Autumn, alongside spring, is the best times to tackle repairing burnt or bare patches in your lawn. To offer practical advice on how to fix those annoying patches and turn them back into lush, green lawn, we’ve spoken to Juliette Lewis, Store Manager at the Leeston PGG Wrightson store.

Before heading online to PGG Wrightson to purchase what you need, Juliette offers advice on what products and tools to grab.

You’ll need to prepare your bare patch of lawn ready for spraying for weeds and then laying new seed. A couple of tools that will make the job easier is a rake and fork. If you have compacted soil, use the fork to lightly loosen the top layer of the soil. Remove any debris and weeds from the area and then rake the surface to remove any dead foliage and smooth it over.

When purchasing seed, match the seed to your existing lawn so when the grass grows the patch doesn’t stand out. If you’re growing a new area, or have already used Durascape lawn seed, Juliette recommends Durascape All Purpose lawn seed or Durascape Traditional lawn seed. Both have been developed to maximise establishment and treated to protect the seed from diseases and to deter birds.

To make the job of spreading seed easy, Juliette says consider using a hand-held seed spreader to help evenly disperse the seed across the area.

You’ll want to fertilise your lawn to give it a boost. Juliette recommends Ballance Agri-Nutrients Lawn Fertiliser which contains iron sulphate for moss control. Another option is Tui’s Lawn Force Lawn Preparation Mix which provides both a bark and sand base for the seed to grow plus nutrients to support rapid germination.

Juliette points out the bare patch of lawn, as with the rest of your lawn, may need to be treated for weeds. Kiwicare’s LawnPro Turfclean Ultra is fast-acting and will control a broad range of lawn weeds.

Are you finding small holes in the soil? Juliette says if yes, you may have grass grub. For an effective treatment try Kiwicare’s LawnPro Protect. Its active ingredient washes off the granules and stays on the surface and in the upper layer of the soil creating a protective barrier against grass grub and other insects during egg laying and pupal emergence.

Watering to your lawn is essential, but too much can be detrimental. As Juliette explains, to test the moisture level in your lawn, push your finger into the soil down to its second knuckle. If it feels moist, then there’s no need to water. It the soil is dry, watering is necessary. She recommends watering for 15 to 20 minutes early in the morning.

For ease of watering, Juliette suggests using a sprinkler. Wetta’s 16 Jet Oscillating Sprinkler is ideal for home gardens and can be purchased from your local PGG Wrightson store.

To save you the time and hassle, Juliette suggests using a timer to attach to a tap. Set it for 15 minutes in morning, walk away and return to turn off the tap later.

To help your seed strike and grow, Juliette says try to keep your pets off the area. You don’t want your cat using it as a litterbox! To erect a temporary fence, you can use Cyclone Hex Netting and Y Posts. Once the lawn is established, remove the fencing and store it. With the versatility of these Cyclone products, you can re-use this fencing time and again around your lifestyle block.

Juliette notes once you have sown your seed it will strike within approximately two weeks. She says not to mow the new lawn until it is 8 to 10 cm high and only on a high setting while it is establishing.

To view PGG Wrightson’s range of lawncare products go online here and enjoy the option of click n collect or delivery.