LAWN CARE FACTSEnjoy A Beautiful Lawn with Non Chemical Pure Natural Lawn Care Advice And TipsExpert advice and tips onLawn Care Lawn Care Tip 1 A well-kept healthy lawn provides one of the most attractive spaces in a garden. It sets off the surrounding features and provides cohesion to the overall design, adding a calming and balancing effect on the beds and borders. To keep the lawn in tip top condition a resume of expert Lawn Care It helps if an appropriate type of turf or lawn seed was chosen in the first place. Choose seed according to the type of lawn you want. For a fine decorative lawn buy “fescues” and “bents”. A lawn in shade, under trees for instance, needs a mixture based on Poa nemoralis. For hard-working grass use a mixture including tough perennial ryegrass.
Bare and badly worn patches Frequently trodden areas of lawn may be under such constant attack that they soon wear thin. One answer is to lay stepping-stones, set the stones just below the lawn level to prevent them being hit by the blades of your lawnmower. Where turf is used regularly, the ground becomes compacted; the soil becomes pressed together leaving insufficient space for air to circulate to plant roots. This affects growth and the grass becomes thin and stressed. These areas need to be aerated, which is achieved by driving in a garden fork to a depth of 10cm at 10-15cm intervals. Once you drive the fork into the lawn, ease them back and forth to increase the size of the holes.
Apply it evenly over the area and use a stiff brush to work it into the holes.
Discoloured or scorched lawn There can be several reasons for lawns being discoloured or scorched looking. · Is the height of your Lawn Mower too low. If so adjust the blades of your lawn cutter according to the time of year and the rate of which the grass is growing. If the lawn is uneven, scalped patches are likely to develop on the bumps. The only solution is to gradually level the surface by top dressing the hollows in the fall (Autumn)
Is your pet dog the guilty one? Animal urine, particularly from bitches causes serious scorching problems and will kill of areas of turf. If you catch the animal “in the act” pour large quantities of water over the area immediately to dilute the urine and its harmful effects. THEN KEEP THE NAUGHTY MUTT OFF THE LAWN.
Pests that can destroy your lawn Chafer grubs and Leatherbacks can cause discoloured or dead patches because they chew the roots of the lawn grasses. To check if leatherbacks are the culprits water the affected part of the lawn in the evening and place a sheet of black polythene over the area. When you lift the sheet the next morning you should see the leatherbacks, (small grub like worms) on the surface. All you have to do now is to collect them up and take them for a drive miles away from your lawn. Chafer grub damage is particularly common on sandy lawns, to handle the chafer grubs we need help of ourGrub-Away
Effects of Drought Effects of drought and lack of water may cause patching and discolouration of a lawn, particularly if it consists of fine lawn grasses. Water your lawn, but do not waste the water. Give your lawn a good soaking in the evening, so there plenty of time for the water to soak down into the roots of the lawn before it evaporates. During the dry summers a good idea to do, when you cut the lawn, it is worth detaching the grass box and leave the short clippings spread evenly over the lawn acting as a protection from the warm sun and a miniature mulch. Lawns Alive Is your pet dog the guilty one? Animal urine, particularly from bitches causes serious scorching problems and will kill of areas of turf. If you catch the animal “in the act” pour large quantities of water over the area immediately to dilute the urine and its harmful effects. THEN KEEP THE NAUGHTY MUTT OFF THE LAWN.
Infestations of Moss A lawn becomes colonized by moss because the grass is not growing vigorously enough. This could be due to poor drainage , too much shade or soil that is too acidic Many different sorts of moss can invade a lawn, a lawn that is under some form of stress or that has been poorly maintained is more likely to suffer from moss. To solve this problem Organic Lawn Care Products Also you can give your lawn little help yourself. Start by letting in a bit more light, lawn care can include pruning or thinning out overhanging trees, cutting shrubs back and try if possible to remove shadow on your lawn. A good feeding of All Natural Weed & Feed Lawn care In the fall (Autumn ) scarify the lawn, that is rake it thoroughly with a sharp spring-tined rake 0which will remove all the dead grasses and debris as well as the remains of moss, it also helps to aerate the lawn.
Too Many Weeds If a lawn is in poor condition because it has suffered, water logging, has been mown too close or inadequately maintained, weeds can easily become a problem. Then it is just as important to get the lawn back into good shape, as it is to deal with the weeds. There are plenty of proprietary weed killer mixes on the market, but we, you and I do not use damaging chemicals, they may kill the weeds but they also damage our environment First we do a little bit of work ourselves, and that means “Hand-Weed” Where there are only a few weeds involved get your kitchen knife, insert the blade under the rosette of foliage and cut out a long tube of soil containing the root. It is essential to remove the roots in their entirety as any little piece left in the soil will have the potential to grow into a new plant. Patches of coarse, often rather long grasses can be rectified by raking or fluffing them up before mowing. Regular mowing often causes them to die out.
The perfect solution What is the perfect solution to all your lawn care problems the natural organic way? Inorganic chemical fertilizers encourage the accumulation of thatch in the top layer of the soil. Thatch becomes an ideal place for insects to breed and diseases to take hold. The tightly matted roots and rhizomes, which comprise the thatch layer, prevent water from seeping through the soil. Roots grow in the thatch layer searching for water. The soil below the thatch becomes compacted, and with the steady diet of chemicals, is devoid of earth worms and soil micro-organisms which help keep your lawn alive and healthy. Pesticides, of course, cause other problems. Constant use of pesticides are killing off all the beneficial insects as well as poisoning our rivers and killing the waterfowl and other bird species. The solution for your lawn, as well as our environment, is to use complete organic lawn fertilizer and weed control
If you have any tips that will help others please E-Mail me and I will add it to the tips and ideas column below.
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