[Help] Gardeners Question Time.

[Coldeanseagull]

https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/topics
A bit of light reading for lawn care.
Remember, to keep a lawn looking good is the hardest thing you'll ever do in the garden. A lot of people will have the nicest soil in their plant borders, but a total waste land where the grass should be. It'll help to know your bents from your fescues and that not all grasses come from a town in East Sussex!(lawn care joke, not all that funny)

 

[jevs]

https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/topics
A bit of light reading for lawn care.
Remember, to keep a lawn looking good is the hardest thing you'll ever do in the garden. A lot of people will have the nicest soil in their plant borders, but a total waste land where the grass should be. It'll help to know your bents from your fescues and that not all grasses come from a town in East Sussex!(lawn care joke, not all that funny)

I've always told people that if you have a nice lawn, cut properly, nice and green and you trim the edges to the borders properly with long handled lawn shears, you're 90% towards having a superb garden.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

I've always told people that if you have a nice lawn, cut properly, nice and green and you trim the edges to the borders properly with long handled lawn shears, you're 90% towards having a superb garden.

Quite true, looks are everything. Id love to remove all the grass and replace it with xerophytes. a few ton of sharp sand and 20mm ballast will support my love of yucca, puya and opuntia and all the other spikeys I have no room for. I hate working on the lawn

 

[Weststander]

I've always told people that if you have a nice lawn, cut properly, nice and green and you trim the edges to the borders properly with long handled lawn shears, you're 90% towards having a superb garden.

In the past I’ve glanced though the technical stuff from those who really care about turf, sports/golf course groundsmen. Dealing with a wide array of issues such as annual meadow grass, couch grass and moss, their conclusion is that proper hollow-tine aerating is the best thing you’ll ever do a lawn. Ideally infilling lightly with a fine compost and sand mix.

But it’s hard to do that properly on a non-tiny lawn, especially when rock hard subsoil such as chalk is just a few cm’s below the surface.

 

[vegster]

I've always told people that if you have a nice lawn, cut properly, nice and green and you trim the edges to the borders properly with long handled lawn shears, you're 90% towards having a superb garden.

However, that is effectively a desert for wildlife, particularly insects.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

In the past I’ve glanced though the technical stuff from those who really care about turf, sports/golf course groundsmen. Dealing with a wide array of issues such as annual meadow grass, couch grass and moss, their conclusion is that proper hollow-tine aerating is the best thing you’ll ever do a lawn. Ideally infilling lightly with a fine compost and sand mix.

But it’s hard to do that properly on a non-tiny lawn, especially when rock hard subsoil such as chalk is just a few cm’s below the surface.

Drainage is a problem some encounter, not however on chalk. It's all about correct types of grass for the environment. I have a hollow tine fork and it's hard work! I have a petrol mantis which removes thatch and aerates, but only by putting in slits.
There are companies out there that do a good job of weeding and feeding and aerating for you, Green Thumb come to mind. You pay x amount depending on the package you choose and I think size of the lawn

 

[Weststander]

Drainage is a problem some encounter, not however on chalk. It's all about correct types of grass for the environment. I have a hollow tine fork and it's hard work! I have a petrol mantis which removes thatch and aerates, but only by putting in slits.
There are companies out there that do a good job of weeding and feeding and aerating for you, Green Thumb come to mind. You pay x amount depending on the package you choose and I think size of the lawn

I’m a lifelong Brightonian and know that chalk is very permeable.

It’s not about drainage. It’s because a healthy lawn is not compacted (from gravity and/or footfall), and aeration is healthy for the root systems of fescues, bents and rye grass. Dandelions, annual meadow grass, couch grass and many other unwanted plants thrive without that.

Years ago I used one of the franchises, Green Thumb, for those treatments. Their aerating machine was rubbish, it barely made any headway in our compacted lawn and close to the surface subsoil. We’re on effectively former downland in a Brighton suburb. I suspect that their machines would work wonders on 6” of beautiful moist and loamy soil.

I wonder if the really powerful aerators you can hire, would be far more effective that the Green Thumb version?

Like you, I’m fit and young enough to do all garden work myself.

 

[Jack Straw]

I'd alsonlike any advice going about this as well. Dogs and neglect have ravished my back garden but when I've had parks to take the boy to I've not been too bothered, but obviously now I've got the time to devote to giving him a decent play area and somewhere for us to have a BBQ every now and again.

The quickest and simplest way to improve a lawn visually is to apply "Weed & Feed". Read the instructions to ensure that dogs, kids etc stay safe. The most important thing about applying this is to use the correct dosage. If the instructions say e.g. 20 gms / m2, ensure that this is exactly what goes down. You can apply it by hand wearing suitable protective gloves, but it must be spread evenly, otherwise you'll get dead bits and bits that stay the same. It's quite a skill to do this by hand so take your time and be careful to get it on as even as possible. If you use a spreader which is preferable, it must be calibrated exactly right.
After applying, water like buggery! It probably says this on the instructions. Quite a good idea to do this when rain is imminent.

 

[Coldeanseagull]

I’m a lifelong Brightonian and know that chalk is very permeable.

It’s not about drainage. It’s because a healthy lawn is not compacted (from gravity and/or footfall), and aeration is healthy for the root systems of fescues, bents and rye grass. Dandelions, annual meadow grass, couch grass and many other unwanted plants thrive without that.

Years ago I used one of the franchises, Green Thumb, for those treatments. Their aerating machine was rubbish, it barely made any headway in our compacted lawn and close to the surface subsoil. We’re on effectively former downland in a Brighton suburb. I suspect that their machines would work wonders on 6” of beautiful moist and loamy soil.

I wonder if the really powerful aerators you can hire, would be far more effective that the Green Thumb version?

Like you, I’m fit and young enough to do all garden work myself.

I remember those days

 

[Weststander]

The quickest and simplest way to improve a lawn visually is to apply "Weed & Feed". Read the instructions to ensure that dogs, kids etc stay safe. The most important thing about applying this is to use the correct dosage. If the instructions say e.g. 20 gms / m2, ensure that this is exactly what goes down. You can apply it by hand wearing suitable protective gloves, but it must be spread evenly, otherwise you'll get dead bits and bits that stay the same. It's quite a skill to do this by hand so take your time and be careful to get it on as even as possible. If you use a spreader which is preferable, it must be calibrated exactly right.
After applying, water like buggery! It probably says this on the instructions. Quite a good idea to do this when rain is imminent.

Hi.

How did you parks guys stop Preston Park etc lawns from being a sea of Dandelions and the ubiquitous Poa Annua? The latter cannot be killed off, as any chemical designed to do that will kill all grasses.

 

[Dolph Ins]

The quickest and simplest way to improve a lawn visually is to apply "Weed & Feed". Read the instructions to ensure that dogs, kids etc stay safe. The most important thing about applying this is to use the correct dosage. If the instructions say e.g. 20 gms / m2, ensure that this is exactly what goes down. You can apply it by hand wearing suitable protective gloves, but it must be spread evenly, otherwise you'll get dead bits and bits that stay the same. It's quite a skill to do this by hand so take your time and be careful to get it on as even as possible. If you use a spreader which is preferable, it must be calibrated exactly right.
After applying, water like buggery! It probably says this on the instructions. Quite a good idea to do this when rain is imminent.

Sorry Jack I have to disagree with you. I used 4 in 1 once and it didn't kill the weeds, didn't kill the moss but made the lawn grow like crazy. It was basically nitrogen which is like us eating white sugar.

I've worked for a lawn fascist for 20 odd years and a good lawn is a lot of work. I got fed up and asked Greenthumb to come in and quote for looking after them. They knew next to nothing and just follow a prescribed plan. Yes it will improve most lawns but not a decent one. I was now going to list how I look after a fairly decent lawn but I would wear my keyboard out. Suffice to say my lawn at home is full of weeds moss and wildlife. Maybe you have time during the shut down to improve your lawn but when it ends spend your time in a more fun way.

 

[The Oldman]

Do you plant early potatoes and main crop at the same time?

 

[WATFORD zero]

Can I add moss removal to all of the above, for those that reply.

Oh and ants, I reckon I have an entire ant continent, under my lawn.

Not sure about the rest, but green woodpeckers will sort out the ants. We get the occasional one, but you probably need bloody great flocks of them.

Oh, and mind your own business is the biggest problem I have with shady areas of my lawn in the summer. But leaving it slightly longer seems to help.

 

[Jack Straw]

Sorry Jack I have to disagree with you. I used 4 in 1 once and it didn't kill the weeds, didn't kill the moss but made the lawn grow like crazy. It was basically nitrogen which is like us eating white sugar.

I've worked for a lawn fascist for 20 odd years and a good lawn is a lot of work. I got fed up and asked Greenthumb to come in and quote for looking after them. They knew next to nothing and just follow a prescribed plan. Yes it will improve most lawns but not a decent one. I was now going to list how I look after a fairly decent lawn but I would wear my keyboard out. Suffice to say my lawn at home is full of weeds moss and wildlife. Maybe you have time during the shut down to improve your lawn but when it ends spend your time in a more fun way.

I don't know what 4 in 1 is, but the Weed & Feed I used to use for decades never failed. It's only a visual quick-fix so any underlying problems like compaction or bare patches would need physically sorting.

 

[Jack Straw]

Hi.

How did you parks guys stop Preston Park etc lawns from being a sea of Dandelions and the ubiquitous Poa Annua? The latter cannot be killed off, as any chemical designed to do that will kill all grasses.

The football area and strip of grass along the front are just mown on a weekly basis meaning the dandelions rarely have chance to flower. Also, there is a lot of compaction on the football pitch areas which keeps a lot of weeds away! On areas like these, Annual Meadow Grass is a welcome addition as it doesn't affect anything and adds to the thickness of the sward (like a carpets' pile). Both the previous mentioned areas have had no weedkiller applied for at least the last 25 years.
Unless you're after a real quality lawn, and I mean very, very high quality to a fanatical level, why worry about a bit of Poa annua? Boxing your clippings off, close mowing and regular scarification would help control it, but otherwise you might as well embrace it.

 

[Weststander]

The football area and strip of grass along the front are just mown on a weekly basis meaning the dandelions rarely have chance to flower. Also, there is a lot of compaction on the football pitch areas which keeps a lot of weeds away! On areas like these, Annual Meadow Grass is a welcome addition as it doesn't affect anything and adds to the thickness of the sward (like a carpets' pile). Both the previous mentioned areas have had no weedkiller applied for at least the last 25 years.
Unless you're after a real quality lawn, and I mean very, very high quality to a fanatical level, why worry about a bit of Poa annua? Boxing your clippings off, close mowing and regular scarification would help control it, but otherwise you might as well embrace it.

Cheers.
It’s a utility lawn, prepared from a former jungle with a huge investment in my time as part of a long term project. For two or three years it was a spongy emerald carpet. Then Poa annua took hold in patches, course and yellowish. I’m usually relaxed about stuff, but stupidly I’d like to eradicate it.

 

[Weststander]

Not sure about the rest, but green woodpeckers will sort out the ants. We get the occasional one, but you probably need bloody great flocks of them.

Oh, and mind your own business is the biggest problem I have with shady areas of my lawn in the summer. But leaving it slightly longer seems to help.

Probably Woody, the same bird. Occasionally we’ve had Green and Greater Spotted Woodpeckers feasting on ants. I assume they nest in the Withdean and Westdene Woods,

 

[Jack Straw]

Cheers.
It’s a utility lawn, prepared from a former jungle with a huge investment in my time as part of a long term project. For two or three years it was a spongy emerald carpet. Then Poa annua took hold in patches, course and yellowish. I’m usually relaxed about stuff, but stupidly I’d like to eradicate it.

Another thing you could do would be to scarify (rake) the lawn to an inch of its life and over-sow with a 3 way Ryegrass mix. That could help to drown it out.

 

[jevs]

Another thing you could do would be to scarify (rake) the lawn to an inch of its life and over-sow with a 3 way Ryegrass mix. That could help to drown it out.

I'm a big fan of lightly over sowing every 2-3 weeks.

 

[Notters]

A tip with peonies, don't plant them too deep. Don't be too disappointed with the lack of flowers for the first couple of years, it takes them that long to establish. Choose your site carefully as they don't like being moved. One last observation. It will blow a hooley when they're in flower, the big, showy flowers will be trashed by the wind and rain....happens to me every year!

Thanks for this! Any tips of position? I have a fairly small garden so not really sure where I'll fit six but they came in a pack of six.

It is pretty sheltered though so will hopefully be ok on that front. I expect my daughter will attack them with a football instead.