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By Press Release in {CATEGORY} on 13 Oct 2010

Don't you love spring? Winter's over and finally it's time to turn off the heater, get out of the house and soak up the warmer days. Your plants are flowering beautifully and there's the smell of freshly mown grass. But don't spend too much time admiring, because it's also time to get your lawn growing again.

So take off the gardening gloves, jot down these spring tips for your lawn and get out there.

Tip 1: Use a good slow release fertiliser with a wetting agent. Scotts® Lawn BuilderTM is currently the only fertiliser available to the public that even comes close to what the professionals use. However the rates recommended are low so we suggest using it at the high end of the rates shown on the label. Once in the ground, water well for the first 3 weeks to really get your lawn back to peek performance. Buy the one with a wetting agent, as that will help your lawn accept water and not repel it. This is vital for the hotter months to come.

Tip 2: If your lawn is hard and compact, just aerate it. If your area is small, use a pitchfork. Otherwise, hire some equipment and do it properly.

The following Tips 3 and 4 are not suitable for Fescue, Rye Grass and Bent.

Tip 3: If your lawn is Buffalo, Couch, Zoysia or Kikuyu, use your Honda mower to rejuvenate it by removing a lot of the dead thatch, thereby encouraging new growth. I do this at least every second year. Unsure how to remove the dead thatch? Put your mower on a very low setting and catch the clippings. Now before you go ahead, I usually fertilise, then water well for 2 weeks, then mow. It can be mown first, then fertilised just after scalping if you prefer, but it will take a week longer to rejuvenate. And don't worry if your lawn looks terrible for a while afterwards. I promise it will grow far more beautiful than before. After about 2 to 4 weeks, depending what lawn you have, your lawn will look fresh and invigorated. And for the rest of the year, mow on a higher setting than the one used to scalp the lawn.

Tip 4: Topdressing also rejuvenates your lawn. If the lawn is uneven, or the soil profile is often a little damp, use a very sandy loam with some organics, and rub the topdressing in with the back of a rake. Make sure some of the leaves are showing through the topdressing.

Tip 5: It's not too late to stop bindii. If you see any bindii young plants spray them out now. Your garden centre has a supply of chemicals, but remember if you have Buffalo turf, use one that is safe for Buffalo.

Love that lawn.

Advice provided by Todd Layt, Ozbreed Pty Ltd

Those wanting to access additional gardening reource sites or their local Honda Dealers can do so via a links page.

The 'shed full' competition winner will be randomly drawn at Honda Head Office, Melbourne, at 10.00am on Monday 5 July, 2010. The prize winner will be notified by email and telephone and details posted on www.hondalawnlovers.com.au on Tuesday 6 July.

Read more articles in {CATEGORY}, by Press Release or from October 2010.