Nobody forgets to feed the lawn. What everyone forgets is when they did it. That is where most problems start: a second spring feed three weeks after the first, an autumn feed that never happened because you were sure it had, or a mowing height that crept lower all summer.
What should you write down?
The date and the job, every time, plus the details you will need next time:
| Job | Note down | What you use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Feed | Product, NPK, kilos used | When the next feed is due, and how much nitrogen went on |
| Mowing | Cutting height | Spotting whether you cut too short in dry spells |
| Scarifying | Tines or blades | How hard the lawn was worked and when it can take it again |
| Overseeding | Seed mix, grams per m² | Which mix actually filled the gaps |
| Moss killer | Product and amount | When it is safe to scarify and sow |
| Lime and pH | pH reading, kilos of lime | Whether the lime changed anything |
The feed line matters most. Six weeks between feeds is a good rule and three weeks is the minimum. If the diary says 20 June, you know the next feed is an autumn one in September, not another in July.
What a lawn care diary looks like in the app
Here is the log for the example garden in Manchester: a mow at 4 cm and 4.2 kg of summer lawn feed on 20 June.
To add an entry you choose the job at the top: mow, fertiliser, lime, pH, seeding, scarify, aerate, seaweed, wetting agent, iron sulphate and ground temperature. For mowing you set the cutting height on a scale that shows how much grass you leave.
What does the app do with the log?
A diary is only as useful as the time you spend reading it. In the app the log feeds straight into the advice:
- Weeks since the last feed shows on the Fertilizer Score, for example “13w ago”. Under three weeks, the app says don’t apply, however good the weather.
- Recent activity sits on the dashboard, so the last few jobs are visible at a glance.
- Money spent adds up the cost from every entry where you filled it in.
- pH over time is drawn as a graph, so you can see whether lime is moving it.
So on a Saturday in September you can open the app and see whether the lawn is due its autumn feed, without hunting for the box in the shed to check the date on the receipt.
What can you learn from a year of notes?
After a season, patterns start to show:
- The lawn browned in the July you mowed at 2.5 cm, and stayed green the next year at 4 cm.
- The overseeding in April barely came up, while the one in early September filled in within three weeks.
- The March feed made no visible difference, and the one in mid-April did. Soil temperature, not the calendar, was the reason.
That last one is the most common. When the soil is warm enough, and when to hold off, is covered in When to Feed Your Lawn.
What a Green Lawn has the lawn diary built in and combines it with the local forecast to tell you when the next job is worth doing.