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

Solving a wet lawn problem

We get a lot of emails and also comments from lawn owners seeking advice on their lawns and this lawn advice blog is our initial technical outlet and first port of call for lawn owners seeking lawn advice. 

There are over 1,300 technical articles to help you with your lawn so please do use the lawn advice blog search facility before posting a comment or emailing us as you are going to find the answer to the most common lawn problems from the comfort of your armchair or desk.

When you cannot find the answer, please feel free to post a comment and this will find us and we can respond on this blog or privately.  The question and answers email below is a good example of the help we provided to one recent lawn owner who had posted a comment about a soggy lawn -

We get a lot of emails and also comments from lawn owners seeking advice on their lawns and this lawn advice blog is our initial technical outlet and first port of call for lawn owners seeking lawn advice. 

There are over 1,300 technical articles to help you with your lawn so please do use the lawn advice blog search facility before posting a comment or emailing us as you are going to find the answer to the most common lawn problems from the comfort of your armchair or desk.

When you cannot find the answer, please feel free to post a comment and this will find us and we can respond on this blog or privately.  The question and answers email below is a good example of the help we provided to one recent lawn owner who had posted a comment about a soggy lawn -

English are obsessed with their lawns

Lawns are an English obsession reports Clive Aslet, Editor at Large of Country Life Magazine, and have been for centuries.

Back in June 2010, the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, a partnership between English Heritage and the London Borough of Hounslow, celebrated the restoration of what has been called "the most important lawn in the country", created when the builder of the Palladian Villa at Chiswick, Lord Burlington, swept away his Baroque garden in the 1730s.

Lawns are an English obsession reports Clive Aslet, Editor at Large of Country Life Magazine, and have been for centuries.

Back in June 2010, the Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, a partnership between English Heritage and the London Borough of Hounslow, celebrated the restoration of what has been called "the most important lawn in the country", created when the builder of the Palladian Villa at Chiswick, Lord Burlington, swept away his Baroque garden in the 1730s.

Happy Thanksgiving to our Readers

While Thanksgiving is one of the biggest events in the American calendar, for us Brits it's always been a little bit of a mystery.

The most exposure many of us get to the holiday is by watching American television series' Thanksgiving-themed episodes - and even those tend to leave us in the dark.

Grass Clippings, the largest lawn advice blog online has many USA and CAN readers and we thank you all for following us. 

Should you stop mowing your lawn in the autumn?

It is a common question we are asked at Grass Clippings and our response is you should never stop mowing your lawn over the autumn or winter months.

The rate of growth and mowing yield will dramatically reduce as the night and day time temperatures drop but the grass will never actually stop growing and you should always be prepared to mow it little and often. The grasses in the lawn much like the plants in the garden do not hibernate over the winter and early spring months - they still grow but so much slower - on tick over.

It is a common question we are asked at Grass Clippings and our response is you should never stop mowing your lawn over the autumn or winter months.

The rate of growth and mowing yield will dramatically reduce as the night and day time temperatures drop but the grass will never actually stop growing and you should always be prepared to mow it little and often. The grasses in the lawn much like the plants in the garden do not hibernate over the winter and early spring months - they still grow but so much slower - on tick over.

It is a common question we are asked at Grass Clippings and our response is you should never stop mowing your lawn over the autumn or winter months.

The rate of growth and mowing yield will dramatically reduce as the night and day time temperatures drop but the grass will never actually stop growing and you should always be prepared to mow it little and often. The grasses in the lawn much like the plants in the garden do not hibernate over the winter and early spring months - they still grow but so much slower - on tick over.

It is a common question we are asked at Grass Clippings and our response is you should never stop mowing your lawn over the autumn or winter months.

The rate of growth and mowing yield will dramatically reduce as the night and day time temperatures drop but the grass will never actually stop growing and you should always be prepared to mow it little and often. The grasses in the lawn much like the plants in the garden do not hibernate over the winter and early spring months - they still grow but so much slower - on tick over.

November Lawn Care Tips

 

At this time of year, the gardening year is coming to an end and from here on now until the spring time, you will be doing everything to the lawn to ensure turf grass cover over the winter months. 

You can have some great gardening days in November so don't be put off by not heading out into the garden to tidy up the autumn leaves and top the lawn, even if it is every two or three weeks.  The grass will not growing so don't put the mower in the shed for the winter quite yet!

 

With the foggy and misty days and little wind, there is a lot of Red Thread Disease and Fusarium Disease around currently.  What we need are a couple of dry days with a stiff wind over the lawn to help dry the surface a little. 

 

At this time of year, the gardening year is coming to an end and from here on now until the spring time, you will be doing everything to the lawn to ensure turf grass cover over the winter months. 

You can have some great gardening days in November so don't be put off by not heading out into the garden to tidy up the autumn leaves and top the lawn, even if it is every two or three weeks.  The grass will not growing so don't put the mower in the shed for the winter quite yet!

 

With the foggy and misty days and little wind, there is a lot of Red Thread Disease and Fusarium Disease around currently.  What we need are a couple of dry days with a stiff wind over the lawn to help dry the surface a little. 

Amazon's Choice Product - Indigo Garden Spray Dye

Indigo Garden Spray Dye is a brand NEW product for Garden Retail and Gardeners.

Indigo Garden Spray Dye, a spray indicator dye is Amazon's choice product, something that we are very pleased to be awarded. A great endorsement for this little wonder product.

How many times have you battled with trying to guess where you have or have not treated using a garden sprayer on your driveway or lawn?

Pesticide Training - Self Study Packs

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

Throw your Lawn a Life-line

If your lawn is looking a little poorly at the end of the dry summer months, throw it a life-line and try and save it before it is too late....

The summer soils are warm and moist, ideal opportunity for getting some new grasses into the lawn. There is still plenty of growing season left in this year to renovate and repair your lawn and plan to get it sorted and put to bed ahead of the winter months.

The process is very easy and flows like one of those flow charts at school - if you are going to blanket over seed your lawn then it does not matter how hard you scalp the lawn or scarify the lawn, if you are not over seeding, do not go too mad otherwise you may not get the recovery from the grasses that are left.   As soon as we get a long term period of frosts, you have lost your opportunity to renovate the lawn following the process below and will have to wait until spring when it is a little warmer and in the more traditional growing season.

Lawn Care Products by Subscription

What is Lawn in a Box? 

It's a kind of Lawn Club where a group of like-minded people whose main focus is to spend time doing what they love = looking after their lawns.

Clubs are very sociable and this fact hasn't changed very much at all over time. As Lawn in a Box gains momentum, there is scope for Member Only benefits and events where you will be invited to attend.  We are open to suggestions from our Members naturally as to what YOU want help with.

Lawn Advice for the Masses

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?

Are Earthworm Casts spoiling your Lawn?

The worms do a splendid job in the soil just beneath the grass crown, but it is a pity that their soil cast deposits pose such a problem for lawn owners.

CastClear is an organic non-pesticide control solution available to domestic lawn owners to deter the worms from casting.   There are only five types of casting worms found in UK lawns. 

Other European countries also suffer worm worm casts on turf.  The problem can be solved  CastClear is the solution to lawn soil casts.

It's Lawn Mushroom Season

Does your lawn have circles in it?  Sometimes, these may be a dark green circle or grass or sometimes with a dead bit of grass in the middle or simply a ring of mushrooms only.  They are all called Fairy Rings.

The fungi responsible for fairy rings in lawns is Marasmius oreades.  Marasmius oreades grows extensively throughout North America and Europe in the summer and fall, or year-round in warmer climates. It loves grassy areas such as lawns, meadows, and even dunes in coastal areas. 

 

Tips on aerating a lawn

Lawn enthusiasts will go to great lengths, not to mention expense, to work on the top surface of their lawn but totally neglect, and in many cases fail to understand, what is necessary below ground to keep the grass roots healthy and aerated.

We can imagine the shopping trolleys at the garden centre full of autumn lawn feed, Sulphate of Iron to combat any moss and perhaps some soil and seed to reinstate low and bare patches where the grass may have failed through the year but I somehow feel that spiking is not on most lawn owners to-do list.

Lawn enthusiasts will go to great lengths, not to mention expense, to work on the top surface of their lawn but totally neglect, and in many cases fail to understand, what is necessary below ground to keep the grass roots healthy and aerated.

We can imagine the shopping trolleys at the garden centre full of autumn lawn feed, Sulphate of Iron to combat any moss and perhaps some soil and seed to reinstate low and bare patches where the grass may have failed through the year but I somehow feel that spiking is not on most lawn owners to-do list.

Autumn Lawn Care Top 10 Tips

The night time temperatures have started to drop and there is news of snow and frost in the media so time to light the fire and dig out your thickest woolen jumper as we head into autumn.  Did we have a summer?  The grass growth has naturally slowed and you can get away with mowing twice a month now instead of weekly with mowing yields down too.

Don't make the assumption that you can forget about the lawn at the end of October until March as such a thought is foolish.  Autumn can be a busy time in the garden and there is still time to renovate your lawn and get it ship shape for next spring time.

The night time temperatures have started to drop and there is news of snow and frost in the media so time to light the fire and dig out your thickest woolen jumper as we head into autumn.  Did we have a summer?  The grass growth has naturally slowed and you can get away with mowing twice a month now instead of weekly with mowing yields down too.

Don't make the assumption that you can forget about the lawn at the end of October until March as such a thought is foolish.  Autumn can be a busy time in the garden and there is still time to renovate your lawn and get it ship shape for next spring time.