1. Have a pre-cut tidy

After months of being starved of sunshine, your garden may look a little neglected. It’s important, before your first grass cut of the year, to take time to clear any mess around the area you wish to mow, including dead sticks, leaves and any rubbish that may have gathered.

Check to see what is hiding in the garden; the likes of stones and thick branches may have made their way into the overgrown lawn and if the lawnmower catches these, it can damage the mower blade. Keeping the mower blade sharp is vital as the damage a dull blade can cause could be detrimental to the grass.

Don’t get rid of what you’ve collected. Add it to your wilder are as natural debris makes great habitats for wildlife.

2. Check for nesting animals

Check the area you are about to mow for any animals that might have made it their home during winter. Hedgehogs can often be found in piles of grass and leaves. If you do find a habitat, consider mowing a different part of the lawn instead and leaving it be.

3. Don’t leave it too late

Although the difference in climate can vary depending on where you are in the country, research has shown that the first two weeks in April are the most popular time to dig the lawnmower out for the first grass cut of the year.

4. Use the one third rule

When mowing your lawn for the first time, you should always follow the one third rule: Never cut more than a third of the blade of grass off in one go. Cutting more than this can stress the grass.

You should gradually reduce the grass length over a number of weeks to reach the desired length. Cutting the grass too short, too fast, is known as ‘scalping’ which can lead to disease and weed infestation.

5. Contour your garden

Don’t forget about the edges when cutting your lawn for the first time. Overgrown edges can look unsightly and can mean time and effort spent working in the garden has been in vain. Trim the edges straight after mowing.

Get in touch and we can arrange a first cut and a regular cut after that.

ALL FIELDS ON THE FORM ARE REQUIRED PLEASE

The method of sowing depends on which vegetables you want to grow. Some vegetables, carrots and parsnips for example, are sown outdoors, directly in their final positions. Still others, leeks for example, are grown outdoors and later planted to their final positions. Others are sown under cover or indoors for planting out in spring or for potting on and growing under glass.  This be can be rewarding if you want to enjoy earlier crops or grow vegetables that need that extra protection.

Direct sowing

It is easiest to sow vegetable seeds in spring, summer and autumn into prepared beds where they will eventually be cropped. This is known as direct sowing.

Station sowing

This is a good way to sow seed economically, since less thinning will be needed after the seeds germinate.

• Sow two or three seeds every few centimentres or where one final plant is intended. The easiest way to do this is by marking out a grid pattern and sowing the seed at the ‘stations’ where the rows cross
• Once the seeds have come up, choose the healthiest and ‘thin out’ the others

Sowing in containers

• Seed trays are suitable for starting off vegetables that will be moved on (known as ‘pricking out’) to their own containers or outside
• Seeds can also be sown in 7.5cm (3in) pots, recycled fruit or vegetable punnets or any other container with drainage holes in the bottom
• Modules or cell trays are a very efficient way of raising seedlings, allowing you to transplant, causing minimal damage to delicate roots
• For larger seeds such as broad beans, use deeper, individual containers such as cardboard tubes
• For ‘cut and come again’ crops where the plants will remain, use containers 10-15cm (4-6in) deep – polystyrene or plastic fish crates with drainage holes are ideal

ALL FIELDS ON THE FORM ARE REQUIRED PLEASE

As we get into the autumn months the frequency of mowing will reduce gradually. In June, July and August you may have been mowing once or twice a week. Approaching September, it is time to further reduce this to once every 10 days and going into October, once a fortnight will suffice. If you find that since your last cut at the end of October your grass is still quite high, consider one final cut in November.

The aim of autumn / winter mowing is to top the grass and to never cut too short in the winter. If you cut too short, you leave the blades susceptible to frost and disease damage. We advise that you aim for a slightly higher cut for your last last mowing. 

Before winter approaches it is also a good idea to apply a fertiliser to strengthen and protect it from harsh conditions over winter, ensuring that it emerges bigger, brighter and better come spring!