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

The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and The Horse by Charlie Mackesy

It's not often that we write about a book here but the fact that artist Charlie Mackesy was featuring a Mole in his New York Times Bestseller was a good enough excuse to tell you about it:

The Sunday Times Bestseller and New York Times Bestseller. Shortlisted for Waterstones Book of the Year.

The tenuous link here is that Moles love Earthworms and CastClear controls their sticky and muddy casts on your lawn.  Are we forgiven now?

Grass Poppy Pyramids alongside the M8 Motorway

These stunning pictures show three giant poppies which have been painted on pyramids along Scotland's busiest motorway.

The eye-catching flower tributes were created on the famous grass pyramids close to the M8 near Bathgate in West Lothian.

Poppyscotland, the charity supporting ex-servicemen and women, painted the beautiful tribute to raise awareness of the Royal British Legion's annual Poppy Appeal.

Don't stop mowing your lawn yet...

It is quite mild in the South East and the grass is still growing, albeit at a slightly slower rate than a month ago with cooler nights setting in.

Do not plan to stop mowing your lawn quite yet, maybe twice a month for November and once a month for December and January.

The turf grasses will not stop growing but it will be a little difficult for new grass seed to germinate out of the formal growing season.

Lawn Seed sown some eight weeks ago should be at around three to four leaves stages (number of leaves) now and these will continue to develop over the winter.

Tackle you Garden Weeds

A couple of friends recently came up with the same comment following their attempts at weed control in their gardens.  They had both applied a branded total weed killer on their gravel and pathways and remarked after a few days following application that "The weeds have not gone yet."

When I asked of them "When did you apply the control product?" they said only a few days ago to which I replied "You are expecting too much, please be patient."  Their observations on the speed of the mode of action of single active ingredient or a blend of active ingredients is rather common so a little bit of advice may be required in choice of product for the time of year follows.

A couple of friends recently came up with the same comment following their attempts at weed control in their gardens.  They had both applied a branded total weed killer on their gravel and pathways and remarked after a few days following application that "The weeds have not gone yet."

When I asked of them "When did you apply the control product?" they said only a few days ago to which I replied "You are expecting too much, please be patient."  Their observations on the speed of the mode of action of single active ingredient or a blend of active ingredients is rather common so a little bit of advice may be required in choice of product for the time of year follows.

How to count Earthworm Populations in your Lawn

No-tillers Farmers who are trying to get a better handle on counting Earthworm  populations might try a method used in France to find more individual species.  But the trusty spade is quicker and cheaper for most.

The undisputed indicator of healthy soil is the presence of Earthworms in the soil profile. There are various methods of sampling or extraction to estimate the level of worm communities and analyze the different species present.

But what method is best? Two extraction methods — one chemical and one mechanical — are commonly used in the field. The chemical approach involves pouring a mustard solution onto the soil while the mechanical method involves simply using a good spade.

Solving Dry Patches in Lawns

A Lawn Quencher Wetting Agent Tablet is a fantastic remedy to solving dry patches on lawns.

We have had two consectutive dry summers and there are a lot of crusty lawn patches there and also drought damaged lawns too.

Some dead patches may be dog urine burns that have been left to fester. Ideal in this scenario, ahead of re seeding.

NOTHING will grow in these dry crusty areas until you can manage to get them wet again and this involves using a wetting agent tablet to break down the hard crust ahead of renovating the lawn.

November Lawn Care Tasks

It's firework season this coming weekend so that means that is may be windy and wet later!  Currently the forecast states dry for Saturday evening in the South East and wet for Sunday evening and wet and windy for Guy Fawkes night.

At this time of year, the lawn will be dew covered for most of the day on a dry, still day.  The grasses will have slowed down but growth will not stop.  We have not had a lot of frosts as yet which is always good and the lawn should be mown about twice monthly this month, less if we get nightime frosts.

If you get chance this coming weekend to get out into the garden and chase some leaves around, here is a list of lawn care tasks that you could do if ground conditions permit:

It's firework season this coming weekend so that means that is may be windy and wet later!  Currently the forecast states dry for Saturday evening in the South East and wet for Sunday evening and wet and windy for Guy Fawkes night.

At this time of year, the lawn will be dew covered for most of the day on a dry, still day.  The grasses will have slowed down but growth will not stop.  We have not had a lot of frosts as yet which is always good and the lawn should be mown about twice monthly this month, less if we get nightime frosts.

If you get chance this coming weekend to get out into the garden and chase some leaves around, here is a list of lawn care tasks that you could do if ground conditions permit:

CastClear - User Testimonials

Here are a few testimonials from users of CastClear.  Please don't accept our words on how CastClear can resolve your Earthworm Casts problems. Please send the CastClear Team your comments good or bad.

Purchased this a little while ago and can thoroughly recommend it. Fantastic Product! Amazon Customer

Very pleased with this product. Applied 3 times, and now I have very few worm casts Amazon Customer

Really works well on our lawns - Amazon Customer

Does what it said on the bottle - Amazon Customer

Dyeing to see where you have treated with a garden sprayer

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.

Happy Halloween from the Grass Clippings Team

Autumn is the traditional time when the majority of lawn owners get to grip with clearing the leaves that have fallen over their lawn.  Also at the end of this month, there is Halloween.  Autumn is also a key lawn renovation time.

­O­ne obvious question about Halloween is, "What does the word itself mean?" 

The name is actually a shortened version of "All Hallows' Even," the eve of All Hallows' Day. "Hallow" is an Old English word for "holy person," and All Hallows' Day is simply another name for All Saints' Day, the day Catholics commemorate all the saints. At some point, people began referring to All Hallows' Even as "Hallowe'en" and then simply "Halloween."

Autumn is the traditional time when the majority of lawn owners get to grip with clearing the leaves that have fallen over their lawn.  Also at the end of this month, there is Halloween.  Autumn is also a key lawn renovation time.

­O­ne obvious question about Halloween is, "What does the word itself mean?" 

The name is actually a shortened version of "All Hallows' Even," the eve of All Hallows' Day. "Hallow" is an Old English word for "holy person," and All Hallows' Day is simply another name for All Saints' Day, the day Catholics commemorate all the saints. At some point, people began referring to All Hallows' Even as "Hallowe'en" and then simply "Halloween."

Autumn is the traditional time when the majority of lawn owners get to grip with clearing the leaves that have fallen over their lawn.  Also at the end of this month, there is Halloween.  Autumn is also a key lawn renovation time.

­O­ne obvious question about Halloween is, "What does the word itself mean?" 

The name is actually a shortened version of "All Hallows' Even," the eve of All Hallows' Day. "Hallow" is an Old English word for "holy person," and All Hallows' Day is simply another name for All Saints' Day, the day Catholics commemorate all the saints. At some point, people began referring to All Hallows' Even as "Hallowe'en" and then simply "Halloween."

Top 10 Autumn Lawn Care Tips

Lawns often feature on the Royal Horticultural Society's Top 10 garden problems each year so why not have a top 10 lawn tips to help you through this autumn. The nights are closing in and ideal mowing days reducing dramatically. We have not had many frosts in the South East of England which is quite suprising for the end of October but you just know that winter is around the corner and we will soon be scraping the ice off the car windscreen in the morning and view frost on the lawn.

Free Lawn Advice - all 1,450 pages of it

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?

It's Lawn Mushroom Season

You may have lately noticed lots of mushrooms on your lawn and in your local woodland and parkland.  Sign of a healthy soil.  It is that time of year when soil conditions are ideal for theses fruiting bodies to appear in abundance.

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.

You may have lately noticed lots of mushrooms on your lawn and in your local woodland and parkland.  Sign of a healthy soil.  It is that time of year when soil conditions are ideal for theses fruiting bodies to appear in abundance.

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.

You may have lately noticed lots of mushrooms on your lawn and in your local woodland and parkland.  Sign of a healthy soil.  It is that time of year when soil conditions are ideal for theses fruiting bodies to appear in abundance.

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.

Pesticide Training via Home 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?

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.

Exeter Council's alternatives to Glyphosate

Alternative methods of controlling weeds in Exeter city are to be trialled following concerns about glyphosate writes Pro Landscaper Magazine today.

 

A motion calling for a trial of alternative methods of weed suppression and management has been backed by the City Council.

 

The trials will be carried out over the next three years. The city council will assess the success or otherwise of the planned reduction strategy in glyphosate use with regular progress reports to the Scrutiny Committee.

 

The motion that received unanimous backing from the City Council said that there was “increasing evidence of the dangers to both human health and biodiversity of continuing use of glyphosate weed killer.”