Lincolnshire is one of the drier corners of England, with cold snaps that hang around in spring and clay soils in plenty of gardens that sit wet through winter. A lawn here does not follow the generic advice on the back of a feed box to the letter.
This is the calendar we actually work to across Lincoln and the villages: when to mow, when to feed, when to repair, and when the kindest thing you can do for a lawn is stay off it.
January and February: stay off it
Frozen or sodden grass does not want feet on it, let alone a mower. Walking on a frosted lawn snaps the leaf blades and leaves brown footprints that hang around for weeks.
Jobs for now: keep leaves and debris raked off so light gets in, make sure the mower is serviced with a sharp blade, and if we get a genuinely mild dry spell late in February, a light topping cut on a high setting is fine. It usually is not needed this early here.
March: the first proper cut
Once the grass is visibly growing and the ground is firm enough to walk on without squelching, mowing starts. First cuts are high, taking no more than the top third off. Scalping a lawn in March is the classic way to open the door to moss and weeds for the rest of the year.
March is also the month to redefine lawn edges while the soil is soft. A clean edge makes even an average lawn look after itself.
April: growth kicks in
Mowing steps up to roughly weekly as temperatures lift. Bring the cutting height down gradually, not in one jump.
Mid to late April is a sensible time for a spring feed in Lincolnshire, once the grass is growing strongly enough to use it. If moss came through the winter with the lawn, a moss treatment and a rake-out now clears the way for new growth.
Bare patches from winter can be over-seeded now: scratch the surface, seed, and keep it watered. April showers usually help, when they turn up.
May and June: the main season
This is peak growth. Most lawns want cutting weekly, and a fine lawn can take twice a week. Keep the blade sharp: a blunt blade tears the leaf and the lawn takes on a grey, bruised look a few days after every cut.
Do not cut too short. Around 25 to 40mm suits most family lawns. Longer grass shades its own roots, holds moisture and out-competes weeds, which matters in a dry county.
If you fancy leaving a patch to grow long for the bees in May, it genuinely helps pollinators, and it is one less bit to mow. Just keep a mown edge or path around it so it reads as deliberate.
July and August: mow for drought
Lincolnshire summers can run dry for weeks. When they do, raise the cutting height, mow less often, and let the clippings fly back into the lawn as a mulch to hold moisture in.
A browned-off lawn in August looks worse than it is. Established grass is very good at going dormant and greening up again when the rain returns, usually within a couple of weeks. Watering an established lawn daily is mostly a waste of water; if you water at all, an occasional deep soak beats a nightly sprinkle.
September and October: the repair window
Early autumn is the best time of year to fix a Lincolnshire lawn. The soil is still warm, the rain comes back, and grass seed gets settled in before winter.
- Scarify to pull out thatch and dead moss.
- Aerate compacted areas, especially on clay, with a fork or hollow-tine aerator.
- Over-seed thin and worn patches.
- Switch to an autumn feed, which is low in nitrogen and hardens the grass for winter rather than forcing soft growth.
- Keep mowing while the grass keeps growing, raising the height as the month goes on.
November and December: wind it down
The last regular cut is usually early to mid November here, high, and only if the ground is dry enough to take the mower without leaving ruts. After that it is about keeping fallen leaves off the grass so it is not smothered going into winter.
Then leave it be. A lawn that goes into winter clean, fed in autumn and not scalped will come back in spring wanting very little rescuing, which is the whole point of following the calendar.
Sort it, don't just read about it
