Firstly make the length that you cut your grass to slightly longer. The best height for autumn mowing is around 3cm. The reason why you need to keep your grass slightly longer is so that it can offer greater protection against the winter weather for your soil and to compensate for slower growth over winter.

Once your lawn growth starts to slow reduce the amount of mowing you do. Once every one or two weeks is sufficient. Whatever you do don’t over mow as your grass will not have the right conditions to recover.

If you find that your lawn is growing slowly all year round then you could consider applying an autumn lawn feed. It will add nutrients to your lawn which will give your grass growth a boost. However if you do buy a lawn feed specifically for autumn weather then don’t apply it at other times of the year. This is because it will contain phosphates and potash which will boost growth and strengthen roots but could cause unwanted plant growth is in spring and summer.

If you have patchy areas on your lawn then autumn is the best time to treat them too. Firstly drive a garden fork all around the area to create 6 inch holes. This will ease soil compaction that could have been caused by a well worn path to a washing line, an area where goal posts are placed or an area that your dog particularly loves to run around on. As well as reducing compaction the holes you create will also make it easier for treatments to get to your grass roots.

Once you’ve created your aeration cover the area in a light layer of topsoil. You can buy specially manufactured topsoil from any good garden centre. Gently rake the soil over the affected area then cover in lawn seed. It’s normally best to use around 50g of seed for every square metre. Once you’ve added your seed tamp it down lightly with a rake. It’s not advisable to use your feet for this job as it can lead to over compaction. If you follow these autumn lawn care tips it should keep your grass looking good throughout the season.