THE owner of Britain’s Best Lawn has revealed when you should and shouldn’t cut your grass – and the mistakes you might be making in the garden.
Green-fingered Stuart Grindle was crowned king of the lawns in 2017, spending 30 hours a week for the past 40 years to get his just right.
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Stuart, from Tickhill in Doncaster, South Yorks, said in an interview last year that it’s “been a full-time job” looking after his green oasis.
But he believed gardeners across the country could get their lawns looking just as good as his – and with less work.
Stuart told SWNS at the time: “People used to say, ‘What’s the hardest plant in your garden you grow then, Mr Grindle?’
“I’d say, ‘You are stood on it’. The grass is the hardest plant. It suffers from everything. It’s very hard to maintain.
So here are Stuart’s tips for the best grass this season.
When is the best time to cut your grass?
Stuart explained: “Most people have a certain day when they are going to cut the lawn – well you’ve got to be a bit more loose.
“You’ve got to think well, that’s too wet – I’ll get on it tomorrow if it dries off.
“You don’t want to be overcutting at this time because all you’ll do is stress the lawn out and you’ll just get wear patches where you turn the mower.
“If it rains in the morning, leave it and cut it late on in the afternoon or early evening.
“And if it’s really soggy and wet, lift the mower to a height of probably 25mm to 30mm and just take the top off it.”
What mistakes are people making in the garden?
Persistent wet conditions don’t have to spell disaster for gardeners and it doesn’t mean that we can’t still tend to our lawns.
He explained: “One benefit with the wet weather is that you can get on and feed the lawns, they will then wash the food in, which will help growth and the look.”
He also said that moss could be a problem “But it’s easily got rid of, all you need is to go to your local market gardeners and get a little box of iron sulphate, and it will tell you how to dilute that.
“That will kill the moss. It will turn black overnight.
Top tips to achieve Britain’s best lawn
Green-fingered Stuart Grindle, 81, has shared his top tips to get grass looking its best this Spring/Summer.
- Be flexible about when you are choosing to cut your grass if it is raining – wait until another time.
- Don’t overcut your lawn because all you’ll do is stress the lawn out and you’ll just get wear patches where you turn the mower.
- If the grass is really soggy and wet, lift the mower to a height of probably 25mm to 30mm and just take the top off it.
- During wet weather you can get on and feed the lawns, they will then wash the food in, which will help growth and the look.
- Moss is easily got rid of, all you need is to go to your local market or gardeners and get a little box of iron sulphate, and it will tell you how to dilute that.
He added that you must wait for a dry day to then work on it again.
“You’ve got to wait again for a dry day, and then you’ve got to scarify and break it all off, over-feed and you’re off again.
“It will kill the moss within hours.
“It helps to transform tired and worn looking grass, making it greener and healthier easily”
Iron Sulphate can be purchased from any garden centre or online store and B&Q sell Premium Iron Sulphate – Greens Grass and Hardens Turf Makes from £9.
As for Astro Turf, Stuart noted: “To me, it’s a definite no-no.
“To me, the lawn is the nucleus of the garden. I plan everything around the shape of my lawn.
“But if you have two children and you’re going out in the morning at 7am and you’re not getting back until 6pm – and you’ve got to take the kids to ballet or football, you’ve got to make life easy.
“And a lawn is not easy.”
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