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Here’s some food for thought. Plants and humans have a lot in common – we all require oxygen, water and food (and we all benefit from an occasional haircut too!). However, there’s a fundamental difference in the way we enjoy our food, one that’s worth thinking about if you want to avoid putting your lawn on an unintentional starvation diet.

As soon as our ancient ancestors moved from ‘kill-and-eat’ towards the ‘culinary arts’ – food preparation, deliberate blending of flavours, cooking – our interest in food switched from an internally-driven biological need to something else – pleasure from eating rather than just from the sensation of a full tummy. We still need the internal delivery and storage of essential nutrients, but for many of us these are not at the front of our minds as we shop and plan our menus!

Obviously it is not the same for plants (at least we assume not…..) but there is another difference; plants in our artificially-managed gardens are dependent to a large extent on us for their nutrition. As gardeners, it’s our job to monitor the health of our plants, giving them additional food if they need it. However, even though the lawn is one of the biggest single features in the garden, it is the one we tend to ignore when it comes to nutrition. Not only this; we then go and cut the grass. This is good for the compost but removes the very part of the plant that stores most of the food!

The strict human analogy of this would involve the topic of regurgitation – not very nice – so instead let’s think of it as being offered food on a plate, only for most of it then to be removed before we’ve had the chance to enjoy it. Surviving on whatever scraps and crumbs we manage to cling onto would not leave us looking our best. And it’s the same with our lawns. They need food, they need the right food, and they need enough of it to compensate for the impact of regular mowing.

This is why lawn professionals feed all year round, even in winter. And there is no good reason for the domestic gardener not to do likewise. Of course, grass has different requirements through the year and so the feed mixture will change (both the ratio of the three key constituents, nitrogen, phosphate and potassium, and sometimes the means of, or rate of, release of these nutrients). Some garden centres offer a pretty poor selection of foods, but if you know what you are looking for (and my book ‘Modern Lawn Care’, published late Spring, explains all of this) you can make an informed choice. You can also go for organic feeds – Q Lawns’ Nutrifusion, for example – high quality slow release feeds which will enhance the lawn and, just as importantly, the soil too.

Finally, a quick recall of the culinary analogy; even without the innovatory approach of chefs like Heston Blumenthal, any good cook knows that cooking is a science. Often, to get the best results from a combination of ingredients, one or more of them must first be prepared in a certain way – par-boiing, marinading, etc – and it’s the same with lawns; it’s all in the preparation. If you want your lawn to be at its most receptive to the wonderful food you’re about to give it, do some preparation. You’re probably planning this already – a spring scarification perhaps, or some aeration? Well, having given the soil and the thatch a good workover, it’s a great opportunity to apply some food like Nutrifusion. It will speed up the lawn’s recovery and give the soil some TLC at the same time!