If you've ever wanted to improve the look of you lawn there are a few things you can do to maintain your lawn on a weekly basis without doing any major work often required to recover a damaged lawn. Lawn Fertilizer- Lawns need their Spring feed most of all, especially one containing nitrogen, backed up with both phosphates and potash. One feed per annum is not enough, and a Summer feed, if the lawn is looking a little jaded should contain either a proprietary lawn tonic, or nitrogen rich fertilize. An autumn lawn care feed should concentrate more on phosphates and potash rather than nitrogen, possibly combined with a worm killer and disease preventive. Watering Your Lawn - Rainfall in the is normally sufficient to keep the roots supplied with moisture, but dry spells do occur in late spring and summer months. The first sign of drought will be colour change, from green to straw or even brown. It is advisable to water at the coolest time of day, early or late, and best with a rotary sprinkler. A good watering once a week for optimum lawn care is preferable to over watering,unless it is extremely hot. In this way deep root development will be encouraged. Weed Control - This is really down to good lawn care management. With an established lawn, laid with good quality seed or turf, the rules for maintaining it include the following. Appropriate mowing, at the correct height and little and often, and proper watering especially at the hint of a dry spell. Scarifying helps to control weeds and invigorates lawn growth, as does proper feeding. Good fertility combats the growth of weeds and builds the strength of the grass. Worm casts invite weed seeds, worm control is necessary, and prevention of disease in bare patches. Mowing Your Lawn - Mowing keeps the lawn looking attractive. It should he done regularly, from March to October, with sharp blades, set not too low. It is better to mow when the grass is dry, to reduce mower clogging. The mower should be moved in a constant direction at a steady pace, and not hoovered backwards and forwards. When newly sown grass reaches 2" or 3" inches high, the top 2" can be mowed with care. Advice for new lawn care. Establishment lawn care - Whether starting entirely from scratch, or renovating and old, tired lawn, the following is the best way to proceed. Seeding - for a lawn to be created from a bare, grassless mud patch, it is easier to get professional help with the levelling, via a tractor and box blade. A smooth clear surface is essential, with no holes, dips, or drainage problems. Seed is best applied with a rotary type spreader. Half the seed should be spread in one direction, the remainder in the opposite direction. This gives good soil contact for the seed, and uniform germination. The type of grasses to be grown are dictated by climate, and are best planted 30 days before real warmth or chill sets in. Only hot season grasses should be sown when the temperature reaches 80 to 90 degrees. Hot season seed is very small and can be spread lightly, whereas cold climate seed is larger and requires heavier coverage for good thick grass. There are various lawn care machines that can be rented for a day or two to power seed a lawn. The seed is dropped into ready made grooves as the machine moves over the ground. Again, a level surface is essential, and power seeders are not recommended where it is rough or uneven. A further solution is to Hydroseed. Under this process the seed is mixed with fertilizer and a lawn care mulch plus water, and sprayed on to the lawn. This encourages quicker germination. The spray is coloured blue or green for identifying the sprayed area, and later turns white. The machine will usually have to be hired rather than rented. A lawn can also be renovated easily with a lawn care dethatcher, which scarifys the surface, and aids germination of scattered seeds. This machine needs using with care in respect of the lawn surface. Preparing the Seed Bed. For New Lawn care - Rake and smooth, remove any debris. Renovating Established Lawns - Mow closely. To overseed or repair bare spots, rake to produce a viable surface, then check section on 'fertilizing'. Kill off remaining seed with Finale. Vegetation will brown within 7-10 days. A good raking will remove loosened thatch and expose soil for seed. Bare spots can be chopped into small chunks to allow use of the slit seeder in a grid formation. Slits should run in a horizontal fashion across slopes. Do not use a Rototill, which will expose and spread weed seeds. |
