Aftercut Lawn Care Pros and Cons

Follow a few simple rules to apply your lawn fertiliser and get the best results from your grass whether it's a spring, summer or an autumn feed

For convenience you can fertilise the seeded lawn area on the day of sowing however, due to changing weather patterns this may not always be best.

You can save time and money and get a better result if you use the correct fertiliser for your lawn. Adjust for these and your grass is 90% of the way there.

The soil in your lawn controls the amount of fertiliser, air and water to the grass roots, therefore sandy and poor soils should be fed more than clay soils

Knowing what to use to feed your grass in spring can make a big difference to your lawn whilst saving you time and money.

In summer you can use a granular or liquid fertiliser. However, the conditions for application are very important during the warmer and dryer summer months.

Autumn fertiliser needs to be able to support the grass nutritionally, give maximum colour to make use of lower autumn light levels and promote deeper roots.

There is plenty of root growth in winter as the lawn soil at root depth is invariably warmer than the air. Keeping the roots fed means a healthy resilient lawn.

Clay soil tends to be heavy and dense, with poor drainage and good nutrient retention. Your lawn feed should take this into consideration.

Sandy soil tends to drain quickly and lacks essential nutrients, so the best lawn fertilizer should provide a generous level of prime nutrients to compensate.

Seaweed promotes health, goodness and biological activity within the grass and the soil producing a greener, stronger and more disease resistant lawn.

Using a proven mix of nutrients you can rapidly enhance the green in your lawn in less than a day. Ideal for application between seasonal feeds or as a standalone fast green-up before an event.

Liquid feeding of the lawn is suitable from late spring to early autumn during the main growth period in warmer weather.

Here are two simple ways to use weed killer and soluble or granular lawn fertiliser that is easy for you, safe for the grass and deadly for the weeds.

When spreading fertiliser on the lawn you need to do two simple things otherwise you'll damage the grass: spread the correct amount and put it on evenly.

There is only one way to spread fertiliser on your grass safely and evenly and that is with a rotary or broadcast spreader; not by hand or with a drop spreader

Watering-in a fertiliser treatment is necessary for fine powdery products such as weed and feed so try using a fertiliser that doesn’t need watering in!

There are three factors that control how long fertiliser takes to work. The availability of moisture, the temperature and the type of fertiliser.

Lawn fertiliser may not completely dissolve in to the grass for a variety of reasons. Most of them are good and better for a healthy lawn!

Use a granular or pelleted feed without weed killer or iron that is slow-release. These settle deep into the grass pretty much out of reach of dogs and cats.

'Weed and feed' is a clever lawn care idea. The problem is, for most people it doesn't work leaving stripes, burnt grass and even bigger weeds

The shelf life of fertilizers can vary widely based on type of fertilizer, storage conditions, and packaging. Here's a guideline for common types of fertilisers.