Grass Clippings - Lawn Advice From a Team of Lawn and Turf Experts

Pesticide Training via Home Study

Who better to train you in the safe use of pesticides than an organisation that is doing what you will be trained to do, each day of the year?

Weed Free are able to provide formal training and assessments for Food and Environment Protection Act Certificates of Competence in the Safe use of Pesticides. Each year, we train many Greenkeepers and Sports Turf Managers and Local Authority Staff.

We were asked multi-times to provide training one to one to small business owners and as a result came up with the the self study pesticide course concept to support our on site training for larger companies and organisations.

You can purchase self-learn NPTC / City & Guilds training modules and other publications here.

Who better to train you in the safe use of pesticides than an organisation that is doing what you will be trained to do, each day of the year?

Weed Free are able to provide formal training and assessments for Food and Environment Protection Act Certificates of Competence in the Safe use of Pesticides. Each year, we train many Greenkeepers and Sports Turf Managers and Local Authority Staff.

We were asked multi-times to provide training one to one to small business owners and as a result came up with the the self study pesticide course concept to support our on site training for larger companies and organisations.

You can purchase self-learn NPTC / City & Guilds training modules and other publications here.

Who better to train you in the safe use of pesticides than an organisation that is doing what you will be trained to do, each day of the year?

Weed Free are able to provide formal training and assessments for Food and Environment Protection Act Certificates of Competence in the Safe use of Pesticides. Each year, we train many Greenkeepers and Sports Turf Managers and Local Authority Staff.

We were asked multi-times to provide training one to one to small business owners and as a result came up with the the self study pesticide course concept to support our on site training for larger companies and organisations.

You can purchase self-learn NPTC / City & Guilds training modules and other publications here.

Who better to train you in the safe use of pesticides than an organisation that is doing what you will be trained to do, each day of the year?

Weed Free are able to provide formal training and assessments for Food and Environment Protection Act Certificates of Competence in the Safe use of Pesticides. Each year, we train many Greenkeepers and Sports Turf Managers and Local Authority Staff.

We were asked multi-times to provide training one to one to small business owners and as a result came up with the the self study pesticide course concept to support our on site training for larger companies and organisations.

You can purchase self-learn NPTC / City & Guilds training modules and other publications here.

Lawn Advice for all

There are a lot of Landscapers and Gardeners who 'claim' to know a lot about lawn and grass. There are numerous trade suppliers to the industry who specialise in their range of products and advice associated with them.

There has been a steady rise in the establishment of Lawn Treatment Companies over the last few years also adding their bit to the advice bank. So why is it that the advice given to lawn owners varies so much and is often so inaccurate and poor?

There are a lot of Landscapers and Gardeners who 'claim' to know a lot about lawn and grass. There are numerous trade suppliers to the industry who specialise in their range of products and advice associated with them.

There has been a steady rise in the establishment of Lawn Treatment Companies over the last few years also adding their bit to the advice bank. So why is it that the advice given to lawn owners varies so much and is often so inaccurate and poor?

Lawn Mistakes - Top Ten

Lawn care is a science and like all sciences there is a requirement to follow a sequence like a flow chart and also to keep everything in balance too. 

Tip the scales or be too reactive and your lawn will suffer, get diseased, go thin and less dense and sometimes die.

In no particular order, here are some of the errors we see when out and about visiting lawns:

1. Mowing too low and infrequently and always in the same direction

Lawn care is a science and like all sciences there is a requirement to follow a sequence like a flow chart and also to keep everything in balance too. 

Tip the scales or be too reactive and your lawn will suffer, get diseased, go thin and less dense and sometimes die.

In no particular order, here are some of the errors we see when out and about visiting lawns:

1. Mowing too low and infrequently and always in the same direction

Lawn care is a science and like all sciences there is a requirement to follow a sequence like a flow chart and also to keep everything in balance too. 

Tip the scales or be too reactive and your lawn will suffer, get diseased, go thin and less dense and sometimes die.

In no particular order, here are some of the errors we see when out and about visiting lawns:

1. Mowing too low and infrequently and always in the same direction

Lawn care is a science and like all sciences there is a requirement to follow a sequence like a flow chart and also to keep everything in balance too. 

Tip the scales or be too reactive and your lawn will suffer, get diseased, go thin and less dense and sometimes die.

In no particular order, here are some of the errors we see when out and about visiting lawns:

1. Mowing too low and infrequently and always in the same direction

How to control weed grasses in your lawn

We often get asked by lawn owners the best remedy of controlling weed grasses in lawns. Just because it is green, it does not mean that it is a grass or grasses you want in your green sward.

A lawn should have nothing in it except good healthy desirable turf grasses but this is often not the case. Weed grasses will react violently to changes in climatic conditions such as drought or fertilisation or selective weed control or a change in soil moisture.

Clumps of weed grasses of which there could be many are very unsightly, and more often than not, the weed grasses will colonise into large clumps across a lawn.

We often get asked by lawn owners the best remedy of controlling weed grasses in lawns. Just because it is green, it does not mean that it is a grass or grasses you want in your green sward.

A lawn should have nothing in it except good healthy desirable turf grasses but this is often not the case. Weed grasses will react violently to changes in climatic conditions such as drought or fertilisation or selective weed control or a change in soil moisture.

Clumps of weed grasses of which there could be many are very unsightly, and more often than not, the weed grasses will colonise into large clumps across a lawn.

Enjoy a game of Croquet

The Croquet season is in full swing around the country with the continued dry weather ideal for putting on the ‘whites’ and engaging in this skilful and competitive sport down the croquet lawn.  Image by Liz Monahan for CreatureMag

There are a lot of croquet clubs around the UK; some have professional green keepers looking after their lawns and other use their members to assist with the day to care and maintenance of the lawns, mostly on an unpaid basis.

The Team at The Lawn Company take a pragmatic approach during their Lawn Consultancy visits to home owners and croquet club members when both have sought TLC advice in keeping their lawns and croquet lawns in tip top condition or sorting a problem with them too.

Solving Dry Patches in your Lawn

Dry Patch is a little known problem of turf in amateur lawn circles but one that has an incredible impact in ensuring consistent colour, growth, nutrient status, run of the ball and most of all visual impact and continuity of grass cover.

We have seen a lot of lawn and turf areas turning brown or mottled following a couple of dry weeks in May, a wetter than average June and hardly any rainfall in July to date but this dry patch problem has nothing to do with lack of rain or potential drought. Below are the rainfall figures for a weather station in eastern Berkshire:

Dry Patch is a little known problem of turf in amateur lawn circles but one that has an incredible impact in ensuring consistent colour, growth, nutrient status, run of the ball and most of all visual impact and continuity of grass cover.

We have seen a lot of lawn and turf areas turning brown or mottled following a couple of dry weeks in May, a wetter than average June and hardly any rainfall in July to date but this dry patch problem has nothing to do with lack of rain or potential drought. Below are the rainfall figures for a weather station in eastern Berkshire:

Dry Patch is a little known problem of turf in amateur lawn circles but one that has an incredible impact in ensuring consistent colour, growth, nutrient status, run of the ball and most of all visual impact and continuity of grass cover.

We have seen a lot of lawn and turf areas turning brown or mottled following a couple of dry weeks in May, a wetter than average June and hardly any rainfall in July to date but this dry patch problem has nothing to do with lack of rain or potential drought. Below are the rainfall figures for a weather station in eastern Berkshire:

The Green Green Grass of The USA

Today is Independence Day in the USA, marked by a national federal holiday for one and all, with private and public events celebrating the Declaration of Independence on July 4th 1776, independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. 

There are simply millions of homes with lawns in The USA.  It was in the USA that the service industry of lawn treatments and care was born and that service industry is a multi billion dollar business.

There are many differences between growing grasses in The USA and Great Britain, mostly becuase of climate.  They mostly have warm season grasses and we have cool season grasses, but to fair The USA does have many varying climate regions and in some states, our cool season grasses flourish.

It's Red Thread Disease time for UK Lawns

Red Thread Disease in you lawn season is now upon us.  Warm, humid and wet / moist environmental conditions are ideal for an outbreak of this unsightly lawn disease.  That's all your lawn needs after the lack of rain fall in April and May.

It is fairly easy to prevent an outbreak of this lawn disease.  The majority of lawns were fertilised in the spring months and now the benefit of that feed is wearing off.  Add into the equation that some of the nutrients in the turf grass plants end up in the mower box as grass clippings and you can soon build up a picture as to why the grass may become weak and susceptible to an attack of Red Thread Disease.

Red Thread Disease in you lawn season is now upon us.  Warm, humid and wet / moist environmental conditions are ideal for an outbreak of this unsightly lawn disease.  That's all your lawn needs after the lack of rain fall in April and May.

It is fairly easy to prevent an outbreak of this lawn disease.  The majority of lawns were fertilised in the spring months and now the benefit of that feed is wearing off.  Add into the equation that some of the nutrients in the turf grass plants end up in the mower box as grass clippings and you can soon build up a picture as to why the grass may become weak and susceptible to an attack of Red Thread Disease.

Make Garden Treatments Visible

When lawn owners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner. 

Turf Managers also use what is called a foam bout marker on their large sprayers which leaves a trace blob of foam down the travelled run of the fairway so that the operator can match up with the last pass on the return run.  The foam soon disappears after an hour via sunlight.

 

When lawn owners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner. 

Turf Managers also use what is called a foam bout marker on their large sprayers which leaves a trace blob of foam down the travelled run of the fairway so that the operator can match up with the last pass on the return run.  The foam soon disappears after an hour via sunlight.

When lawn owners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner. 

Turf Managers also use what is called a foam bout marker on their large sprayers which leaves a trace blob of foam down the travelled run of the fairway so that the operator can match up with the last pass on the return run.  The foam soon disappears after an hour via sunlight.

When lawn owners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner. 

Turf Managers also use what is called a foam bout marker on their large sprayers which leaves a trace blob of foam down the travelled run of the fairway so that the operator can match up with the last pass on the return run.  The foam soon disappears after an hour via sunlight.

When lawn owners make liquid or chemical applications to their lawn, they are faced with a big dilemma - how can they mark where they have sprayed already?

Professional Turf Managers have been using Spray Pattern Indicator Dyes for decades but these have never been widely available before to the amateur lawn owner. 

Turf Managers also use what is called a foam bout marker on their large sprayers which leaves a trace blob of foam down the travelled run of the fairway so that the operator can match up with the last pass on the return run.  The foam soon disappears after an hour via sunlight.

Lawn Advice at it's Best

There are a lot of Landscapers and Gardeners who 'claim' to know a lot about lawn and grass. There are numerous trade suppliers to the industry who specialise in their range of products and advice associated with them.

There has been a steady rise in the establishment of Lawn Treatment Companies over the last few years also adding their bit to the advice bank. So why is it that the advice given to lawn owners varies so much and is often so inaccurate and poor?

There are a lot of Landscapers and Gardeners who 'claim' to know a lot about lawn and grass. There are numerous trade suppliers to the industry who specialise in their range of products and advice associated with them.

There has been a steady rise in the establishment of Lawn Treatment Companies over the last few years also adding their bit to the advice bank. So why is it that the advice given to lawn owners varies so much and is often so inaccurate and poor?

June Lawn Care Tips

We think that June will be the wettest June on record if this spell of wet weather continues.  Having said this, the months of April and May were a bit short in the rainfall figures so nature always has a good way of balancing out.  We feel for the home owners affected by the floods in their local areas.

The summer social season commenced with the Boat Race, then The Derby, The Grand National and then it's Royal Ascot, Boodles Tennis at the Queens Club, Henley Royal Regatta and the Tennis at Wimbledon to name a few.  Don't these people have work to do?

It's a sure bet on the turf at Royal Ascot

It's the start of Royal Ascot today in the Royal County of Berkshire. 

Britain’s most popular race meeting, welcoming approximately 300,000 visitors across the five days and the most valuable race meeting in Britain, with £4.5 million in prize money.  It's the start of the 'summer season' on turf.

Royal Ascot week features seven Group 1 races and eighteen Group races in total and is viewed in over 200 countries with approximately 400 helicopters and 1,000 limos descend on Royal Ascot every year.

 

Delivering year-round lawn care

Nowadays, there is probably nothing that you cannot purchase online. It's pretty easy to get anything you want delivered right to your home or office doorstep - but in a few cases you still have to do the actual shopping and curating for yourself.

That's where subscription boxes come in and this concept is very popular.  For either a monthly/quarterly or a per-delivery fee, you can now have someone else handle the shopping list and shipping, and all you have to do is sit back and get a box full of cool stuff in each delivery.

Nowadays, there is probably nothing that you cannot purchase online. It's pretty easy to get anything you want delivered right to your home or office doorstep - but in a few cases you still have to do the actual shopping and curating for yourself.

That's where subscription boxes come in and this concept is very popular.  For either a monthly/quarterly or a per-delivery fee, you can now have someone else handle the shopping list and shipping, and all you have to do is sit back and get a box full of cool stuff in each delivery.

Controlling Yellow Suckling Clover

Weeds in your lawn are a nightmare. One particular weed that is prevalent at this time of year is Lesser Trefoil or Yellow Suckling Clover.  It looks like a small leafed clover type weed that creeps close to the ground covering large areas from a single root. Left uncontrolled, it will quickly spread across the surface of a lawn. It is one of the more difficult weed to control in a lawn.

Trifolium dubium is a procumbent summer annual found in UK lawns and also open ground. It is common throughout Britain and is recorded up to 1,600 ft. Two distinct forms occur, one found in open habitats on cinders and spoil, the other on grassland sites, waysides, wasteland and on lawns. In lawns it survives mowing by developing a low growth habit, missing the mower blades. On grazed sites this is less successful and it is not a common weed in pasture.

Get your lawns fertilised now!

It is the Summer Season on the Turf!  With Ascot Races on next week the social season has started for many.  All we now is a return to the fine and sunny weather!

With some welcome rainfall for many a lawn and gardeners over the weekend, there is a lot of Red Thread Disease cropping up on lawns in the South East and it is now time to give your lawns their second feed of the year.  Make good use of the rain forecast for this week to get your lawns in tip top condition for the middle summer months.  Best dig the BBQ out and see if it is in good order for that surprise BBQ on a warm summers evening!

It is the Summer Season on the Turf!  With Ascot Races on next week the social season has started for many.  All we now is a return to the fine and sunny weather!

With some welcome rainfall for many a lawn and gardeners over the weekend, there is a lot of Red Thread Disease cropping up on lawns in the South East and it is now time to give your lawns their second feed of the year.  Make good use of the rain forecast for this week to get your lawns in tip top condition for the middle summer months.  Best dig the BBQ out and see if it is in good order for that surprise BBQ on a warm summers evening!