I’m a gardening whizz – what you should never do when mowing the lawn as it encourages weeds & moss

A GARDENING expert has revealed the biggest mistakes you can do when mowing the lawn – and one could even encourage the growth of weeds and moss.

With the UK having experienced a sizzling hot Spanish summer and a few heatwaves with temperatures reaching 40.3C, it might be tempting to mow the dry grass to achieve a more neat-looking garden.

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Photograph of lawn mower on the green grass. Mower is located on the right side of the photograph with view on grass field.[/caption]

However, a gardening expert has warned fellow enthusiasts to resist the temptation to give your lawn a trim during ”dry spells”.

Speaking to The Express, Kate Turner, a gardening expert from Miracle-Gro, revealed the most common mistakes and the ”worst thing to do” when it comes to mowing.

“The most important thing is, if you’re mowing, raise your mower blades so they’re up high.

“Also, if we’ve got dry spells like we’ve got at the moment, I’d stop mowing.

“Lift your mower blades up. The worst thing you can do is scalp your lawn because it looks horrible.

“That encourages weeds and moss to grow in your lawn.

“And don’t leave it for months and then give it a really good mow.

“Have a regular mowing routine and that just helps it thicken up.”

The expert compared the process of mowing as being similar to ”pruning”.

Just like pruning, mowing encourages the grass to branch out, she explained.

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If you leave the grass to grow, it will just grow to be long, straight and spindly.

Mowing it on a regular basis means gardeners are essentially pruning it – and this encourages the grass to become ”bushier and thicker”.

And although it might feel necessary, Kate said that gardeners shouldn’t water their lawns despite the dry weather – the grass will grow back to its healthy state in the autumn months.

However, now is a good time to give your lawn some ”good summer feed”.

“You don’t need to keep wetting your lawn because it will come back.

“I’d use a feed. A really good feed to use at this time of year is a seaweed feed.

“But it needs to be watered in. I know I said not to water but if you’re using a feed, water it in.

“You can also over-seed your lawn at this time of year as well.

“Basically, just get a pack of grass feed. A super-seed which is a drought-tolerant grass seed as well is a really good one to get.

“You just over-seed your existing lawn if it’s a bit thin.

“Use a drought-tolerant or a hard-wearing seed mix. Or give your lawn good feed with a seaweed lawn food is a good thing to use.

“Don’t overdo it though because you can burn a lawn if you overfeed it. Always read the instructions.”

Sharing her expertise, the guru also revealed a ”little trick” to make lawns look neater.

 “A really nice little trick just to make the lawn look neater is to cut the edges with edging sheers. Even if you don’t mow your lawn because it’s too dry.

“Just cut the edges. Just vies it that nice, clean finished look. Just makes the garden look so much neater, even if you don’t do anything else.”