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

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.

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.

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.

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

Dyeing to see where you have treated your lawn

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.

March Lawn Care

Spring officially starts on March 20^th this year and media pundits are suggesting that it may be a week early.  It has been a long winter for most of us in the UK but now you can see Daffodils out in flower adding some great colour to a winter ravaged garden and lawn.

March and April can be very unpredictable months with regards to the weather and as a result we are not out of the thick of winter yet so don’t be too hasty – just be prepared like any good Boy Scout knows.

There is much work to do in the garden in the spring and often than not the lawn is the last on the priority list and it should be first as some work can be done to the lawn that can be left for a couple of weeks whilst other gardening tasks are performed like fertiliser treatments to give the grass a boost.

Spring officially starts on March 20^th this year and media pundits are suggesting that it may be a week early.  It has been a long winter for most of us in the UK but now you can see Daffodils out in flower adding some great colour to a winter ravaged garden and lawn.

March and April can be very unpredictable months with regards to the weather and as a result we are not out of the thick of winter yet so don’t be too hasty – just be prepared like any good Boy Scout knows.

There is much work to do in the garden in the spring and often than not the lawn is the last on the priority list and it should be first as some work can be done to the lawn that can be left for a couple of weeks whilst other gardening tasks are performed like fertiliser treatments to give the grass a boost.

Lawn Mistakes - our Top Ten

Lawn care is a science and like all sciences there is a requirement to follow a sequence like a flow chart and also to keep everything in balance too. 

Tip the scales or be too reactive and your lawn will suffer, get diseased, go thin and less dense and sometimes die.

In no particular order, here are some of the errors we see when out and about visiting lawns:

1. Mowing too low and infrequently and always in the same direction

Lawn care is a science and like all sciences there is a requirement to follow a sequence like a flow chart and also to keep everything in balance too. 

Tip the scales or be too reactive and your lawn will suffer, get diseased, go thin and less dense and sometimes die.

In no particular order, here are some of the errors we see when out and about visiting lawns:

1. Mowing too low and infrequently and always in the same direction

Lawn care is a science and like all sciences there is a requirement to follow a sequence like a flow chart and also to keep everything in balance too. 

Tip the scales or be too reactive and your lawn will suffer, get diseased, go thin and less dense and sometimes die.

In no particular order, here are some of the errors we see when out and about visiting lawns:

1. Mowing too low and infrequently and always in the same direction

Lawn care is a science and like all sciences there is a requirement to follow a sequence like a flow chart and also to keep everything in balance too. 

Tip the scales or be too reactive and your lawn will suffer, get diseased, go thin and less dense and sometimes die.

In no particular order, here are some of the errors we see when out and about visiting lawns:

1. Mowing too low and infrequently and always in the same direction

Love your Lawn

The history of Valentine's Day and the story of its patron saint is shrouded in mystery.

We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

The history of Valentine's Day and the story of its patron saint is shrouded in mystery.

We do know that February has long been celebrated as a month of romance, and that St. Valentine's Day, as we know it today, contains vestiges of both Christian and ancient Roman tradition. But who was Saint Valentine, and how did he become associated with this ancient rite?

When to start mowing your lawn in the spring

Pick up any old lawn book and it will state that you should not mow the lawn between the end of October and end of February. This is rubbish. We are often asked by clients when should they start mowing the lawn in the spring. 

Anyone jetting off for some romantic winter sun this week could have saved their cash and stayed at home instead.  A flow of sub-tropical air is set to make Britain warmer than parts of the Mediterranean over the coming days as temperatures hit 15C (59F) by Valentine's Day tomorrow, which is more than double the seasonal average.

Pick up any old lawn book and it will state that you should not mow the lawn between the end of October and end of February. This is rubbish. We are often asked by clients when should they start mowing the lawn in the spring. 

Anyone jetting off for some romantic winter sun this week could have saved their cash and stayed at home instead.  A flow of sub-tropical air is set to make Britain warmer than parts of the Mediterranean over the coming days as temperatures hit 15C (59F) by Valentine's Day tomorrow, which is more than double the seasonal average.

Bees prefer Urban Gardens to Farmland

Bees driven off farm land due to changes in their natural environments are finding refuge in the 'posh' urban gardens of the middle classes.

Private green areas inside towns and cities, as well as communal spaces like allotments and parks, have become safe spaces for the pollinating insects.

That's down to the diversity of attractive species on offer, including lavender, dandelions, brambles and buttercups, researchers say.

Bees' natural habitats are being threatened by the use of pesticides and man-made changes to the range of plant species found in the environment.