Grass Clippings

Worm Cast Solutions by the box load

Many a lawn owner complain about worm casts in their lawn.  Until recently, they could not easily solve this problem as there was not a solution to it.

'CastClear' offers the solution to the age old problem.  It's a non pesticide, semi organic deterrent product and doesn't harm the worms either.  Applied once every 10 - 20 days, it will solve the problem of worm casts in lawns.

Worms are great for the soil, just not their soil casts that they throw up onto the surface of the lawn in the autumn to spring months when the soil water to soil air ratio changes when we get the autumn rains.

Garden and Leisure Group now stocking CastClear

The Garden & Leisure Group was formed in 1997 by Kenn & Jackie Lloyd in conjunction with Truffaut, who are one of the largest garden centre chains in France. 

They are due to take receipt later this week of their first order for 17 outers of CastClear - the lawn worm cast deterrent into their seven busy garden centres.  CastClear is totally pesticide free and comes in a handy 1 litre bottle that will treat up to 500 square metres.  It will retail for £29.99 per litre so around 6 pence per single square metre to solve the problem of worm casts in lawns.  Money well spent in preserving your lawn surface and grass plants.

Controlling Moss in Lawns

Its a long time until the first day of Spring - the official date is 21st March which is the Vernal Equinox but there are a few worthwhile jobs you could be doing on your lawn in the meantime.

It is far too early to scarify the lawn (try telling some of the lawn treatment companies) and this mechanical task should not commence until there is a bit more grass growth activity.  The grass is growing currently but very very slowly.  The lawn should be able to naturally regenerate and recover after scarification and maybe with a bit of over seeding too.

LBS Horticulture become CastClear Stockists

Founded more than 40 years ago LBS Horticulture is a family run business and has been serving the horticultural trade industry ever since, supplying horticultural sundries including: tools, composts and fertilisers, weed and pest control, horticultural fabrics such as netting, polythene, ground cover etc, irrigation equipment and plant support; throughout the UK, from their head office based in the North West of England in Colne, Lancashire.

They are now Stockists of CastClear, the lawn worm cast deterrent, in a handy 1 Litre size that will treat up to 500 sqm metres.  Larger units of sale are available for Trade. 

'Nonsense rules' slammed after weeds cleared up by home owner

A COUPLE who cleared rubbish and weeds from outside their home have been asked for a fee from the council for doing it.

Samantha Hamilton, 31, and her partner Colin Freeman, 44, bought their new home in The Glade, Mytchett, in April last year.  

In the summer, they worked to cut away weeds and clear rubbish on land just beyond their home, near the junction with Mytchett Road.

When to start mowing the lawn

We have been noticing on our search stats that a lot of the queries relate to the timing of the first grass cut of the season.

I am not sure if the searcher is actually expecting to get a result with a specific date when the lawn comes to life. The answer to the question is - There is no set time or defining moment when you need to get onto your lawn.

No two lawns are the same and no two gardens, even if they are side by side, are the same so it follows that any advice given here may well be appropriate for one lawn owner and not for the next.

First Aid tonic for lawns in January

January is a hard month for lawns and turf especially after a prolonged period of snow and frost. It is always nice to see a green lawn over the winter but trying to achieve that result without the use of lawn fertiliser is a little hard to do.

Help is at hand in the shape of Sulphate of Iron, Iron Sulphate as it is also called, an active ingredient of Lawn Sand. Iron Sulphate will provide some much needed colour to your turf in the almost dormant grass growing months and the effect of application will provide a much need boost to 'lift' the lawn and it's colour when help is needed most.

Four Legged Mower

If the thought of mowing the lawn each week brings you out in a sweat, then why not consider getting yourself a Goat? 

You will not need to feed it but you may need to protect the other shrubs and plants in the garden, oh and the washing line too!

It will not be too selective at eating in lines, nor will it leave stripes in your lawn only a fair amount of 'natural fertiliser' but it will eat the weeds and moss and turf grass plants.

Mowing the lawn is good for you...

"It is easier and cheaper than going to the gym, an exercise class or swimming pool and many more formal activities', says Tim Spurgeon, advisory services manager for gardening charity Thrive.

"What's more you can work at your own pace and achieve something as you go along."

Here are just some of the benefits you can hope to reap from your garden.

Lawn Shop - open 365 days a year

Spare a thought for your lawn this weekend if the weather is mild and blow away the Christmas and New Year holiday blues with some much needed fresh air in the garden!

Make sure that you have blown or raked up all of the leaves and debris and trimmed the edges. 

It is not too early in the year to mow your lawn so don’t think that you are getting off lightly and hide the mower in the garden shed until the spring time and head out to the shops or golf club!  The weather is really mild for the start of January and last year was the second warmest year on record - balmy weather. 

Putting the puzzle together

The  subject of lawns and their care puzzle many a lawn owner.  Many are simply scared of their lawn.

Lots of lawn owners perform the religious tasks of feeding their lawn in the spring time but not throughout the rest of the year. 

Some respect the mechanical operations such as mowing, scarification and aeration are important but many get these tasks in the incorrect order when performing a lawn renovation programme.  It is easy to grow grass, the hardest part is turning the grass into a lawn.

Sound advice to help your lawn large or small

The nice people at The Lawn Company have for many years provided a lawn consultancy service to lawn owners with small, large and very large lawns. 

These lawn areas may also include croquet lawns, bowling greens and other professional turf areas such as tennis courts and football clubs.

Happy New Year to all our Readers

The Grass Clippings Team would like to wish all our Readers a happy and healthy 2012.

With over 450 technical articles here on our Lawn Blog, you are never more than a simple search away from a useful and technically correct article about caring for your lawn.

The weather in the UK is still rather mild and the grass is still growing which is not bad for the 3rd of January!  Don't be shy to run the mower over the lawns if ground conditions permit over the next week and trimming the lawn will really lift the garden. 

Don't let anyone talk you into having your lawn scarified yet, we will tell you when the weather and grass growth is suitable for this important mechanical task but a spot of aeration is really great for the lawn at this time of year, especially as the frost is not in the ground.

So whilst you watch the top of the shed blowing away, think about how you can plan and schedule the improvement of your lawns this spring time and take a while to read up on how you can do it by exploring our Grass Clippings Lawn Blog.

If your lawns are being plagued by worm casts - help is at hand from The Lawn Shop who can sell you a worm cast control product to eradicate the worm casts in your lawns.

When NOT to Scarify your Lawn

There is a standing 'joke' in the professional turf industry that starts when the United Kingdom received it's first snowfall.  To be honest, it gets the on line message boards red hot.

The joke is at the expense of one of the large lawn treatment companies who insist that the winter through to the spring time is the best time to scarify your lawn. 

 

When to stop mowing your lawn

Parts of the United Kingdom have had snow fall already with more promised for the rest of us.

When the frost and snow is on the lawn, it is obvious that mowing your lawn is the last thing on your mind.  In the milder South East of England, the grass is still growing, slow but still growing.

There is still time to give your lawn it's last mow of the year.  Mowing the lawn will really lift the appearance of the complete garden ahead of the holiday season.  Once mown, get your mower into the lawn mower service centre ready for spring time.

Prepare for the arrival of Winter

Gales, Snow, Frost, Cold, Christmas... familiar words at the moment. 

Winter officially starts on December 22nd this year and surprisingly, it is quite mild in the South East and the grass is still growing, albeit at a slower rate than a month ago. 

The turf grasses will not stop growing but it will be a little difficult for new grass seed to germinate out of the formal growing season. 

Winter lawn disease - know what to look for

Fusarium Disease on turf usually appears as small orange/brown circular spots of approx 50mm in diameter, which under favourable conditions may join together with other affected areas and completely cover a lawn. 

Under humid, still conditions, you will notice a white, grey cotton wool like mycelium forming as a small mound on the surface of the lawn.  You will note an orange brown tinge to the circumference of the affected areas with mushy matted grass within.  Early diagnosis is important, especially over the winter and spring months.

Winter tonic for Lawns

December is a hard month for lawns and turf especially after a prolonged period of snow and frost.  It is always nice to see a green lawn over the winter but trying to achieve that result without the use of lawn fertiliser is a little hard to do.  

Help is at hand in the shape of Sulphate of Iron, Iron Sulphate as it is also called, an active ingredient of Lawn Sand.  Iron Sulphate will provide some much needed colour to your turf in the almost dormant grass growing months and the effect of application will provide a much need boost to 'lift' the lawn and it's colour when help is needed most.

Slime Mould Disease

Slime Moulds are not commonly seen on lawns and when they do, they can provide some stunning examples as the picture shows. 

This picture was taken in Avebury in Wiltshire on one of the many historic stone circles that are located in the area a few weeks ago.

All grass species can be affected by the disease and occurrence.  Symptons of the disease are only seen when the coloured spores which can vary from grey to white or yellow to purple appear on the turf grass blades. 

Nobody loves me......

Nursery Rhymes never age.  Some are as old as Old Wive's Tales that survive the generations.  Lawn care is a science that follows the principles of The Science and Practice of Turf Culture and one great learning text book was Turf Culture by Frank Hope, sadly out of publication.

This was the main publication that up and coming turf managers referred to.  Sadly, some lawn experts appear to have been reading the book back to front and trying to change the principles of turf culture throughout the seasons so do not believe all that you hear or are told about when to perform aspects of turf culture.

Consultation paper on Japanese Knotweed Problem by RICS

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is consulting on a new Information Paper which aims to help valuers and mortgage lenders consider the implications of a Japanese Knotweed intrusion when undertaking valuations of residential property in the UK.

Many a home owner hoping to purchase or sell a property with or without a mortgage can fall down on the survey when Japanese Knotweed (JNW) is found on the property or on a neighbouring property.

 

Coke - it's a grass thing

On a recent trip to the USA travelling to Atlanta, Georgia to celebrate Thanksgiving with friends, there were lots of opportunities to take a good look around at the landscapes and inparticular the lawns and grass. 

The USA turf grasses are just so different to ours in the UK mainly because of the environment they have to grow in and many of the turf grass species naturally turn brown in the autumn and winter when the temperature drops.

Most Americans will be familiar with the names of Bermuda Grass, Tall Fescue, Kentucky Bluegrass, Fescue, Italian Ryegrass, Bentgrass and Perennial Ryegrass to name a few. 

Don't let the grass grow under your feet......

In these dark evenings, why not take the lawn indoors with you? 

Green-fingered city dwellers can now enjoy the feeling of grass under their feet even in a high rise flat - with the creation of a living rug.

Lovers of the great outdoors can cultivate a green space in their living room that will provide them with their own freshly cut lawn - as long as they remember to water it.

QLawns MeadowMat for that Wild Look

Some lawn owners could claim that they have a 'natural meadow lawn' for an excuse of a lawn area that is sadly full of weeds and little actual grass content.  A weed is after all only a 'plant that is growing in the wrong place'

The growers of Q Lawns turf and Enviromat sedum matting have stocks of their new wildlife-friendly landscaping product known as MeadowMat ready for despatch.

Not too late to re turf your lawn

You can install turf all year round so long as the turf nursery can get it's turf harvesters out onto the fields.  What becomes hard is the preparation, especially if the ground is a bit soggy.  You need to pick the best day to turn the soil over to create the turf bed and wait for the next dry day to turf the lawn to cause the least damage to the new lawn surface.

Turfing a lawn is a real benefit at this time of year when the traditional growing season slows down for the winter.  Grass seed will grow but a lot slower than in the warmer months so if your budget can stretch to it, plan to returf your lawn instead for that instant effect.

Even though you can turf all reay round, there are great benefits of using turf over new grass seed and seeding a lawn but also some disadvantages too:

November Lawn Jobs

Don't forget your lawn this month!  There is always something that can be done to a lawn throughout the year and the late autumn months are no exception.

The grass has not yet stopped growing, not that it fully will, and before you get totally swept up in the coming holiday season of Thanks Giving and Christmas, there are a few jobs you could complete on your lawn to get it in shape for Winter. 

FedEx - Delivering Lawn Worm Cast Solutions

If you are an Internet user, you would have ordered something online and waited eagerly for it’s arrival. 

Some of the large High Street retail stores and online stores have some serious logistics behind their shipping modules and are able to ship their customers orders out quickly, some the next day even if an order is received as late as 21:00 the night before – quite remarkable.

The Team at The Lawn Company, the organisation behind the successful Lawn Shop also realize that lawn owners want their orders within a reasonable amount of time having placed an order in The Lawn Shop. 

Buckland Nurseries become a CastClear stockist

Buckland Nurseries located in Reigate, Surrey, is a family Garden Centre business established over 145 years ago. The business was founded by Thomas Hogg in 1865 and has continued over 6 generations of the Hogg family.

They stock a wide range of perennials, trees, shrubs, bedding plants, roses, herbs, garden sundries, tools, turf, seeds, paving and gravels.

They have a Flower Shop too based in Sutton. Why not send someone special in your life some flowers via the Interflora network. 

Lawn Worm Casts - The Solution.....

Lawn worm casts are a bit of a pain  at this time of the year until spring time.  The worms eat the soil and then discard it on the lawns surface leaving it there for the dog to pick up the small mound of soil on their paws or on your shoes when you walk over the lawn.

There are just five types of worms in the UK that throw up what turf professionals call a lawn worm cast.  The worms spend the drier months burrowing deeper in the soil, eating the organic matter in the soil, extracting it's goodness. 

Lawn Shop open this weekend 24/7

Spare a thought for your lawn this weekend and get it ready for the winter.  Make sure that you have blown or raked up all of the leaves and debris and trimmed the edges. 

It is not too late in the year to mow your lawn so don’t think that you are getting off lightly and hide the mower in the garden shed until the spring time and head out to the shops or golf club!