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

Spring your lawn into life

Spring is traditionally the time of year when the majority of lawn owners will apply a 3 in one lawn product to their lawn.

More often than not, this spring treatment is the ONLY nutritional application that will be made to the lawn throughout the year.

There should be a further 3 treatments but include a couple of fertiliser only applications! Nitrogen encourages colour, vegetative growth and some density of the grass sward.

Notcutts Group become CastClear stockists

Notcutts are lucky enough to have been supplying plants to gardens across the country for over a century. They're strong believers in doing something you love. And there’s nothing they love more than rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in caring for, talking about and selling plants. They care about gardening and care about helping gardeners. After all, they should - we've been doing it for a long time!

Today, they became stockists of the lawn worm cast deterrent CastClear, the solution to lawn worm casts. CastClear is a NEW organic and unique combination of nutrient materials that have been clearly shown to reduce worm-cast levels on lawns large and small.

EU ruling to make lawnmower insurance compulsory

There are few things Britons take greater pride in than a well-trimmed swathe of lustrous lawn. 

But caring for your treasured turf could be about to become much more expensive – thanks to a ruling from (you guessed it) Europe. 

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin has been warned that Brussels may soon require anyone using a ride-on mower to take out motor insurance – even if they never take it near a road.

Call to ban smoking in public parks

Smoking in parks and squares should be banned to help people quit and stop young people seeing adults lighting up, experts have said.

Health officials say the move would allow people to enjoy clean air and exercise in the public spaces - and most importantly, dissuade others from taking up the habit.

But critics have called the move 'draconian' and say there is no evidence of any health risks from second hand smoke in such large areas.

When to start mowing

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.

To circumnavigate the question slightly, it is probably best to give a little checklist of what to look for and how to gauge the timing.

Being a Lawn Specialist

Our Managing Editor, Mike Seaton is a Fellow Member of The Institute of Groundsmanship and talks about his time in the turf and lawn industry.

'Being a lawn specialist is a bit like being a Doctor at a party.

A friend of mine is a Doctor, who when at a social gathering where the majority of people do not know he is a Doctor (as they have never met him before) enquires as to his profession; he tells them that he is an Undertaker.  This action stops the deluge of questions seeking advice on a particular health matter or problem.

Being into grass and lawns is exactly the same for me.  I keep a folded up £20.00 note in my wallet for the first person who spontaneously informs me that they have a great lawn when the conversation gets round to my profession. 

Quality Turf is so important

Laying a lawn is just like home DIY. You must ensure that the quality of the paint applied to the walls is the best you can afford.

The same applies to lawn turf. Just because it looks green in the turf field does not mean that it is quality lawn turf. Like paint, you get what you pay for.

If you want a meadow lawn then some locally grown meadow turf from a local Farmer will suffice. Should you want a lawn of quality from the onset then buying turf from a reputable supplier is so important as it will meet numerous quality standards before it leaves the field en route to you.

Turf or Grass Seed?

A trip to your local garden centre or DIY outlet may be a bit daunting when viewing the shelves of grass seed and selecting one to suit the needs of your lawn.

If your lawn has thinned over the winter months, why not over seed it.  The results will speak for themselves in money well spent and if you do not do all you can to improve turf density, the moss and weeds will soon take over! You have been warned.

Time to buy a Goat!

Happy Chinese New Year!  Time to bid goodbye to the year of the horse, and say nin hao to the year of the goat. Or ram. Or sheep.

In Mandarin the symbol yang means 'horned animal' and covers all three of those animals, so no one is really sure which it is meant to be.

Goats are social animals, however unlike sheep, who they are closely related to, they are not flock-orientated. They also eat a lot of grass.  Is it time to replace the lawn mower with a four legged sward lover?  Nice idea but they tend to eat anything, including your washing!

Bowled over but not out

They are usually to be found battling it out on the pitch. But this is the glamorous side to the England women’s cricket team.

Posing in dazzling gowns alongside a selection of bats, balls and wickets, the squad were granted special permission to have their photo taken in the historic Long Room at Lord’s.

The players, who are currently on tour in New Zealand, have enjoyed a remarkable run of victories.

Lawn nightmares

'At Grass Clippings, we receive many emails and messages from lawn owners seeking our help with their nightmare lawn.  Below is a typical enquiry received.

'I am writing for advice regarding a turfed lawn that I had laid last year in a medium size family rear garden, unfortunately it all turned out to be disaster which is another story but now I find myself in a situation that I believe the lawn is unrecoverable and any advice would be welcome.  After much work the turf was laid flat and was very green and lush, no weeds and looked top quality, very springy underfoot and with regular watering grew well. 

After a few months, I saw growth thinning out  and now there seems to be just as much bare patches of black soil as thinned out grass,  the soil is quite heavy with clay about a foot down. 

CastClear at The Garden Press Event

CastClear from The Lawn Company recently met members of the garden media at The Garden Press Event held in The Barbican, London last Thursday 12^th February.

It was the second year The Lawn Company Team had attended this popular show to promote CastClear, the solution to lawn worm casts.

“The Garden Press Event is a really great opportunity to put your products in front of so many media people and for us it’s important to support our 236 current stockists of CastClear,” said Mike Seaton, Managing Director of The Lawn Company, who developed the non-pesticide product for garden retail.

Spring lawn care products

The Team and The Lawn Shop are keeping busy getting spring lawn care treatment products orders out to lawn owners.

The customer base in the on line lawn shop has grown as quick as grass with some fertiliser on it as has the range of products in the shop to assist in the creating of a healthy and desirable lawn for it's customers, amateur, semi professional and professional looking after lawns large and small across the country.

The magic of Snowdrops

Our Managing Editor was out visiting a client's lawn this week and spotted his first Snowdrops of the year.  How great they looked in a frost bound garden! 

Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) are perennial flowering plants native to large parts of Europe.  Found in many woodlands, churchyards, parks and gardens, snowdrops are some of the first bulbs of the year to bloom. 

This early flowering, which carpets the ground between January and April, is aided by hardened leaf tips that can push through frozen soil.  The downside to flowering in winter is that pollinating insects are scarce, so these little drops of snow spread mainly through bulb division.

Solving Mole Problems with a Beagle

Beagle is a British company that provides an easy, effective solution to unwanted moles in your lawns.

Moles to be honest are great mammals but a bit of a pain in the rear when they mess up your lawn with their mounds of soil on the surface.

Their pest control products are designed and manufactured exclusively in the UK to the highest quality standards. They should last you a life-time, and should be a pleasure to use.

Further innovative, high quality garden products are in development, each of which will make a real difference to the way you maintain your garden.