Summer rains are better than fertaliser

Summer in Perth, you can almost forget about rain in February as this is usually the hottest month. But 2017 is throwing up a highly unusual summer with the most rain I can ever remember. Most years I am pouring water on my front lawn mixed with fertaliser in a pretty lame attempt to keep the green going.

I had laid two bags of chicken manure down a few weeks before the big January downpour and my lawn just took off, it was looking more than a little jaded after my Christmas break where not enough water was put down whilst I was away. I expected the whole of the summer would be spent nursing the lawn back to some form of health.

The lawn just exploded with growth after the three days of rain in late January and while it may be accredited in some form to the nourishment from a fortnight before, every other poorly maintained lawn in my street also exploded in growth and colour.

The excellent soaking combined with the sunlight is incredible, it is normally so difficult to get the water to actually soak in. This is also compounded by the fact that I have a sloping lawn with very high runoff rates.

Even though I have laid down extra topsoil over the years, the soak in rates haven't really improved. This year is different and the lawn has never looked better although it feels like we never had a summer in 2017.