Gardeners urged to dig holes in lawn before end of November

November is a month when the days grow increasingly shorter and darker, and the cold winter weather starts to set in.

Spending time outdoors starts to become much less appealing thanks to the frequent rain showers and brisk chill in the air, but just because winter is edging ever nearer, it doesn’t mean your garden requires less attention.

You may think that the spring and summer months are the prime time for gardening, but November is in fact one of the busiest months of the year for tidying, pruning and planting.

Now is the best time to give your lawn some attention to ensure it stays in good condition over the winter months, with experts urging gardeners to do one simple job this November.

According to gardening experts, you should make small holes in your lawn with a garden fork to allow air, water and nutrients to soak into the soil more effectively and to help reduce waterlogging over the winter.

Jamie Shipley, gardening expert at Hedges Direct, explains: “If your lawn is prone to winter waterlogging, it can be a good idea to improve drainage by aerating in autumn. 

“The simplest way of doing this is repeatedly spiking it as deep as you can with a garden fork or, on a larger scale, using an aerating machine. A layer of sand brushed into the holes will help the effects last longer.”

Shipley adds that November is also an ideal month to lay new lawn turf, providing the weather is mild and dry. He says: “The climate tends to take care of irrigation, and it will have a few months to settle in before the arrival of any hot, dry weather.

Simply avoid doing this on very wet or frosty days.”

It is too late in the year to sow grass seed as temperatures aren’t high enough for germination, so if you’re wanting to do this you’re best waiting until early spring when the ground begins to warm up.