September - November
The autumn treatment will help the lawn get prepared for Winter to include: Slow Release Fertiliser, Moss Control and Earthworm Cast Control
An application of a slow phased release granular fertiliser with a nutrient analysis appropriate to the time of the year. The nutrients in the fertiliser will be released over a period of 8 – 12 weeks, thus providing a steady supply of food to the turf grasses to get them out of the winter doldrums and to keep them fit and healthy without the production of excessive vegetative growth. You can fertilise your lawn as soon as you commence mowing it and also straight after you have mowed but do not mow three – five days after applying fertiliser otherwise it may end up in the mower collector box. Alway fertilise your lawn ahead of applying a selective weed killer. You can use a Spring and Summer fertiliser product at half rate as an Autumn and Winter fertiliser, as the technology of such products is so good, the nutrients will stop releasing when the weather turns colder and start again when it warms up.
Read moreMoss should be controlled in the early spring and once the lawn has received it’s first mowing with the view of eradicating what we refer to as winter moss.
Moss can be controlled just ahead of a lawn renovation programme when the lawn is completely over-sown with grass seed. If your lawn has too more moss than grass in it, plan to renovate it.
Any Lawn Renovation Programme will involve the Client performing a few tasks before, during and after the process and it is important to then go onto a programme of feeding afterwards so as to give the renovated lawn the best possible chance to develop into a great lawn! The lawn will be initially treated for weeds or killed off totally. After two weeks the lawn will be mown really short by the Client.
Read moreSquashed worm casts make an ideal growing medium for moss and weed spores/seeds. The casts will add a lot of sticky soil to the lawn’s surface making it bumpy and uneven and quickly smother the turf grasses.
The treatment prevents the worms casting for a 20 days and reduces the muddy surface. Repeat every 20 days at 1/3rd of the initial dose rate.
How we can help bring your Spring lawn back to life
If your lawn is way past its best, the existing lawns’ surface may need stripping off and starting over again. More often than not, the lawn can be renovated without major levelling and soil input by following a Lawn Renovation Process. You may not currently have a lawn and wish to construct a new one, utilising either turf or grass seed.
Whether you are opting for a new lawn via turf or seed, the process of construction is pretty much the same but turf will provide more instant results. Do not be fooled into thinking that once you have a nice new lawn that you can forget about it! The minimum requirement is always fertilising the lawn every three months and reacting to control and weeds, moss and disease and to encourage healthy and dense grasses throughout the year. You should allow a project budget of at least 25% for growing in and after-care for the next 12 months.
New lawns can often get an attack of Fusarium Disease and an outbreak is not the fault of the turf grower nor landscaper or installer – welcome to real grass and real grass problems! Newly laid lawns, whether turf or seed, can quickly become thin with constant use and it is easier to over seed an existing but thinning lawn than to construct it again. London or City lawns will always struggle for an ideal balance of light, shade, water and wear which when in equilibrium, provide ideal lawn growing conditions
We have project managed really small lawn construction jobs up to and including country estates so whatever the size of your lawn, we should be able to assist you so long as we are realistically able to service your geographical location. It may be that you start the process of a booking a Lawn Consultancy visit as this can save you budget, time and growing a lawn pains on the project.
Please email sales@lawn.co.uk with as much detail as possible including size in square metres and some bullet points as to the problem/request and we can provide some sample costings for your consideration based upon past experiences.
Scarification assists in the removal of the dead grass leaves that will turn into thatch.
The older turf grass leaves will naturally fall off the turf grass plant with new ones emerging and these old leaves will drop down into the turf sward and build up as leaf litter debris if not collected by the suction action of the mowing process.
The scarifying process should be performed in the Autumn and Spring periods and as part of a complete renovation programme and in the normal lawn growing season, not outside it. For routine scarifying, little and often in different directions is the best method to adopt for a domestic lawn.
Most Scarifying machines have solid / rigid metal blades and these can be quite rough on the lawn’s surface if not used correctly and at the incorrect time of the year. There are also wire comb reels that are great for a light clean up following the winter on better quality lawns and croquet lawns and tennis courts for example.
It’s always best to mow the lawn in multi directions ahead of scarifying as this will reduce the vegetative volume of grass and make it much easier for the Scarifer to do it’s best on the day.
Clear the Scarifier debris with a rake or blower, working in the direction the machine last travelled and then mow the lawn afterwards to tidy it up and collect any debris that was missed during the clear up operation.
Aerate after Scarifying. The lawn should be fertilised and then over-sown with grass seed following ahead of any top dressing to restore the micro levels.
Renovation is a bit different to Construction.
If you have more weeds and moss than grass in your lawn, then you will need to be cruel to be kind and go for a complete Lawn Renovation. A good lawn should only have healthy desirable turf grasses in it and nothing else! This can be performed at any time throughout the growing season and if you decide to renovate the lawn in the Spring and Early Summer period, consideration should be given to watering and the use of wetting agents so as to allow the new lawn to develop as nothing will grow without adequate water.
You renovate an existing lawn surface by modifying the existing lawn by making Treatments, perform some mechanical operation like Scarification and Aeration and then apply Fertiliser and new Grass Seed (and sometimes new turf too) and Top Dressing.
You twiddle your thumbs, Water when required and wait for the newly renovated lawn to establish. Hey presto! A new lawn.
Aeration aids root development, air percolation, drainage and allows the roots to breathe.
It should be performed in the Spring and Autumn periods and also as part of a complete renovation programme.
Whether you use a pair of aerating shoes, a garden fork or a mechanical aerator, the important aspect is to aerate with what you have available or can hire in as doing nothing will not help the lawn one bit.
The majority of lawns require deep solid tine aeration, and then hollow tining every 3 to 4 years to assist in thatch reduction. You can also use over seeding tines and chisel tines.
Fusarium Disease is commonly found on new and old lawns and generally appears during the Late Summer to Spring periods.
It can commonly be seen on newly laid lawns and is not the fault of the turf grower or landscaper. Welcome to new lawn problems!
Left uncontrolled, it will totally kill a lawn and although a change in cultural practices can prevent an outbreak, it can only be effectively controlled using a Turf Fungicide.
Improving your turf culture practices may prevent an outbreak, to include: Aeration, reducing thatch, dew removal, correct fertiliser applications and frequency of fertiliser to name a few.
See the Technical Leaflet in the Download section of this site to discover more about Fusarium Disease.
Rust Disease looks exactly as it sounds. Initial symptoms show as yellow flecks on the leaves and plant stems. These flecks enlarge and the fungal spores develop on the leaf surface.
During cool weather in summer and autumn. Initial symptoms show as yellow flecks on the leaves and plant stems.
Mostly seen when the night time temperatures reduce late September.
It can spread to affect a large area, especially unmown lawns.
Adopting a regular fertiliser programme will assist in the prevention of an outbreak of this disease as will a regular mowing regime. Pass an infected leaf through your fingers – you will get a rusty deposit!
See the Technical Leaflet in the Download section of this site to discover more about Rust Disease.
Call our friendly Lawn Service team today.
We’ve selected only the best products for you
Check out what some of our lawn lovers have to say about us
