The 24hr Rule To Save Your Lawn

We're mid-heatwave. Paddling pools are out. Garden furniture's migrated onto the lawn.

Here's what's happening underneath.

Block the light for more than 24 hours and the plant starts shutting down.

Block it for 3-4 days and you'll lift the pool to find yellow, stressed grass underneath. Same shape as the pool. Lovely.

It's not the water that does it. It's the lack of light, combined with the weight pressing the crown of the plant into the soil.

Here's the fix:
1. Move it daily. Pool, trampoline, gazebo, garden table - anything sitting flat on the grass. Shift it 2-3 feet every 24 hours. Even a small move gives the grass underneath enough light to keep going.

2. Empty pools at night. Don't leave water sitting on the lawn overnight. Cold + dark + waterlogged is the perfect setup for disease, especially red thread this time of year.

3. Already got a yellow patch? Don't panic. Grass is tougher than people give it credit for. Move whatever's on top, give it light and a proper soak, and 9 times out of 10 it'll bounce back on its own within a number of weeks. 

As promised, lawn tips in under a minute.

Liam
Founder, Great British Lawn Co.