Aftercut Lawn Care Pros and Cons

About Aftercut

Aftercut products are very similar to ‘weed and feed’ products. There are those Aftercut products with weed killer and those without. Do not use the one with weed killer on a regular basis.

Aftercut is basically a feed you apply on a more frequent basis. This is possible as it contains very low levels of nutrients. The increased frequency of application means the food stays near the surface and is readily available for the grass to take up. The roots don’t have to go looking for it so the roots remain shallow which means the grass is less drought tolerant. In addition, the soil surface is very fertile so any weed or weed grass seed that lands on it gets a helping hand to establish. This then requires more Aftercut with weedkiller to control the weeds continuing a vicious cycle of pesticide inputs.

You also need to water it in within 48 hours if there is no rain and you should keep children and pets off until watered in. See our Pet Friendly article.

Aftercut with Weed and/or Moss Killer

Please read the following article.

A Better Way

If you want to feed the lawn regularly after mowing then you should use a liquid fertiliser such as Lawnsmith Soluble as this is taken up by the leaves of the grass rather than through the roots via the soil. Therefore a less fertile soil surface for weeds.

Liquid feeds for grass are best used during the warm active growing period from late spring to early autumn. In colder conditions the grass is not very active so will struggle to assimilate feed sprayed on leaves. The answer to this is to provide the lawn with a slow release spring feed in April and again in autumn. See Flexible Feeding for the Perfect Lawn. 

The benefits of a more traditional method of lawn care are:

• Less work as there is no watering in
• More than likely cheaper
• Feed matches the seasons and grass requirements
• Roots go deeper
• Fewer weeds
• No staining
• Safer for children and pets