Prolonged periods of heavy rainfall can have devastating effects on your lawn, causing soil to become waterlogged. Water-logging often occurs due to soil compaction. This is where soil particles are tightly packed, making it very difficult for water to make its way through the surface. The water then gathers on the top surface, drowning your lawn by preventing it from receiving the oxygen it needs.

What are the Symptoms?

You may be wondering what a water-logged lawn looks like, but there are a few symptoms you can look out for.

• Puddles cover the surface of the soil and it feels soaking wet.
• The lawn will turn a pale green or yellow color, with leaves withering and dropping off.
• Other plants will have failed to grow and plants will have stopped sprouting.
• The soil will have developed a bad smell, such as that of rotten eggs.
• Roots of the plants will appear dark and soggy.

How Can You Solve the Problem?

Luckily, there are things you can do to help solve the problem.

Stay off the Grass- Firstly, you will want to avoid walking on the grass as this can actually make the problem worse. It will further compact the soil, making it more difficult to get rid of the water. This will make it more difficult to rescue the lawn afterwards.

Clean-up- You should get rid of any shoot which are dead or dying. You may be able to salvage some of the waterlogged plants, which should be dug up. They should then have their damaged roots removed and be replanted in fresh compost.

Rain will also encourage moss and other weeds to grow in the lawn, so these should be dealt with as well. You should remove them and apply moss and other weed killers over your lawn.

Aerating Your Lawn- You can move the recovery process along by aerating your lawn. This will help to relieve water-logging and revive your lawn. You can do this with a garden fork, simply by driving it in at a depth of about 6 inches. As you do so, rock the handle back and forth to help loosen the soil. You should do this at regular intervals of about 6 inches. What this will do is to create channels that will allow air to pass through to the soil and roots. Plants will be able to get their nutrients and the soil will be able to soak up the water.

If you have a big lawn, you may not be able to aerate it simply with a garden fork. You can buy machinery which will have the same effect, but it is up to you to decide whether you actually need it for your size garden.

Once you have aerated your lawn, you should reseed it. You may only need to reseed thin areas, or you may have to do the entire lawn, depending on the damage incurred. A starter fertilizer will help to get the grass growing a little quicker. With a little care and attention you will be able to get your lawn back to its former glory.

Article written by Bury Hill Landscape Supplies Ltd.

Bury Hill Landscape Supplies Ltd. provides a wide range of landscape gardening products to all areas of the UK, including premium grade topsoils, lawn turfs, seasoned firewood logs, organic composts and soil conditioners.