THERE’s still time for the summer sunshine and a lack of rain to take its toll on your lawns.

During hot spells, the best way to protect your turf is to mow as lightly and as frequently as possible.

This will allow short grass clippings to remain on the lawn to act as a moisture-retentive mulch.

An excess thatch can be scarified out during autumn maintenance starting in September. Mulching mowers cut the clippings even finer than normal rotary blades, making the mulch less visible.

Lawns on thin soils may benefit from a high phosphate feed at this time of year.

This will strengthen the roots for winter, rather than encouraging lush top growth that could suffer in the cold and weaken the grass.

Avoid using lawn weedkillers in late summer. They will be more effective in the cooler, damper autumn weather.

Dig over any areas due to be grassed over later in the year. Leave them for a few weeks to allow weeds to re-emerge, and then spray with a weedkiller or hoe off to ensure thorough weed clearance before seeding or laying turf in the autumn.

Browning of the lawn is very common at this time of year. Don’t water the grass unless absolutely necessary. It will green up when the autumn rains arrive.

Browning can be partially prevented next year by ensuring that the lawn is well scarified, aerated and drained later in the autumn, and that any soil compaction underneath is remedied before the following growing season.

Some discreet brown patches are usually the product of dog waste, bitch urine, spilt petrol or oil, or weedkiller and fertiliser overdosing.

On finer turf, especially if it is underfed and frequently mown, patches can be the result of disease such as red thread (on sandy soils) and dollar spot (in damp weather).

Feeding usually helps eliminate these problems.