Monty Don shares two lawn care tasks to do now to ‘rejuvenate’ grass

Gardening expert Monty Don has shared which garden tasks Britons need to do this month in his blog . Each month, the horticulturalist shares exactly which tasks gardeners need to be tackling this month. This month, Monty said gardeners need to concentrate on pruning roses and raspberries and ripening their green tomatoes . However, the gardening expert also said September is the ‘ideal time’ to focus on lawn care. Monty’s lawn care tasks for September: Monty Don shares two lawn care tasks to do now to ‘rejuvenate’ grass for spring (Image: GETTY) Monty said it’s now the ‘ideal time of year’ to sow grass seed or turf new grass to repair worn-out areas of lawns. He said: ‘If it is just a worn area of thin grass, rake away all thatch and moss and remove all weeds and thinly scatter grass seed, watering well and keeping it damp. ‘The seed should germinate and grow in days. Do not mow it for at least a month and if it looks unsightly going into winter clip the new growth with shears.’ If the area of grass is quite large, gardeners can clean the edges using a sharp spade. Monty said even if lawns look pristine come autumn, September is still a good time to aerate them (Image: Getty) Then they can simply fork it over to help remove compaction before scattering seeds or cutting a piece of turf to fit the space. When putting down new turf, Monty said it’s ‘important’ gardeners remember that it should not be walked on or mown until it’s strongly growing. Strong growth will indicate the roots have become well-established. If the weather is poor, gardeners may not be able to cut grass until next spring. Monty said even if lawns look pristine come autumn, September is still a good time to aerate them. He explained: ‘You can use a fork by working the tines into the ground at 12-inch intervals or, for a larger lawn, hire a rolling hollow tine or slitter. Ideally, this is followed by working sand into the holes they create with a stiff brush. ‘Finally give the grass a thorough scratch with a wire rake, to remove all the thatch and moss and whilst it will look a little threadbare this autumn, next spring your lawn will be rejuvenated for this autumnal working over.’