Gardeners urged to scatter 1 thing outside this month to prevent weeds from growing

While autumn may seem like a strange time to start thinking about weeding your garden, it's the perfect time to maintain them in preparation for their full growth in early spring. Weeds often begin their lifecycle in the late summer and then germinate throughout autumn and winter for the spring.

However, regular lawn care will help to keep grass growing strongly and deter any unwanted plants. And according to pro gardener Simon Akeroyd, there's one thing you can scatter on the lawn now to help prevent weeds later down the line. Speaking to the gardening experts at Yell, he revealed how to help your garden thrive even in the colder weather.

According to Simon, all you need for a weed-free garden is a bag of lime - which is essentially just ground limestone.

Adding this to your garden will help to balance the PH of the soil and make it a less friendly place for weeds to take hold, as weeds prefer acidic soil.

Autumn is a good time to do this, making sure you get in there way before spring sowing and planting, otherwise there won't be enough time to actually affect the soil, and the results won't be as good.

How to apply lime to your lawn

Apply lime on a dry day with no wind when the soil is damp or fairly dry, but not actually wet, according to the experts at Gardeners' World. Make sure not to inhale any of the dust, and wear protective clothing too, like goves and a dust mask.

As a rule of thumb, you should ideally be using 50g of lime per square metre, making sure to scatter it evenly throughout the lawn. Lime can help grass to out-compete weeds by making the soil more suitable for growing grass.

However, when you're applying lime, be mindful not to use too much. This can raise the pH of your soil so much that many plants will suffer, as they will be lacking in nutrients.

Excessive lime will also lead to high levels of calcium in your soil, which will stop plants from absorbing magnesium. This is essential part of chlorophyll, the green pigment that plants use to make food.

Because of this, it's crucial that you test the soil before scattering lime on your grass or other areas of the garden.