parts of your grass easily. The same rules apply, and by pulling back the turf in your lawn, you’ll be able to check if these greedy grass grubs have invited themselves to your garden party.

Chafer grubs eat away at the roots of your grass causing the blades to yellow / brown from the bottom up. This also weakens your grass, so if chafer grubs have moved into your lawn you will be able to pull away parts of your grass easily. Same rules apply, and by pulling back the turf in your lawn you’ll be able to check if these greedy grass grubs have invited themselves to your garden party. Just like leatherjackets, chafer grubs can be treated with the same Nemasys product – as said, make sure to read the instructions before use.

Most people recognise that worms in your soil are a good thing and are a sign of a healthy lawn (and they’re correct!) – worms help to improve the drainage in your lawn (less flooding) and are also great at recycling the nutrients within your soil. Unfortunately, worms get a little full up eating all those nutrients and may decide to hit the eject button on your lawn, leaving worm casts on the surface.

Whilst worms may create a little pile of soil on your lawn, moles will make their presence known by leaving a massive one! Before a mound appears you may notice ridge patterns in your lawn that are a sign that moles are tunnelling underneath the surface. This may make your lawn surface uneven, and while moles can certainly be a nuisance - they are ultimately harmless and are also a protected species.

If you find small heaps of soil appearing on top of your lawn leaving you scratching your head, you may discover that you have ants in your lawn. Now, ants are probably one of the last pests you would be worried about and aside from these heaps of soil they won’t be much trouble. If the ants are ruining your lawn aesthetic, you can brush the soil mounds out on a dry day to be level with the rest of your lawn. If you have children or pets and are concerned that some of the ants in your lawn might be harmful contact an ant specialist and do not attempt to remove the ants yourself.

Dog pee contains a chemical called Nitrogen, which, although found in lawn food to make your grass green, will cause your lawn to go patchy when your pup keeps going to the bathroom in the same area!

At icanlawn.com, we believe honesty is the best policy – so we won’t tell you that dog-resistant grass exists! Your best course of action for avoiding burnt pee patches on your lawn is to water them right away. Of course, this takes a little extra effort, but your lawn will thank you for it in the long run – and it also saves you from having to do any patch repairs!

Weed grasses appear like grasses but are invasive weeds. If you have weed grasses present in your lawn, you will notice thick clumps of broad-leafed grass that don’t quite fit in with the rest. Removing any sign of thicker grasses or weeds when they appear can stop them from becoming a huge problem, and a healthier lawn that is well looked after will be in a better position to fend them off. Feeding and overseeding your lawn helps to create a strong grass root system and a thick, dense lawn leaving little room for weeds to creep in.

Of all the pesky lawn diseases and weeds that can crop up on our lawns, moss is one of the most common. Unless your soil conditions are perfect, it’s likely that moss will make an appearance on your lawn at some stage.

Mosses are very shallow-rooted plants, so luckily, immediate removal is pretty easy. A simple 3 step process will help to kill dead moss and remove it from your lawn.

What is red thread?

Red thread is a common lawn disease that will appear across many UK lawns and thrives in hot and wet weather, which encourages the red thread fungus to grow. Whilst you can see red thread year-round, it is most common when we experience wet summers and autumns. In autumn, dead grass and moss can begin to gather on your lawn. This allows moisture to build up on the surface of your lawn and creates the perfect breeding ground for red thread.

How do I get rid of red thread grass disease?

Using a nitrogen-rich lawn food such as our Oh So Green will help to turn your red grass blades back to green again. Lawns that suffer from red thread are often low in nitrogen or haven’t been fed at all, so keep on top of this to prevent future red thread and other lawn diseases.

Damping off can occur if you have recently sown a new lawn or overseeded your existing lawn. Similar to Red Thread, it can take hold of your lawn when weather conditions are humid with heavy rainfall, creating a hot bed for fungi to grow and multiply. This particular disease can cause emerging seedlings to collapse or never to emerge at all.

Although this can occur at different times of year, it is most likely to happen in spring. Whilst there is no cure for Damping Off besides removal of the dead seedlings and starting from scratch again, you can help to prevent it by ensuring you sow / overseed your lawn in the right weather conditions. This means sowing when temperatures are 10 degrees and above, with no extreme weather conditions (floods, snow, frost or heatwaves) forecast for the first two weeks post-sowing.

As its name suggests, Snow Mould is most likely to occur in the winter months. If snow lingers on your lawn for too long, it can cause fungi to grow, encouraging yellow – brown spots to develop on your lawn. It can be difficult to control, so the best course of action here is prevention. If you have prolonged snowfall on your lawn for a number of days, you should aim to shovel it off in sections so that when it begins to melt, the moisture isn’t returning to your grass, encouraging more fungi to grow.

You may have noticed mushrooms growing on your lawn but haven’t seen any other gardens on your street plagued with these unsightly fungi – why is this? We’re here to provide advice on what causes mushrooms to grow in your garden and how to get rid of mushrooms on a lawn in the UK!

The best way to get rid of mushrooms in a lawn is prevention. By keeping an eye on your grass and soil conditions, you can be a step ahead of the mushrooms and stop their growth completely. Some soil types drain better than others, and some are more likely to hold water - we have a guide on soil types if you are unsure what kind of soil your garden has. As we also mentioned before, mushrooms feast on organic matter in your garden, so by removing grass cuttings, leaves, sticks, and twigs, you will reduce their food source.

If you’ve caught them late and the mushrooms have sprouted up without you noticing, the best thing to do is pull them out from the base of their stem as soon as possible! Removing them this way will also eliminate the risk of children or animals eating them and getting sick.

Short grass dries out faster than long grass, so mow your lawn regularly (once a week in spring and summer) to limit the quantity of water available for the mushrooms. Also, be sure to remove all grass cuttings after mowing to restrict the amount of food the mushrooms have to feed on!