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

How to Scarify a Lawn

Scarification or Scarifying is an essential part of cultured turf or lawn management. It is carried out with hand tools such as a Spring Bok Hand Rake or, for larger areas, purpose built machinery called a Scarifier.

The aim of scarifying is to produce a healthy vertical type growth of desirable grasses, to improve the turf surface and appearance. Very light scarification (like with a drag brush or rake on a cylinder mower) is used simply to raise the leaves of the grass in the sward before mowing, to leave a smarter looking finish.

When is the best time to scarify your lawn?

We are noticing a lot of traffic generated on the site about scarifying your lawn.

The quick answer is do not attempt to scarify the lawn until you have given the lawn its first mow of the season. At such time, your lawn must be able to put on some natural recovery growth so performing this important mechanical lawn task too early in the year is complete madness and not very good for your lawn either.

There are still some lawn treatment companies who insist on scarifying a lawn in the winter and early spring months when there is no growth potential to aid recovery.

Mole Invasion Expected

This year’s early mole invasion is something we’re likely to see a lot more often.

With Spring almost here, many of us are wondering what sort of Summer it will turn out to be. Wet or Dry? Cold? or warmish like last year?  Early indications are that Easter might be sunny and warm.

The volatility of the British climate is legendary; 2011 was a remarkably dry year (East Anglia was officially classed as a drought area by DEFRA), yet in 2012 we experienced the UK’s second wettest year since national records began in 1910. We have also had heavy rainfall throughout this winter to almost match the wettest winter in England and Wales since 1766 experienced a couple of years ago.

Expert Lawn Advice reaches 800

The Team at Grass Clippings are pleased to boast that lawn owners have at their disposal on this Lawn Blog a staggering 800 lawn related technical pages covering the wide technical subject of lawns and their care. This Lawn Blog is living up to it's name -'Grass Clippings - Home of the British Lawn.'

Whether you are after a little bit of advice on spring, annual and autumn lawn care, or lawn pests, or some advice on controlling moss, scarifying your lawn or the source of a reputable turf supplier, you will find all the answers here on this lawn advice site.

Start mowing your lawn ... now!

The weather has taken a turn for the better over the past week with temperatures across parts of the UK a warm 13 degrees.

Time to think about mowing your lawn for the first time this year if remains dry and the ground is firm.

Lawns have greened up a little naturally over the past few weeks heralding the start of spring.  A light topping with the lawn mower in the next couple of weeks will encourage spring growth and also improve the visual appearance of the garden that has suffered the ravages of a hard winter.

Giant Earthworms invade Aussie home

Americans are usually renowned for exaggerating how big things are in their country, but there’s no need for this in Australia – not when you’ve got earthworms the size of snakes.

This is what the Simoneau family found out when they spotted two giant earthworms near their Buderim home on the Sunshine Coast.

Spring Lawn Weed Control

The weeds will soon be out in great abundance now the sunshine is out, probably on your lawn too! 

You will very shortly see your first Dandelion in flower and surrounding Daisies enjoying the spring sunshine. Soon after, the first crop of Dandelions will go to seed, these seeds blowing in the wind, settling in your lawn, ready to develop into the next crop of weeds.

Spring weather has arrived a little later early this year, but the RHS state that the growing cycle of garden plants is almost two weeks compared to last year.

Every Mowers' shed is his castle

If you are thinking of dusting down the lawn mower this coming weekend and firing it up for the first cut of the year, spare a thought for the surrounds of the humble garden shed.

Perhaps you may wish to enter it for the 2015 Cuprinol Shed of the Year competetion?  Current entrants include a castle, bar, nightclub, diner, beach hut and pirate ship

The popular competetion sponspored by wood and fence treatment specialist company Cuprinol.

Causes of moss in lawns

It's that time of year again when gardeners re discover their lawns or covering of moss.  It's been a really wet winter with almost 400mm of rain in the last 5 months, thats 16" old money.

Moss and Moss control in lawns is a practice normally performed in the autumn and spring lawn care months. If the grass plants activity has thinned or weakened over the past 12 months, now is the time to start Moss control and eradication and some mechanical operations just ahead of over seeding the lawn to turn the tide on the moss and re populate with existing or new grasses whilst the soil is still warm.

Spray Operative tragedy at Celtic Manor Resort

It has been confirmed that a national weed control business operative, yesterday died at the Celtic Manor resort in Wales, following an incident that saw a spraying vehicle roll into a lake on the Twenty Ten Course.

The incident is clearly subject to an on-going investigation, which Complete Weed Control and Celtic Manor are co-operating with fully.  A further statement will be issued in due course from Complete Weed Control.

Earthworms in Lawns - Friend or Foe?

There are a lot of internet searches that match our blog title of killing earthworms, and we are sure that the searcher does not really mean to actually kill them.  We hope not!

Gardeners and lawn owners alike will appreciate the work of the humble earthworm in breaking down the organic matter in the soil, a bit like mini cultivators if you have ever seen worms working in a compost wormery.  They really can shift some incredible amounts of soil and quickly turn a bucket of kitchen green waste into some pretty useful friable compost in a very short time.

Stripy Green Lawns

We have all seen it - stripy lawns where a lawn fertiliser has been incorrectly applied.

A bit like the picture of the lawn shown here. It is important to learn how to fertilise a lawn so that you encourage even and consistent growth and colour and plant health.

The problem arises when you have the job of trying to match in the light and dark bands of grass without over application of a lawn fertiliser.

Blooming Lawns in The South East

South & South East in Bloom is part of the Britain in Bloom, campaign  where Boroughs, communities, residents, businesses can work together to improve their  environment.

 

They have three main objectives:

 

1. See an increase in the number of people involved in gardening and horticulture and to see the standard maintained or rise wherever possible.