Lawn expert warns of 'serious harm' to grass without a 10-minute November job

With winter's arrival, gardeners typically retire their lawn mowers for the season, yet there's a crucial task to tackle now to maintain a healthy lawn.

November’s incessant damp weather brings Fusarium patch disease, commonly known as snow mould—a fungal disease propagated by moisture.

Gardening guru Joe, founder of Joe's Lawn Care, warns against the dangers of this sneaky fungus, which doesn't require snow to thrive and can cause "serious harm" to your turf. He explained: "This disease starts to appear as the snow begins to melt away. But it doesn't require snow to actually arise. And what's worst of all, snow mould can actually keep thriving and spreading for as long as the weather stays cool and damp."

The insidious fungus can invade grass, blocking vital nutrients and water from reaching the soil, potentially damaging or killing roots during the winter months.

Manifesting as yellow, grey, or pink-tinged patches which turn brown if the grass succumbs, fast-growing, discoloured areas on your lawn could signal trouble. If you spot signs of fusarium, or are aiming to prevent it, Joe advises not to panic as the disease may resolve itself, provided the lawn remains dry, reports the Express.

Joe stated: "If you do find nasty fungal spots on your lawn in the spring, they're usually not that serious, and a decent dollop of hot sunshine will dry your lawn out, greening up all those infected areas. The issue is, relying on the English weather, so here are some ways to control your snow mould problems."

He further explained that the "best thing" a gardener can do in November is help the lawn dry out "as fast as possible" during the rainy weather by taking the time to go over the lawn with a rack and pitchfork. Scarifying, which involves removing dead moss from the surface of grass, and aeration, which entails poking holes in the grass soil, helps more air reach the lawn so it remains dry.

Joe added: "By improving your lawn's drainage abilities. Cue a combination of scarification and aeration, all of which improve drainage and airflow. This is something you can either do with a pitchfork or we can do with our specialised machinery depending on the size of your lawn and the extent of your problem."

Both scarification and aeration are incredibly simple to do, but it is also important to pick up any dead autumn leaves on the ground as they can also release too much moisture onto the lawn. Make sure to also go around the garden and cut back anything that casts too much shade in the garden as sunlight not being able to reach grass in the winter can also cause snow mould.

Joe explained: "You can help improve the general airflow and sunlight your lawn gets by; pruning back any trees, branches and shrubs that may be overhanging and casting long shadows over your turfed area."

He added: "Fewer shadows and less obstacles mean more sunlight and more wind, both of which will dry out your grass a lot quicker."

Taking a few minutes each day in November to care for the lawn one final time makes sure this nasty disease stays far away from your lawn so you have healthier, thicker and greener grass next springtime.