DURING the next two or three weeks, the lawn should be prepared for the winter. Scarify the turf with a spring tine rake or electrical scarifier and drag out all the moss and thatch or dead grass.

Where the soil beneath has become compacted, use a garden fork or aerator to aerate the surface, dusting sharp sand into the holes afterwards to improve surface drainage. Bald areas can be re-sown with grass seed and this will help to prevent moss re-establishing following scarifying.

Any broken edges can be repaired by lifting a piece of turf which includes them and turning it around placing the straight edge outwards. Fill the gap created by the broken edge with compost and sow a pinch of seed into it.

This is also an excellent time to establish a lawn from turf. Providing that it is laid before the onset of winter, good quality turf will establish and provide a useable lawn for the spring.

The purpose for which the lawn is being established will largely determine the kind of turf that should be used. Nowadays specific grass mixes are sown to produce turf for particular purposes. A fine mixture for purely decorative turf, a coarser mixture for the lawn that is to serve periodically as a football pitch.

Never be tempted to buy what is popularly referred to as meadow turf. This can be anything. It may be good, but it is more likely to be infested with broad-leafed weeds and to consist of a vigorous growing agricultural pastureland mixture.

Modern purpose-grown turf is usually only marginally more expensive than meadow turf and has a consistent grass mixture throughout. The grasses from which it is comprised produce a tight network of roots beneath the soil surface, which means that the turf can be lifted with a very much thinner layer of soil than was previously possible.

Soil preparation is as important for turf as it is for a lawn which is grown from seed. Drainage must always be attended to before work begins. A waterlogged lawn will always be prone to moss infestation.

The site should be levelled and gently rolled. It is not vital for a lawn to be level, but it should be even and free from lumps and hollows.

Modern turf is so accurately cut that providing the soil beneath is level, the resulting lawn will also be level. In order to even out any discrepancies in the surface and to aid more rapid rooting, it is a good idea to spread a thin layer of river sand over the prepared soil.

The individual lengths of turf should be laid in alternate rows in the same pattern that is used for bricks in a wall. Lay the first row in a straight line, even if the edge of the lawn is curved. The curved area can be filled later. It is most important that turf is laid from a fixed straight line.

WHAT'S NEW

Dusty Springfield is a lightly scented deep orange and cerise flowered sweet pea.

Lord Chancellor is a strong colour mixture of red, purple and cerise flowered annual phlox.

Unwins Kitchen Crop Windowsill Kits are special packs of sprouting seeds for kitchen window culture.

Q All the lower leaves on my clematis are going purplish and look sick, what is the cause?

A Mildew has this affect upon clematis. Spray immediately with a systemic fungicide.

Q I am lifting my onions and some are white and mushy. What is the cause?

A Almost certainly white rot. This is a soil-borne fungal disease for which there is no real cure. Next year grow your onions on a different part of the garden.

Q I have a Venus fly trap plant. Do I have to feed it with flies?

A No, as it takes up nutrients through its roots. Catching and digesting flies provides a nutrient supplement.