LAWNS & LAWN CARE NOTES (Sue Lord 2004)

A lawn is the single most important source of food for birds in the garden and birds are your greatest friend when it comes to pest control in the garden

Design Aspects:- Aesthetic:- A major or minor feature? - Balance -

Size? - Shape?- Special Effects?

Practical:- Purpose? - Visual impact or Hard wearing or Mixed?

Time & Work implications. More than one? Costs involved.

Have you considered whether you really want the lawn?

'A good lawn is a beautiful thing, an asset to any garden

A poor, ill-drained, patchy, weedy patch is not'.

Recovering an Old, Poor, Weedy or Neglected Lawn:-

ASSESS PROBLEMS AND CAUSES - PLAN AN APPROPRIATE COURSE OF ACTION.

Weeds....What is the problem Many of one kind?....Various?....Annual?....Perennial? I only kill off those that take over from the grass such as the flat rosette kinds, dandelion, daisy and plantain, moss, clover and the other small leaved weeds I do not bother to get rid of.

Moss.....Always worse in winter and in shade. Don't bother trying to kill it, it will become less obvious as the weather gets warmer and dryer, and there will always be moss. Improve the drainage look after the grass well, and live with it. You will always have a green lawn.

Patchy....Weeds, Moss & Bare patches caused by wear & tear, soil pests or fungi?

Colour...pale / dark..... Thin.... Hard & compacted....It needs some TLC:-

1. If cuttings are long take them off - Do not cut it shorter than 1"

2. SCARIFY with springbok or mechanical rake.

3. Use Brand of Weed and Feed treatment. Dry or Liquid Application ? I personally prefer liquid

4. Spike or fork to get some air into the soil.

5. Treat for soil pests or diseases if present, only if really necessary

(Good Culture & Birds are best)

6. TOP DRESS with sieved mix of Sharp Sand &Peat or leaf mould & possibly loam if very poor.

7. Cut lightly & leave cuttings on (If removed do not compost if weed treated)

8. Cut or trim edges (Consider if the edge is easy to maintain & if not change the edging)

9. Leave to recover and until the rain has bucked it up.

General Maintenance:-

MOWING - Frequency - as often as possible even occasionally over the winter if you can so that you can leave the cuttings on the lawn, especially when there is seed on the grass, vary the direction of cut. A well kept lawn renews itself automatically given common sense treatment.

Choose one or more suitable lawnmowers depending upon who will be using it.

Store it in good order and so that it is easy to get in and out. Keep the cutting edges sharp

EDGES & EDGING - Think about Time & Work Implications of edging.

- Avoid grass to soil edges to reduce edging if it is a job you do not like doing.

- Coincide edges with paths, patios or paved or brick edging .

FEEDING:- only if it looks as if it needs is, either because it is a bit thin and not very green, as it may be if you regularly take off the cuttings. There is loads of information on commercial lawn fertilisers, but do not overfeed it. If you look after the lawn by not denuding it and letting it self seed you will probably not have to feed it at all, I don't.

WEED, PEST & DISEASE CONTROL & TREATMENTS IF NECESSARY.

- Proprietary insecticides, selective weed killers & fungicides only if really necessary.

- Organic remedies such as nematodes, good culture and encouraging birds.

- Combine with improved culture, to deal with causes e.g. compaction, shade.

MAIN PESTS:- Leather-jackets (Crane Fly Larvae), Wireworms & Chafer grubs. control - birds. Encourage the birds but do not overfeed them, this way they will stay to eat the pests.

FUNGAL DISEASES:- Fusarium (Overfed lawns) Corticium (underfed lawns) Both are rare and only need chemical treatment if improving the culture does not enable the grass to overcome them.

(Sue Lord 2001)

Making a Lawn from Scratch:-

LAYOUT - Design Considerations :- Size...shape...flat....sloping...paths / patios...steps...

edges & edging....Sun / Shade....Trees....Features etc.

Grass does not thrive in heavy shade or in compacted soil which is likely to be heavy and either very dry or very poorly drained - Either improve the conditions, or choose an alternative such as shingle or bark chips.

SOIL PREPARATION - e.g. by aerating the soil and adding topsoil or improvers e.g. sand/grit/compost lime etc. Get rid of perennial weeds - leave to grow then dig out or kill with non-persistent weed killer. (alternatively you can do this after the new lawn is fully established)

LEVEL & finish off by raking to fine tilth & tread to firm etc.

TURF OR SEED - Compare cost, Time to establish, Quality, Raised Level of turf.

Seed - Use any of the commercially prepared seed mixes, and top with fine, weed free grass cuttings if you have them*, or a scattering of sand and find any way to keep the birds off while the seed germinates. Do not walk on it unnecessarily until it is well established

*this disguises the seed and confuses the birds!

FIRST YEAR AFTERCARE - You may need to water very occasionally in drought conditions, and patch areas that may not have taken, and good general care is recommended on all seed packets