I'm a busy mum - these are my top lawn hacks for time-poor parents

As a mum of four and Which? product testing expert it’s fair to say I don’t have much spare time on my hands.

But that doesn’t rule out maintaining a reasonable lawn that the kids can play on and the grown-ups can enjoy without it turning into a muddy mess.

Certain maintenance tasks are a must, but these don’t need to eat into your weekend or become yet another thing to add to your never-ending to-do list.

Here’s my step-by-step guide to achieving - and maintaining - kid-proof turf that survives the school holidays.

1. Don't forget lawns need feeding too

Waking up a sleeping lawn after winter is a bit like waking a teenager on a school day - you can't just throw a bucket of water over it and expect it to be good to go.

Most lawns naturally thin out over time, regardless of how many pairs of feet (or paws) you have trampling on it, so feeding in spring and summer is a must. If your lawn is relatively hassle-free, a standard feed is all most lawns need to keep them happy and looking good. They're high in nitrogen, so are recommended for spring and summer use when grass is actively growing.

However, if grass isn't the only thing growing on your lawn, you could get a feed that is designed to tackle specific issues such as moss and weeds. That said, I like to pick my battles, and I'm not going to lose any sleep over a spot of moss or a few rogue dandelions!

We've tested lawn treatments from big-name garden brands, including Evergreen, Miracle-Gro and Scotts, to see which will keep your garden looking its best. If you've got kids and animals, always read the label to check the product you're planning to use is child and pet-friendly.

Our lawn treatments guide reveals which lawn feeds, weed and moss killers we rated the highest

2. Mow as needed, not as scheduled

It’s a common misconception that a carpet-thick lawn requires time, dedication and lots of ground work - it doesn’t. Letting grass grow a bit longer not only shades the soil and prevents weed seeds from germinating, but it also helps the lawn survive heatwaves - and little feet - because longer grass has stronger roots.

I cut our grass every week during the summer months, but in the school holidays, when the kids are trampling on it, I avoid mowing completely and just trim the edges of the lawn to keep the garden looking neat and tidy.

After moving from a flat with no outside space to a house with a garden, I'm currently using a lightweight, cordless grass trimmer from our old allotment to stay on top of the grass. It's also handy to trim new, young grass I've overseeded to fill in bare patches that aren’t quite ready for their first mow yet.

But as our new garden establishes, I'll invest in an easy-to-carry cordless lawn mower with a mulching mode that folds down for storage and won't break the bank, such as the Greenworks GWGD24LM33K4 (68%), which is an impressive cordless mower in a small, neat package with a typical price of £210, earning our Great Value recommendation.

If you don't have time to shop around for lawn mowers, these models were a cut above in our lab tests:

EGO LM1702E-SP (80%, Best Buy, Eco Buy)

Available from: Amazon (£557.99), Mowers Online (£549)

This superb cordless mower for medium-sized lawns did a great job on all the lawn and grass types we could throw at it in our independent lab tests, making it a worthy Best Buy and Eco Buy recommendation. It's got a 42cm cutting width and five cutting heights to choose from, ranging from 20mm to 80mm, plus the handles are telescopic, so it can be collapsed and folded away to easily store. A mulching kit is available to buy separately, which costs around £30. 

Read our full EGO LM1702E-SP review for more details.

Spear & Jackson 42cm cordless lawn mower (72%, Best Buy, Eco Buy)

Available from: Argos (£360)

This Best Buy and Eco Buy Spear & Jackson lawn mower's lightweight design, adjustable handle and efficient mulching abilities make it a dream for medium to large lawns. It weighs 15kg, making it relatively lightweight for its size, and it comes with two 4Ah batteries, used one at a time, so you can swap one in when the other runs out of charge. There's a 40-litre, rear-mounted, plastic grass-collection bag, plus a roller if you like a striped lawn.

For more details, see our Spear & Jackson 42cm cordless lawn mower review.

As a Which? member, you can browse our guide to the best lawn mowers or buy them directly from the links above

3. Only use your lawn mower in mulching mode

Stopping to empty a grass box, then traipsing backwards and forwards to the compost heap, is the ultimate time sink if you're a busy parent running on a tight schedule. 

Mulching not only saves you time by shredding the clippings into tiny pieces that are then spread back across the lawn, but it also improves soil health and acts as a free natural fertiliser by putting essential nutrients back into the ground as it decomposes.

Of the 185 lawn mowers we've currently tested, 58 include mulching modes. If you're shopping for a new mower, mulching abilities are well worth looking out for.

See how lawn mowers with mulching abilities compare when we put them through their paces in our independent lab tests

4. Stay on top of wear and tear

With four spirited children, I know first-hand the havoc kids can wreak on a lawn - especially during the school holidays. Throw in some four-legged friends (in our case, three bunnies and a cat) plus a slip and slide water game to keep them occupied in the summer holidays, and it's a wonder there's any grass left at all.

High-traffic areas tend to suffer from soil compaction (compression of soil) and bare patches. Allow air back into the ground by pushing in a garden fork every 20cm to help with compaction. 

For gap-free grass, I use a handy three-in-one shop kit which combines grass seed, mulch and fertiliser to fill in the patches. Alternatively, rake the area yourself, sow grass seed and cover with compost or soil - and don't forget to water!

For more outdoor inspiration, see our guide to 7 Which? Best Buys to get your garden in tip-top shape

5. Don’t be tempted to switch to artificial grass

It might be tempting to switch to lower-maintenance, artificial grass, but not only is it bad for wildlife, it's also bad for the environment.

Artificial grass is made of plastic, which breaks down over time, releasing microplastics that can contaminate the soil and enter the food chain. It also retains heat, making it much hotter than natural grass, resulting in temperatures that can be harmful to both pets and children.

Real turf is barefoot-friendly and much nicer for kids to play on, plus it provides an essential habitat for wildlife, including insects, worms and birds. 

Keeping your lawn looking neat is simple with our top grass cutting tips

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