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

Controlling Red Thread Disease on your Lawn

Red Thread Disease can appear in the early to late summer, especially seen on lawns of low fertility, especially Nitrogen.

Identification:

This disease is now thought to be a combination or complex of two fungal species:

1. a) L.fuciformis – Red Thread – where the red needles are present
   b) L.fuciformis – Pink Patch – where the pink mycelium is present.

Train Yourself in The Safe Use of Pesticides

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.

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 Care is a Science

The Team at Grass Clippings are pleased to boast that lawn owners have at their disposal on this Lawn Blog over 1,590 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.'

Our lawn advice blog site site is almost at the grand total of over 3,000,000 technical posts having been read by Visitors seeking sound advice on their green swards.

Whether you are after a little bit of advice on summer 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.

 

 

Controlling Ants in your Lawn

Ants are a right pain in the grass when they get into your lawn.

Their season is really short but the mess thay can make building their nests can only resemble a battle field of soil mounts that create a bumpy and uneven service.

There are many ant control products that range from a foam / powder / gel.

We have heard some great results from this brand - Combat Ant Killer

Lawn Quality - What do you want?

Don't get scared about your lawn and what to do to it each month.

At the end of the day, it depends on what type of lawn you are after:

• Basic – Moss | Feed | Weed
• Better – Basic | Scarification | Aeration
• Best – Better | Over Seed | Top Dress

Lawn Care for the Bank Holiday Weekend

We think that this May will be the wettest May on record if this spell of wet weather continues.  Having said this, the month of April was a bit short in the rainfall figures so nature always has a good way of balancing out.  With 24 days on the calendar for May, only 4 have not featured rainfall but there is sunlight at the end of the tunnel because after the Bank Holiday weekend, the weather is forecast to be getting much better, warmer and dryer.

In a normal year without pandemic restrictions, the summer social season would have 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.  It's a bit different this year for us all.  Whilst the high society are usually quaffing Champagne at summer events, let's take a look at some of the lawn care tasks their at home gardening teams will be performing in their absence:

Should we BAN mowing lawns to save bees?

TV gardener Diarmuid Gavin has urged Britons to stop mowing their lawns in order to help the environment after being inspired by Greta Thunberg. 

The Chelsea Flower Show host, 57, appeared on Good Morning Britain today to debate whether people should let their gardens run wild to create habitats for bees to pollinate. 

Irish-born garden designer Diarmuid says weeds and dandelions should be 'encouraged' because lawns are 'deserts' in terms of biodiversity and gardens are often the 'last refuge of wildlife'.

How to become a Lawn Expert

There are a lot of people in all professions who claim to be an 'expert' and the lawn care and lawn treatment industry is no exception to this rule.

An individual with extensive skill and or knowledge in a particular field is said to be an expert.

An expert might be of interest or value to journalist needing information, comment or an interview for a news story or feature as this gets the journalist right to the spot they need to be for their story, saving them a lot of leg work, time and money. The internet has made a researcher’s job so much easier over the last two decades.

Old Farmers paid to retire

Old farmers are set to be paid up to £100,000 to retire in a bid to freshen the industry with newer workers who are keen on green methods reports The Daily Mail.

Environment Secretary Geroge Eustice believes that some older farmers are hesitant to employ new green methods. 

And because of Brexit, farmers can receive a higher payout compared to when Britain was in the EU.

Pesticide Training at Home

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.

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.

April Showers, a Month Late!

Britain is set for a warm and sunny week; the Daily Mail reports with temperatures hitting nearly 20C in some areas – but the milder weather is likely to be interspersed with rain, hail and thunder.

Forecasters joked that April showers were 'a month late' as the Met Office predicted the South of England could see highs of 18C today, while northern regions areas are expected to reach 16C.

Temperatures were already at 12C in East Anglia by 7am today on what was the first frost free morning for at least a fortnight, while the rest of the UK was also mild with the mercury between 8C and 11C.

Is it really May? Feels like Winter out there

It still feels like winter out there and we have not yet seen the spring burst of grass growth.  April was the third coldest April in almost 140 years, the Met Office has said, and had the lowest average minimum temperature since 1922.

April was also the frostiest and driest on record. The Met Office said just 4.7mm of rainfall had fallen in England since the start of the month. The driest on record is 1938, when there was just 6.7mm of rain.  We have now had some decent rain to help lift the lawns out of the winbter doldrums.

Soluble Iron to Retard Moss and Colour Up Lawns

We all prefer a weekend when the weather is a little kinder and this coming weekend is not scheduled to be much of a get out in the garden weekend for most with some wind and rain forecast.  It is still so cold!

If you do get chance to get outside and inspect your garden and lawn, try and spare a thought of how you plan to get the lawn out of the winter doldrums.

To help you - some Soluble Iron to retard any Winter moss and give the lawn a bit of colour would help greatly.

The Solution to Worm Casts on Lawns

There are a lot of lawns being ruined by worm casts with recent rainfall, with multi sticky mounds of soil coming through the lawn.

Earthworm infestations can be massive, with many thousands per every 100 square metres.

It is not the worms that are directly the problem, but their castings on your lawn. 

There are a lot of lawns being ruined by worm casts with recent rainfall, with multi sticky mounds of soil coming through the lawn.

Earthworm infestations can be massive, with many thousands per every 100 square metres.

It is not the worms that are directly the problem, but their castings on your lawn. 

Horrified TV Gardener Stefan Buczacki cuts down Monty Don on Lawn Advice

Monty Don said publicly yesterday that Gardeners should not mow their lawns.  'I encourage people not to have lawns,’ he said. ‘Cutting grass burns lots of fossil fuel, makes a filthy noise and is about the most injurious thing you can do to wildlife.’

Professor Stefan Buczacki, a former chairman of Radio 4’s Gardeners’ Question Time states in his response to Monty Don in The Daily Mail  'It is estimated that the total area of lawn in the UK covers 2,000 square kilometres, or about half a million acres. That’s an area about the size of Worcestershire, divided up unequally into 20 million gardens, most with a lawn which is after all the carpet of the room outside.'