RS Gardening Services | Lawn care tips
Using the IPC method Indentification 1. walk over the ground first make mental notes on what seems to be problem Whether its mossy bad drainage patchy Have you got pets is their a fox problem or it could be too stoney 2. what colour is it ; Red tip often sign of red thread on fine turf
yellow often means malnourished what was the weather like was there a drought did you have heavy down pours
is the grass in shade are there trees or overhanging shrubs near by if so then you got a problem with roots or too much shade Could also be that the couch grass is too long and needs to cut short Prevention 1. Moss tends to caused by bad drainage either after heavy uses of the ground especially clay which can compact and impede drainage 2. unfortunately there is no real way to prevent your pets from doin what comes naturally to them so either if have a garden big enough to have a play area in which your dogs can play which you can fence off. or just live it with same thing with foxes i’m afraid 3. red thread is a fungus that affects fine turf it can be prevented by using a switch broom first thing in the morning to knock of the dew from the leaves as that creates a perfect environment for it then spray it with a fungicide specifically for lawns when feeding the lawns do not use a high nitrogen feed as this will make the leaves sappy and weak to fight it off 4. yellow leaves during drought conditions should be watered early in the morning and last thing in the evening to avoid water evaporation avoid feeding it again as you probably not doing it any favours grass will grow back as soon as the climate changes 5. yellow leaves in spring these are the long stalks of grasses that have grown because the grass wasn’t cut low enough the year before in that case strim the the grass back to ground zero and feed it with fertilizer and water it in Control Moss can be treated by 1. improving drainage in autumn by spiking the lawn with a aerator this leaves small deep holes in the ground and relieves compaction and allow excess water and air to mingle between the roots 2. after that back fill the holes with good topsoil mix depending on your soil type ie for clay you need more sharp sand ratio to peat and loam and high ratio of peat and loam to sand for loose soils
3. these are then rubbed in using the stiff broom or loot ,into the holes to prevent them from ceiling up 4. always work backwards 5. leave till the spring and try and avoid walking on wet grass if you can put down temporary pathing 6. by now the grass should be just breaking through the topsoil
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another cause of moss over hanging branches of shrubs cut these back or cut around the shrub ● in spring you can start your feed and weed regime most feeds contain a moss killer
1. remove the moss with a rake a method known as scarifying always do this when the moss is dead and not green otherwise you are just spreading the spores 2. you might find that you are left with bare patches these you can fill in by reseeding
Spring and Summer lawn care Feeding When the grass is starting to grow it’s essential to give it a good start for the season with a good quality lawn feed. These come in two types and two category ; ● Spring to Summer feed : 1. Weed and feed with moss killer 2. Evergreen without weedkiller and moss ● and Autmn feed Spring and Summer feed These come in either granules which heavily rely on watering in if it doesn’t rain though now with the days of modern science you get them that relies on drew to activate. The only set back is that its expensive Verticuting or scarifying This is done after the application of the moss killer or weed Killer It not only removes ; ● Moss from the lawn
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and other debris like leaves It also helps the blades of grass to stand out for cutting
● It also helps to slit the rhizomes of the grass producing more shoots and growth ● However the harshness of it does take its toll on the grass and may look unsightly
But the when the grass recovers it will look even better than before
Reseeding As I mentioned before after you the treatment you will probably be left with bare patches after the moss has been removed & depending on the severity the patches will either have to reseeded or returved By rule of thumb you should over sow the recommended dose say 30g/m2 this is to allow for competition from the birds and poor germination. The area should be patted own with a lawn rake to make sure that the seeds have contact with the soil from above and down bellow