Lawn care & maintenance for 2012

A well maintained lawn

 As the weather warms up, the frost melts and the ravages of winter are revealed, Geoff Hodge gives us his tips for caring for your lawn throughout the year.

The lawn is one of the most important parts of the garden. A good-looking lawn acts as a foil or backdrop and sets off the rest of the garden and its plants, giving it a fabulous, well cared for appearance. Sadly, a poor lawn will have the reverse effect, so it pays to ensure your lawn is a verdant, green and beautiful garden feature. We don’t all want a luxury or ‘bowling green’ lawn, which is made up of fine-leaved grass species and takes an awful lot of maintenance, but even the average lawn when well cared for will look fantastic. In order to have a fabulous, healthy lawn, you do need to follow a programme of lawn care. Unfortunately, many gardeners only think about this after the lawn has started to deteriorate, as a series of emergency treatments. But, as with most things in the garden – prevention is always better than cure. Here are the things you will need to do to ensure your lawn looks great all year round.

 

1. REGULAR AND CORRECT MOWING Correct mowing is the most important factor in achieving a quality lawn. If mowing isn’t done properly, then you can forget all the other jobs. FREQUENCY Grass should be cut regularly; allowing it to grow long and then cutting it too short weakens it, produces gaps and allows weeds and moss to establish. Regular cutting gives the best appearance and promotes strong grass growth. Lawns should be cut at least once a week in spring and summer, two/three times for luxury lawns with fine grass species when the grass is growing strongly. Even during autumn and winter the grass may need cutting depending on how mild the weather is and whether or not it is growing. Never mow when the lawn is wet or covered in frost. HEIGHT Luxury lawns should be cut to a height of 13mm-2.5cm (1/2-1in) in spring and summer, 2.5cm (1in) in autumn and winter. General lawns should be cut to 4-5cm (11/2-2in), 5cm (2in) in autumn and winter or during drought conditions. Scalping the grass too low is the quickest way to spoil the lawn. Find out more about mowing [LINK TO: http://www.qlawns.co.uk/mowing-your-q-lawn]

2. WATER BEFORE IT TURNS BROWN Although lawns nearly always recover after drought, they can look like a field of straw in dry summers, which doesn’t exactly look attractive. Also many deep-rooted weeds are more drought resistant than grass and spread rapidly during dry weather. Water as soon as the grass looses its ‘springiness’. Give enough water – ‘little and often’ will actually make the situation worse, since the grass roots will not grow down to find water, making them more drought susceptible. One sq m (sq yd) of grass losses 20-litres (41/2 gallons) of water per week. Water once or twice a week to replace this. Any more frequent develops shallow rooting, prevents air entering, which kills the grass and promotes moss growth. Try overseeding with RTF seed from Q Lawns…your lawn will stay greener for longer in the summer and you won’t need to water

3. FEEDING Feeding has many benefits – it produces a good green appearance and builds up healthy grass and a tight-knit turf in which weeds and moss cannot get established, and increases resistance to disease and drought. FEEDING PROGRAMME: In spring, apply a balanced granular fertiliser that is high in nitrogen to get the grass growing and looking strong and green. In summer and when the grass is looking tired, apply a liquid fertiliser, which will act as a tonic and rapidly perk up the lawn. In autumn, use an autumn feed that is low in nitrogen and high in potash and phosphorous, which encourages deep root growth and toughens up the grass for the cold weather. Find out more about feeding your lawn [LINK TO: http://www.qlawns.co.uk/why-should-you-feed-your-q-lawn] Q Lawns recommends Nutrifusion lawn feeds - they care for the soil as well as the plants AND you can use Nutrifusion on your green roof.

4. KILL WEEDS AND MOSS AS SOON AS THEY APPEAR Weeds and moss are unsightly and compete for water and nutrients, but are symptoms, not a cause, of poor lawns/lawnsmanship. Both can be treated when applying fertilisers, by using a weed & feed, or as and when they occur using a specific lawn weedkiller.

5. RAKING There are two types of raking operations: 1). Soft raking using a lawn rake. This can be done in: Spring to remove winter debris, to break up small amounts of thatch (dead grass and other debris) and to lift grass leaves and weed stems for efficient mowing. Summer to collect lawn cuttings and lift up stems and leaves of troublesome weeds. Autumn to remove fallen leaves and other debris and to break up thatch. 2). Scarifying in autumn or early spring using a spring-tine rake or powered lawnrake. This is the best way of removing debris and thatch and encourage thickening of the grass

Additional tasks

OVERSEEDING Every year, even on well cared for lawns, up to a quarter of the grass can die. By overseeding – sowing new grass seed into an existing lawn – you can rejuvenate it and bring it back to life. Overseeding dramatically improves the lawn’s appearance and the new grass retains its colour far longer in periods of dry or adverse weather. Two other jobs may only be necessary on poor soils with poor grass, on heavy clay soils or to maintain a luxury lawn.

AERATE This is important on heavily compacted or clay soils because water and air won’t penetrate and moss starts to build up starts. Do it in the autumn and air will be allowed in to prevent waterlogging and in the following summer water can penetrate further. For maximum effect it needs to be done to a depth of 8cm (3in) using a garden fork or a solid- or hollow-tine aerator.

TOP DRESS This is best done in conjunction with aeration and should follow it. This involves the application of bulky material to the lawn’s surface. Its purpose is to fill in hollows in the lawn, and build up a depth of quality soil for healthy growth, aeration and water holding. A top dressing is usually a mixture of loam, peat or peat substitute and sand. Apply in the autumn at a rate of 3.6kg/sq m (3lb/sq yd) and brush lightly into the holes and hollows.

An alternative use for the mower

My grandson would absolutely adore this……..come to think of it, so would my eldest son.  I’ve heard of lawnmower racing, in fact our local Young Farmers Club are champions at lawnmower racing, but this is just awesome, reminds me a little bit of Tom and Barbara’s adapted rotovator in The Good Life.

Anyhow, here’s the write up from Mike Seaton’s Grass Clippings

A former serviceman has painstakingly turned a common and garden lawnmower into a striking red London bus.

Derek Jakeway spent four years constructing a lifelike replica of the iconic London red bus in his Norfolk home. 

Now the 77-year-old is trying to find a new home for his creation which seats four children or small adults plus the driver.

The London-born pensioner has always had a fierce passion for the capital’s transport and loves problem-solving.  Mr Jakeway, of Thorpe St Andrew, Norfolk, said: ‘I really enjoyed making the bus.  ‘What interests me is solving problems and designing structures and buses and trains have always been a life-long interest of mine.’

Perhaps Boris Johnson will be putting in an order for a few…

Read more on The Daily Mail

Visit www.qlawns.co.uk for more conventional lawncare hints and tips

Jack Frost on the Lawn

Q Lawns turf field with the frost on it

 

Finally, winter has arrived and believe it or not, it’s time to think about mowing the lawn.

 

I know, I know, all the advice says when it’s frosty KEEP OFF THE GRASS and that’s absolutely correct.  Come spring, if the grass has been trodden on during a frost, there’ll be tell-tale black footprints in the lush green sward.  So for now, all of your lawncare needs to be done either in your shed, or, even better, from the comfort of your armchair.

 

Number one job for frosty days is to think about mowing the lawn by servicing your lawn mower.  I’m no mechanic, I send mine to Lawnboy in Downham Market (along with the rotovator I broke yesterday), so don’t ask me about engines or motors but I do know that the blades need to be sharpened while you have the opportunity.  When the time comes to cut the grass, blunt blades will tear at the blades giving them a ragged edge that will heal slowly and go brown and nasty.

 

So when can you get mowing? 

 

If, like me, your lawn is looking a bit shaggy and unloved at the moment, there’s no reason why you can’t give it a trim as soon as the frosty weather has passed us by.  Be gentle though, remember that the grass leaves are its food factory, capturing sunlight and turning it into nutrients so the last thing you should do is scalp the lawn.  On a dry day, you can run the mower across the lawn but avoid removing more than 25% of the leaves and in all honesty, for an amenity lawn in winter time it’s best to go no lower than 4-5cm.  So long as the grass is all the same length it’ll look great (think how good a field of corn looks in late spring/early summer).

 

If you have any areas of lawn that look awful, now is the time to gather information about the turf and seed that is available.  Turf can be installed as soon as the ground thaws.  If you’re looking for any quantity – 30 square metres or more, The best deals are to be had online, start by looking at www.qlawns.co.uk or phone 01842 828266 for a quote and a sample

The lawn as a garden feature

The lawn is an important part of a garden

Because a quality, good-looking lawn can act as a backdrop to the rest of the garden, it pays to make the most of it and treat it as a garden feature.
Lawn purists and traditionalists may argue that the lawn should be an expanse of green with nothing to deter from or obscure this. But, we all have our own personal feelings and our gardens are personal spaces – so use the lawn as you want.

Shapes – oblong, circular or wavy

Although most traditional lawns will be square or oblong with straight edges, it doesn’t have to be this way. A circular or oval lawn often looks, and fits in, better in modern gardens and it can help make a garden look wider; long, rectangular lawns will make the garden look longer and thinner.
Some people go for wavy edges – but bear in mind that maintenance will take longer as edging can be more time consuming and more troublesome. If you do go for curves, make them long and sweeping – not just a series of short squiggles and use a flexible hosepipe to help guide you when cutting them out.

Edging

After mowing, always trim the edges and around any objects in the lawn. This will help give the finishing touch to the lawn.
If you don’t want to use edging shears and want to make the job easier or do away with it completely, then use edging strips. These are available in a number of different materials, but there is one golden rule – make sure it is at or just below the lawn level – there’s nothing worse than seeing galvanised edging strips sticking out boldly above the lawn.

stepping stones in lawn

Paths & stepping stones

If you use the lawn regularly as a way to get down to the bottom of the garden, then it pays to put in a path or, often better, stepping stones. Constant wear and tear from foot traffic will damage the grass and create worn, muddy patches. If you go for stepping stones, you can choose from paving slabs or wood and even ornamental options are available. Again, there is one golden rule – keep the level of the path or stepping stones below the level of the grass otherwise you’ll keep catching them with the mower blade.

Trees, shrubs & bulbs

A lot of people like to grow trees or shrubs in their lawn or even turn it into a flower meadow, planting a lot of bulbs in it. Although this can look good, it’s not great for the lawn. Trees and shrubs will take a lot of nutrients and water from the soil, so the lawn starts to suffer. And, because bulbs should be left until their foliage dies down, they are there for several months and this delays mowing and so causes havoc with the grass.
In these circumstances, if you want to break up the vast expanse of green of a large lawn, it is far better to create island beds within the lawn and grow the plants here.

Other features

Lawn purists will say there’s no place for furniture, statues or plant containers on the lawn. If you’re not a traditionalist and want to adorn your lawn with these features, just remember that you’ll ends up with dead patches of grass under them and they will be fiddlier to mow and trim around.

Wildflower meadows

wild flowers growing in a lawn

The zenith of growing other plants in the lawn is to create a wildflower meadow. Although these are delightful garden features, they aren’t a lawn in the true sense of the meaning.
Find out more about Meadowmat, our wild flower matting, consisting of 34 species of perennial British native wild flowers and grasses. [LINK TO: http://www.qlawns.co.uk/buy-online/meadowmat/meadowmat-wild-flower-mat]

I’m loving this article about worms in lawns

This article was published this morning by Mike Seaton on his Grass Clippings website………he never fails to come up with topical information.  It’s well worth signing up for his newsletter at http://www.grassclippings.co.uk

Nobody loves me……

Nursery Rhymes never age.  Some are as old as Old Wive’s Tales that survive the generations.  Lawn care is a science that follows the principles of The Science and Practice of Turf Culture and one great learning text book was Turf Culture by Frank Hope, sadly out of publication.

This was the main publication that up and coming turf managers referred to.  Sadly, some lawn experts appear to have been reading the book back to front and trying to change the principles of turf culture throughout the seasons so o not believe all that year hear or are told about when to perform aspects of turf culture.

One funny nursery rhyme about lawns is one about eating worms.  Worms are infact the richest form of protein known to man and in some third world countries, worms are grown and harvested and ground for flour to make staple foods.  For lawn owners in the UK, the worms do a great job… if only they could be stopped from depositing their worm casts on the surface of the lawn!Here are the words to this funny song about eating worms -Nobody likes me, everybody hates me,
Guess I’ll go eat worms,
Long, thin, slimy ones; Short, fat, juicy ones,
Itsy, bitsy, fuzzy wuzzy worms.

Down goes the first one, down goes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm. 
Up comes the first one, up comes the second one,
Oh how they wiggle and squirm.

If your lawn has a worm cast problem caused by one or more of the five types of casting earthworms found in UK lawn soils who eat the soil and then place their worm cast on the surface of the lawn in the autumn to spring months causing problems for lawn owners, then there is help at hand in a solution called CastClear – the solution to worm casts in lawns.  It is non-pesticide and safe for turf grasses, children and pets and it deters the worms from coming to the surface.  It does not harm the worms, as it is a nutrient based, unique blend of worm deterrent and soil penetrants containing organic sulphur and amino nitrogen.

Avoiding the Landscape Cowboy

As the credit crunch starts to bite, it’s tempting to save money on gardening jobs by either doing it yourself……….and I’m all for that……….or falling for the compelling sales talk of the cowboy landscaper who offers you a cheap rate.  Please, please, please, don’t subject yourself to the misery these so-called companies can cause.  Poor workmanship, unfinished jobs, substandard materials… that cheap job can work out very expensive to put right.

So, assuming that the DIY route to turfing, lawncare, green roofing etc doesn’t appeal,  how do you to tell the difference between an honest trader and a crook?

• If they come knocking because they’re “in the area”, be wary
• If they say they can start tomorrow, be wary – honest traders are in demand and will probably need notice
• never accept a verbal estimate – ALWAYS ask for a written quote that lays down in writing exactly what is planned eg, remove and dispose of debris and existing vegetation, rotovate to a depth of at least 15cm, apply nutrifusion pre-turfing feed, rake ground level, install 60m2 Q Lawns turf, water turf every day for 14 days.
• get at least 3 written quotes, and if you accept one of them, ask for confirmation in writing
• If one quote seems much cheaper than others  – be wary.  Bone-fide landscapers have quite high overheads – insurances and the like and they can’t afford to work at very low rates.
• Ask friends, neighbours, business contacts for a referral.  Word of mouth is by far the best recommendation
• Ask to see previous work and meet the householder if possible to confirm that they were happy with the work.  An honest Landscaper will be proud and happy to show you his achievements
• Look out for members of BALI or APL, they have had their work vetted by their trade association (that’s not to say that if a landscaper is not a member, he or she is not competant, many many fantastic landscapers choose not to join a trade association)
• Ask your supplier for advice.  At Q Lawns we’d be happy to point you in the direction of a reputable landscaper who will do a good job of laying your turf

In short, look after yourself! don’t be impulsive, do your research thoroughly and be prepared to pay the going rate.

Does the economic downturn mean that service from turf growers is in decline?

Word on the street is that one of the UK’s most talked about turf growers has reduced their level of service AND increased their prices to try to preserve their profit margins in these difficult times.  First thing to clarify here, is …………..it’s not Q Lawns.

Q Lawns turf, grown for quality, in quantity

At Q Lawns we know that the landscape industry is changing.  Before 2008, it was easy to sell turf.  Some of our competitors products were poor quality, often with broadleaved weeds and sheep sh*t in the sward, the building industry was booming and whenever a householder needed a garden upgrade, they called in a landscaper.

Now, I’m happy to report that the standard of turf in the UK is much much higher, but sadly the decline in the building industry has hurt most of the turf growers, and indeed many landscapers, prices have had to become a lot more competitive, and instead of calling a landscaper, if a householder decides to do some turfing, they are more likely to buy from B&Q and lay the turf themselves.

The “four P’s” of marketing tell us that in order to sell, it’s important to get the offering right as regards to product, price, place and promotion.  At Q Lawns, we’re confident in at least three of those.

Product:  no doubt about it, we grow good turf, AND we’ll give customers a TGA certificate to prove it
Price:  we KNOW we’re competitive.  we regularly check our pricing and we don’t pile on hidden extras like delivery or pallet charges.  Neither have we got any plans to change that policy.
Place:  order online or on the phone and we’ll deliver to anywhere in England and Wales.  If we recieve your order before noon, we can normally deliver next day
Promotion: well, a little bit more marketing budget would be good, but you will find Q Lawns on leading internet directories and on facebook.

In summary.  It’s absolute madness to be increasing prices more than necessary and to be making it less convenient to buy turf.  The landscape industry needs it’s suppliers – of any products – to be speedy and efficient with deliveries, to be cost effective and to offer excellent service.  Q Lawns does that………….does your turf supplier?