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

When will it rain to help your lawns?

The lawns in the South East of the United Kingdom are in drought conditions now.  

March was a very dry month with only 39mm of rain falling in Woking, Surrey compared to 94mm last March.  April has so far been exceptionally for an April Showers months with only 15.4mm compared to 61mm last year.

With multi lawns still suffering with bare areas as a result of last years drought and high temperature, the current dry weather is not really helping anyone trying to renovate lawns.

Lawn Advice from The Lawn Shop

The weather has been a bit dry with only 13 days of rain in March and some ultra high temperatures last Easter Weekend peaking at 26.4 degrees centigrade and only 5 days of rain in the month to date giving us 14.6mm and today is the 25th of April.  Madness, and not really helpful to lawn owners and Gardeners.

You should be well into the swing of mowing your lawns now but we are not really confident that we have seen the spring rush of growth.  A lot of lawn owners are holding back applying lawn treatments like fertiliser and weed killer as the lawns are quite stressed.  You should avoid applying lawn products in times of drought and a drought is defined as 13 days of no rain and we are will into this time frame now.

Controlling Ants with Combat Max

We love our Readers, especially when they pass us useful tips of advice.  Here is one from one loyal reader about a new product to control Ants in your home and garden.

Advion ant bait is apparently exceptional for getting rid of ants in your house.

It's not available in the UK but a similar product is called combat Max. It's a bait that slowly posions the ants. So slow in fact that they carry it back to the best and die there. Ants eat their dead so the dead and infects the rest of the colony eventually wiping it out.

Unfortunately, as mentioned above, the nests tend to come back a couple of week short later so it does turn into quite an expensive way to treat them. But it is EFFECTIVE!

Pesticide Training Modules Available for Self-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?

This week, we have been training at a Local Authority, which was fun as it was a bit cold doing the practical for PA6A Knapsack!  We survived!  If you do not have time to take work time off for training, there is an alternative service we can provide for candidates needing their NPTC paperwork.  Read on:

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?

This week, we have been training at a Local Authority, which was fun as it was a bit cold doing the practical for PA6A Knapsack!  We survived!  If you do not have time to take work time off for training, there is an alternative service we can provide for candidates needing their NPTC paperwork.  Read on:

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?

This week, we have been training at a Local Authority, which was fun as it was a bit cold doing the practical for PA6A Knapsack!  We survived!  If you do not have time to take work time off for training, there is an alternative service we can provide for candidates needing their NPTC paperwork.  Read on:

Managing Editor is a RHS Lawn and Turf Speaker & Judge

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn industry.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn industry.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn industry.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn industry.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton, is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship and has had an extensive career in the turf and lawn industry.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party. The lawn is after all the carpet of the room outside and the lawn is often the largest part of the garden and the most neglected by many.'  

Mike has been included in the Royal Horticultural Society Speaker and Judge online listings to give talks about lawns or judge lawns and turf at gardening shows.

The solution to lawn worm casts - endorsed by lawn owners

CastClear is a NEW organic and unique combination of nutrient materials that have been clearly shown to reduce lawn soil-cast levels on lawns large and small.

It's the Solution to lawn soil cast problems and has been selling in Garden Centres since the autumn of 2011 with over 15,000 Litres sold to date.  It's a lawn soil cast suppressant and a deterrent. It's proven in control on both lawns and sports turf. 

It is unique in using a surfactant system that moves the nutrient into the upper soil structure and fixes it there providing good persistence of deterrent effect until breaking down to natural nutrients absorbed by plant roots. 

Here are a few testimonials from users of CastClear.  Please don't accept our words on how CastClear can resolve your Earthworm Casts problems. 

CastClear is a NEW organic and unique combination of nutrient materials that have been clearly shown to reduce lawn soil-cast levels on lawns large and small.

It's the Solution to lawn soil cast problems and has been selling in Garden Centres since the autumn of 2011 with over 15,000 Litres sold to date.  It's a lawn soil cast suppressant and a deterrent. It's proven in control on both lawns and sports turf. 

It is unique in using a surfactant system that moves the nutrient into the upper soil structure and fixes it there providing good persistence of deterrent effect until breaking down to natural nutrients absorbed by plant roots. 

Here are a few testimonials from users of CastClear.  Please don't accept our words on how CastClear can resolve your Earthworm Casts problems. 

Spring your Lawn into Life

With the Country currently in the grips of Storm Gareth, the weather is hardly encouranging people to get outside to make a start on their gardens through fear of being hit by a stray branch debris or a roof tile. Hard hats at the ready!

Still, thinking back to last year and the 'Beast from the East', with a zero spring-time, this March has been a whole lot better so let's not complain about the weather quite yet.  The weather was so nice and sunny a few weeks back.

With the Country currently in the grips of Storm Gareth, the weather is hardly encouranging people to get outside to make a start on their gardens through fear of being hit by a stray branch debris or a roof tile. Hard hats at the ready!

Still, thinking back to last year and the 'Beast from the East', with a zero spring-time, this March has been a whole lot better so let's not complain about the weather quite yet.  The weather was so nice and sunny a few weeks back.

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.

CastClear Amenity tackling earthworm casts in Sports Turf

CastClear Amenity is the specialist larger unit of sale of the ever popular Garden Retail product CastClear for the specialist Amenity Horticulture and Sports Turf sectors now that the pesticide Carbendazim has had it's registration revoked by the EU and UK Parliaments with available stocks to have be used up by 31 August 2017 under the ruling.

Professional Sportsturf Managers really struggled last autumn and again this spring to find a long established, proven and reliable solution to control earthworm casts on sports turf and CastClear is well placed to help their needs in controlling earthworm casts on their playing surfaces.

CastClear Amenity is the specialist larger unit of sale of the ever popular Garden Retail product CastClear for the specialist Amenity Horticulture and Sports Turf sectors now that the pesticide Carbendazim has had it's registration revoked by the EU and UK Parliaments with available stocks to have be used up by 31 August 2017 under the ruling.

Professional Sportsturf Managers really struggled last autumn and again this spring to find a long established, proven and reliable solution to control earthworm casts on sports turf and CastClear is well placed to help their needs in controlling earthworm casts on their playing surfaces.

CastClear Amenity is the specialist larger unit of sale of the ever popular Garden Retail product CastClear for the specialist Amenity Horticulture and Sports Turf sectors now that the pesticide Carbendazim has had it's registration revoked by the EU and UK Parliaments with available stocks to have be used up by 31 August 2017 under the ruling.

Professional Sportsturf Managers really struggled last autumn and again this spring to find a long established, proven and reliable solution to control earthworm casts on sports turf and CastClear is well placed to help their needs in controlling earthworm casts on their playing surfaces.

New 2019 Retail Carton for CastClear® arrives in Garden Centres!

CastClear® is a proven combination of both organic and unique nutrient materials large and small. It's the solution to lawn worm cast problems and has been selling in Garden Centres since the autumn of 2011 via 450 retail stockists. To enhance further retail sales CastClear® is rolling out a smart new retail carton this year into the garden retail sector this spring.  The first batches have been received at stockist garden centres.

The new 1,000ml CastClear® retail cartons are off the press this week and heading to a Garden Centre near you!  Look out for them in the lawn care section and you too could be enjoying a worm cast free lawn with CastClear®

CastClear® is a proven combination of both organic and unique nutrient materials large and small. It's the solution to lawn worm cast problems and has been selling in Garden Centres since the autumn of 2011 via 450 retail stockists. To enhance further retail sales CastClear® is rolling out a smart new retail carton this year into the garden retail sector this spring.  The first batches have been received at stockist garden centres.

The new 1,000ml CastClear® retail cartons are off the press this week and heading to a Garden Centre near you!  Look out for them in the lawn care section and you too could be enjoying a worm cast free lawn with CastClear®

CastClear® is a proven combination of both organic and unique nutrient materials large and small. It's the solution to lawn worm cast problems and has been selling in Garden Centres since the autumn of 2011 via 450 retail stockists. To enhance further retail sales CastClear® is rolling out a smart new retail carton this year into the garden retail sector this spring.  The first batches have been received at stockist garden centres.

The new 1,000ml CastClear® retail cartons are off the press this week and heading to a Garden Centre near you!  Look out for them in the lawn care section and you too could be enjoying a worm cast free lawn with CastClear®

CastClear® is a proven combination of both organic and unique nutrient materials large and small. It's the solution to lawn worm cast problems and has been selling in Garden Centres since the autumn of 2011 via 450 retail stockists. To enhance further retail sales CastClear® is rolling out a smart new retail carton this year into the garden retail sector this spring.  The first batches have been received at stockist garden centres.

The new 1,000ml CastClear® retail cartons are off the press this week and heading to a Garden Centre near you!  Look out for them in the lawn care section and you too could be enjoying a worm cast free lawn with CastClear®

CastClear® is a proven combination of both organic and unique nutrient materials large and small. It's the solution to lawn worm cast problems and has been selling in Garden Centres since the autumn of 2011 via 450 retail stockists. To enhance further retail sales CastClear® is rolling out a smart new retail carton this year into the garden retail sector this spring.  The first batches have been received at stockist garden centres.

The new 1,000ml CastClear® retail cartons are off the press this week and heading to a Garden Centre near you!  Look out for them in the lawn care section and you too could be enjoying a worm cast free lawn with CastClear®

Nematodes are a simple and effective way to control multi garden pests

Forget about the once complicated and daunting world of pest control; the modern domestic gardener uses the sophisticated, yet simple, biological method of simply watering on nematodes.

Nematodes are micro-organisms which occur naturally in the soil where they hunt down and attack pests, with each nematode species having its own specific prey, meaning that they will harm their prey, and only their prey.  BASF has the largest specialist nematode production facility in the EU – and the only one in Britain - growing trillions of beneficial nematodes for use in their Nemasys range of pest controls.

Forget about the once complicated and daunting world of pest control; the modern domestic gardener uses the sophisticated, yet simple, biological method of simply watering on nematodes.

Nematodes are micro-organisms which occur naturally in the soil where they hunt down and attack pests, with each nematode species having its own specific prey, meaning that they will harm their prey, and only their prey.  BASF has the largest specialist nematode production facility in the EU – and the only one in Britain - growing trillions of beneficial nematodes for use in their Nemasys range of pest controls.

Forget about the once complicated and daunting world of pest control; the modern domestic gardener uses the sophisticated, yet simple, biological method of simply watering on nematodes.

Nematodes are micro-organisms which occur naturally in the soil where they hunt down and attack pests, with each nematode species having its own specific prey, meaning that they will harm their prey, and only their prey.  BASF has the largest specialist nematode production facility in the EU – and the only one in Britain - growing trillions of beneficial nematodes for use in their Nemasys range of pest controls.

Service your Lawn Mower now!

Spare a thought for your lawn mower.  It's been in the garage or shed getting cold and damp for the past couple of months yet yearing to get back out there soon and get to work.  But what happens if it fails to turn over and spark into life?  

The world famous lawn mower engine manufacturers Briggs & Stratton have some handy tips to help the lawn owner should problems arise. 

Always read the manufacturers manual / handbook before attempting anything and remove the spark plug lead from the spark plug.

Spare a thought for your lawn mower.  It's been in the garage or shed getting cold and damp for the past couple of months yet yearing to get back out there soon and get to work.  But what happens if it fails to turn over and spark into life?  

The world famous lawn mower engine manufacturers Briggs & Stratton have some handy tips to help the lawn owner should problems arise. 

Always read the manufacturers manual / handbook before attempting anything and remove the spark plug lead from the spark plug.

Spare a thought for your lawn mower.  It's been in the garage or shed getting cold and damp for the past couple of months yet yearing to get back out there soon and get to work.  But what happens if it fails to turn over and spark into life?  

The world famous lawn mower engine manufacturers Briggs & Stratton have some handy tips to help the lawn owner should problems arise. 

Always read the manufacturers manual / handbook before attempting anything and remove the spark plug lead from the spark plug.

Time to become a CastClear Stockist

We get a lot of the Garden Retail Trade referring to our lawn advice blog to their customers and a lot of garden professionals reading it too.  We thank you all!

If you are a garden retail outlet servicing gardeners with lawns then you should be stocking CastClear - the lawn worm cast suppressant and deterrent as they will all have a lawn worm cast problem.  It's a problem that all lawn owners face in the autumn months.

We get a lot of the Garden Retail Trade referring to our lawn advice blog to their customers and a lot of garden professionals reading it too.  We thank you all!

If you are a garden retail outlet servicing gardeners with lawns then you should be stocking CastClear - the lawn worm cast suppressant and deterrent as they will all have a lawn worm cast problem.  It's a problem that all lawn owners face in the autumn months.

We get a lot of the Garden Retail Trade referring to our lawn advice blog to their customers and a lot of garden professionals reading it too.  We thank you all!

If you are a garden retail outlet servicing gardeners with lawns then you should be stocking CastClear - the lawn worm cast suppressant and deterrent as they will all have a lawn worm cast problem.  It's a problem that all lawn owners face in the autumn months.

We get a lot of the Garden Retail Trade referring to our lawn advice blog to their customers and a lot of garden professionals reading it too.  We thank you all!

If you are a garden retail outlet servicing gardeners with lawns then you should be stocking CastClear - the lawn worm cast suppressant and deterrent as they will all have a lawn worm cast problem.  It's a problem that all lawn owners face in the autumn months.

We get a lot of the Garden Retail Trade referring to our lawn advice blog to their customers and a lot of garden professionals reading it too.  We thank you all!

If you are a garden retail outlet servicing gardeners with lawns then you should be stocking CastClear - the lawn worm cast suppressant and deterrent as they will all have a lawn worm cast problem.  It's a problem that all lawn owners face in the autumn months.

Lawn Shop open this weekend

The weather is a bit up and down and not over favourable to head off out into the garden to see how it has survived the winter doldrums.

We have seen a few mowers being warmed up on our travels but these are in the minority.  The majority of lawns are still looking a bit tatty with winter debris over them but our Managing Editor has given his lawns a bit of a sprng time trim to tidy them up so there is hope for the rest of us now!

The weather is a bit up and down and not over favourable to head off out into the garden to see how it has survived the winter doldrums.

We have seen a few mowers being warmed up on our travels but these are in the minority.  The majority of lawns are still looking a bit tatty with winter debris over them but our Managing Editor has given his lawns a bit of a sprng time trim to tidy them up so there is hope for the rest of us now!

The Lawn Shop has had the decorators in

The Team at The Lawn Shop have been busy over the winter months undertaking a major re design of their busy, well used and respected online lawn care products shop.

We have made it more advice based with some great seasonal categories with tips for that time of year and a well resourced advice section to aid lawn owners in their quest for a better lawn.

There are also some great lawn care products in the online lawn shop, as used by professionals such as the slow release fertilisers and lawn moss control products and grass seed. 

The Lawn Company Team with over 34 years of turf and lawn care knowledge under their belts, continue to develop new and innovative lawn care products to solve the dilemas of domestic lawn owners in the UK and futher afield.  These include CastClear and Indigo Garden Spray Dye