The lawn in October

This is your last opportunity to apply a high in potassium, autumn feed which will prepare your lawn for the coming winter months. Feed after the lawn has been scarified and aerated but before applying a top dressing. Do not apply summer feeds as these are very different in nature and will weaken your lawn. If toadstools or fairy rings appear in your lawn, this is a good sign that scarification and autumn lawn care is necessary.

This is your last chance to sow grass seeds. Cover newly seeded areas with polythene to protect from the cold and from damaging rain. Light rain will aid germination of the grass however.

Leaves will be falling now so rake them up before they block out light and air to the grass. Leaf blowers can be used, but wet leaves can prove tricky to remove with a blower. 

If you have areas of grass which have been recently sown, these can be cut now to make them presentable before winter. Do not cut them lower than 25mm however.

If you have to walk over lawns covered with worm casts or mud then try not to make the lawn worse than it is. It might be a plan to lay boards down or use stepping stones whilst the ground is particularly affected. 

Any weed killers applied now will not be effective. Mow for one last time to keep the weeds at bay then plan to start using weed killers again in spring.