Alan Titchmarsh’s 1 June lawn care task will keep your grass weed-free and healthy

Gardening expert Alan Titchmarsh has shared his natural approach to June lawn care

Gardening enthusiasts know all too well that summer brings a mountain of jobs, from tending to flourishing plants in hanging baskets and borders to ensuring potted varieties grow tall enough to produce delicious fruit. While maintaining lawns is crucial year-round, it becomes even more important during spring and summer.

Despite the rising trend of ‘no-mow May’ aimed at boosting biodiversity through wildflowers, gardening legend Alan Titchmarsh chose not to embrace the movement.

He stated: “All gardens should have a bit of long grass, but it’s how you garden that matters. If you’re organic, as I have been for 40 years, and have a garden with lots of flowers, all types of wildlife will be happy.”

This philosophy also underpins his fuss-free lawn maintenance approach.

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Writing for Country Life magazine, the celebrated British gardener revealed his straightforward lawn care routine, which he restricts to “weekly mowing and fortnightly edging in spring and summer”.

However, come June, he dedicates himself to one crucial task for encouraging healthy grass: a straightforward technique that anyone can follow.

Alan remarked: “I feed with the ubiquitous blood, fish and bone in April and again in June, and extract any large rosettes of plantain or dandelion with a daisy grubber.”

This specific fertiliser, fish, blood and bone, replenishes nutrients that have been lost, promoting vigorous grass growth and helping to create a healthier lawn. The nitrogen-rich nutrients present in organic lawn feed are gradually absorbed by plant roots, making it a superb fertiliser for leafy vegetation including grass, lettuce and brassicas.

Instructions for using organic lawn nourishment advise that for established lawns, a spreader should be used to apply it uniformly at 70g/m2 as a top dressing.

After application, it’s advisable to water the lawn immediately with a hose fitted with a gentle spray setting.

The product also works well for flowering plants, as specialists note. Prior to planting, Fish Blood and Bone Meal should be incorporated into flower bed soil at a rate of 140g/m2.

Alan, who also presents ‘Love Your Garden’, revealed he ditched chemical lawn feed and weed killers “years ago”, resulting in greater wildlife presence in his garden.

He describes his pleasure at watching blackbirds extracting worms from his chemical-free lawn to nourish their young, satisfied that no herbicides are involved.

Regarding weed management, deploying a daisy grubber can effortlessly extract large clumps without them looking conspicuous amongst the diverse plants flourishing in Alan’s own lawn.

Despite his preference for an organic lawn care approach, Alan still values the look of a striped lawn. Explaining his method, he commented: “My rotary mower has a rear roller that produces the stripes I love, but, mercifully, the botanic-garden mixture of close-mown plants that constitutes my lawn offends my sensibilities not one jot.”