Lawn Care Secrets

OK so let's get started. Lawns can be of different types from ornamental lawns in formal gardens to utility lawns for the kids to play out on but they all have one feature in common - they need mowing! Mowing is the single most important factor in the development of a lawn but this fact is frequently not understood by domestic lawn owners. Consequently it is an area where the most improvement can be achieved in a relatively short time.

Before we get on to the detail however, there is one question I need to put to you? Are you prepared to do things differently? To move out of your comfort zone? Many people get in a rut with lawn maintenance such as on a Saturday morning they wash the car and mow the lawn! Are you like that or do you know somone who is? Right! Grass doesn't read diaries or calendars and yes, to be sure there are seasonal aspects to grass growth but grass responds to light, temperature and moisture together with soil fertility and soil aeration. So we need to get out of the "once a week" mindset. So how often should you mow? I can't give you a figure but the grass will tell you and it will vary from time to time. As a rule of thumb we should not cut off much more than about a third of the height of the grass at any one cut. So if you have set your mower to cut at a height of 1 inch (25mm)then when the grass grows to about an inch and a third then we should aim to cut. This ideal is unlikely to be met but it gives you the ballpark figure. Most domestic lawn owners cut too infrequently and too closely.

This brings us to the next tip on mowing height. Do not mow too closely! Ornamental lawns, managed intensively can be mown at 1/2" (12mm) but most other lawns in Britain are better cut at about 1" (25mm). So instead of the weekly mowing, have a look at the lawn when you get back from work and if it needs cutting, do it there and then and you can so something else on the Saturday. This may take some discipline but it will pay dividends in the quality of the lawn. Also try to anticipate periods of bad weather that may preclude mowing. For example if a few days of heavy rain are forecast, mow the day before the rain is due. Then you can watch while the neighbours lawns grow up towards their ankles!

So in summary we mow when the grass tells us to which may be after 3,4,or 5days, after a week or even longer in some circumstances. Don't stress the grass by mowing too closely. Cut higher but more frequently.

This is a large subject and so I am just aiming to give you an overview to help your selection if you are needing, for whatever reason, to purchase a new mower. It could be a house move, changed circumstances, a recently established lawn or a host of other reasons. The first consideration is the physical capability of the person doing the mowing. Can they cope with a heavy petrol driven machine or would they be better with a lightweight electric one. Similarly where is the lawn in relation to where the mower is to be stored? Are there steps or narrow entrances? What storage facilities are available for the mower? What is the size of the lawn and what quality of finish is required? What is the budget for the purchase? When you have clear answers to all these questions we will have eliminated a number of options e.g. on grounds of cost and can move on to the choice of mower. A quick look at a suppliers web site gave 11 different categories of mower including a robotic one that chugs round on its own!

Mowers can be categorised by how they cut: either by using blades mounted in the form of a cylinder which cut the grass by a scissor type of action against a fixed bottom blade (cylinder mowers) or by a rotary action where the blade rotates in the horizotal plane at high speed and chops off the grass at the desired height of cut (rotary mowers). For high quality fine turf including the best ornamental lawns a cylinder mower would be the preferred choice but for utility domestic lawns either kind will do. Is it to be self-propelled or do you have to push it? Both kinds are available. For all domestic lawns in regular use (i.e. excluding low maintenance areas) it is best to use a mower that has a grass collecting box otherwise the clippings will be continually trodden into the house and furthermore the appearance of the lawn will be much better if the clippings are removed. Finally what method of propulsion is to be used: manual; electric or petrol. For very small lawns you can still buy manually pushed lawnmowers which are adequate for such areas. This is fairly good exercise however and many lawn owners with small to medium sized lawns prefer an electric powered machine. Both rotary and cylinder variants are available, as are cordless versions. Petrol driven machines provide the greatest power, speed of cutting and the ability to cut the larger lawns quickly. In the end when you have considered the above it still comes down to personal preference.

After the mowing is completed, in order to give the lawn that quality finish your neighbours will envy edging off is essential. For the beginner this means cutting along the edges of the lawn wherever they abut another type of surface to remove grass that has grown out in such a way, often laterally, as it is not cut by the mower. Since grass grows laterally as it grows vertically, edging off should be undertaken after each mowing.

The commonest edging off scenarios are where the lawn meets: 1, a flower bed or other area that is lower than the lawn and the grass grows out above it; 2, hard landscape such as a path or paving that is on the same level as the lawn and the grass grows over its surface; 3, where the lawn meets a vertical structure such as a wall, fence or shed and the grass grows up vertically too close to the structure to be mown by your lawnmower.

Assuming the edges of the lawn are not damaged or otherwise needing major repairs, routine edging can be completed quickly with a few basic tools. These are: long-handled edging shears: a half moon edge cutter and a pair of garden shears. These are the bare minimum and can be purchased from a garden centre or hardware store. For scenario 1 where the lawn is above the adjacent bed we just cut along the edge with the edging shears. For scenario 2 against hard landscape we can cut along the edge using the half moon cutter and for scenario 3 where the grass is near to a vertical structure, use the garden shears to carefully cut it back to the level of the lawn.

If there are large amounts of a particular kind of edging to do there are various items of equipment that can be used to speed up the process. For example the half moon edging along hard landscape can be cheaply replaced by an edging wheel. This has a small roller that runs on the hard surface adjacent to the lawn and a sharp edged disc that cuts along the edge. I use one of these and it makes short work of edging against hard surfaces. A strimmer can be put to good use against vertical structures but be sure not to use it against young trees. Unless the tree is protected by a heavy duty tree guard the strimmer will cut through the bark and if the bark is removed all the way round the tree is said to be "ring barked" and will subsequently die. Special purpose lawn edgers some of which work on the strimmer principle can also be used. By using the above methods, if you keep up to your edging work your lawn will finish all neat and tidy.

Many lawn owners have lawns that are thin, yellowish green and prone to invasion by moss and weeds. If this is the case then most likely the owner has not been applying any (or enough) fertiliser.

If you go to a garden centre or DIY store that sells garden products you will most likely find a selection of boxes, bags or small sacks of fertiliser to choose from. Which is best? Well the tip to save you money is to ignore the pretty pictures on the box or the glib sales pitch and just look at the analysis. "What analysis?" I hear you say. Well if you look closely at the box or bag it will state what plant nutrients the fertiliser contains and what percentage of each.

The most important nutrient for grass is nitrogen abbreviated to N. Fertilisers will commonly also contain phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)and sometimes other nutrients such as iron (Fe) or Magnesium (Mg). But for the moment please disregard these and just concentrate on the nitrogen (N) which will have by far the biggest effect on your lawn. I did some research at a well-known DIY/garden store and found three products on offer. Each was a box of 3.5kg which claimed to treat 100 square metres. The cheapest product cost £5.99, the middle-cost product £6.99 and the most expensive, £7.99. You might think the £5.99 product gave the best value but think again. Look at the analysis. The cheapest product only contains 3% N, the middle range product 14% N and the most expensive 22% N. If you do the sums it turns out the cheapest product is the worst value at 5.7p for each gram of N you buy, the mid range only 1.4p for each gram of N and the expensive product 1.0p. In this case I do not recommend that you buy the cheapest product - it simply contains too little N. Of the other two the mid range product was a "weed and feed" type of product i.e. containing weedkiller as well as fertiliser and therefore if you are needing some weed control this is the one to buy. There is also the question of ease of application. With very high N products if they are not very evenly applied there is a risk that the lawn will finish up patchy with uneven growth. So unless you are experienced or have an accurately calibrated fertiliser spreader you would probably best buying the middle-cost product.

Many lawns will only need one application in the spring but if it starts to turn pale green or yellowish green one further application may be needed later in the season but overfeeding should be avoided.

If you are new to lawncare, application of fertiliser by hand can be a bit tricky at first in which case maybe it would be better to buy a low N fertiliser and practice application with that until you get the hang of it. I can not stress too strongly the importance of careful and even application. At worst too much fertiliser will kill the grass. Lesser degrees of misapplication will cause areas of scorched grass or areas of patchy and uneven growth so it is really worth taking the trouble over this stage.

Measure the dimensions of the lawn, work out its area, and then multiply the area by the application rate recommended by the fertiliser manufacturer. So for example using the fertiliser application rate of 35 grams per square metre, for an 80 square metre lawn we would need 35 x 80 = 2800 grams or 2.8kg. Weigh this in two lots of 1.4kg - this is important - do not try to apply it all at once as it is likely to go wrong.

Place some canes or other markers around the edge of the lawn spaced appropriately for your application technique. So for example if you can evenly sprinkle the fertiliser on a 2m wide strip of lawn whilst walking slowly across the lawn then place your canes at 2m intervals along the edges to act as guide posts. Put on some gardening gloves before handling the fertiliser. Then carefully apply the first half of the fertiliser working back and forth, say North and South. When this is complete, take the other half of the fertiliser and repeat the process in the transverse direction - East and West in this case. Unless your application rate is exact two things can happen during the application of the first half of the weighed fertiliser. You may have some fertiliser left over or you run out before the end. Normally you notice the rate the fertiliser is being used up from the container so hopefully the error will not be too great. If you have run out with for example one strip left to do, take the second lot of fertiliser apply from that to the last strip at the same rate you have done the rest of the lawn, then apply the remainder of the fertiliser in the transverse direction at a slightly lower rate. If you have some left over then just add it to the second lot of fertiliser and apply at a slightly higher rate to use it all up by the end of the application of the second lot.

Apply before rain or water in as directed on the product packaging to avoid scorching the turf. Any minor spillages should be brushed out, to avoid scorch.

The importance of this topic will vary greatly according to where you live. In The UK the average annual rainfall (1961-1990) is 1080mm but there are wide variations from north west to south east and from year to year. Wales and Scotland are wetter with averages of 1355 and 1436mm respectively. The north west of England averages 1201mm but the south east only 596mm. So it is in the south and east of the UK that watering is most needed particularly in dry years. These areas also have the highest temperatures, further increasing demand. They also have high populations requiring water for domestic and industrial consumption meaning that restrictions on non-essential water use may be imposed.

It is against this background that we can consider our options for watering. First of all, unlike some bedding plants, traditional lawn grasses are capable of withstanding periodic drought stress. However if this is too protracted the grass wilts, turns brown and dies back.

In the summer months in the UK grass uses about 25mm (1 inch) of water per week. Therefore if no rain falls this amount will be drawn up from soil reserves until those reserves become depleted when symptoms of drought stress will start to occur. This will first be indicated by a slowing of growth, some leaves turning brown, or patches of wilting or browning grass appearing in the lawn. If these symptoms are seen then watering must commence unless rainfall occurs.

For many small to medium size lawns a hose with a rose or spray nozzle can be used to good effect but the watering must be thorough. If the symptoms persist or worsen you are not applying enough. Give it a good soaking but conversely do not overwater as the excess will just run off and be wasted. For ease of use or for larger lawns many different types of lawn sprinklers are available which should be monitored regularly when in use, and moved as soon as runoff occurs to the next position until the whole lawn is covered. For the upmarket owner there are automatic irrigation systems available for lawn and landscape use which are more commonly used hotter climates. Whichever system is used, water in the evening so that the minimum amount of water is lost to evaporation.

If watering restrictions are imposed you should follow the water companies' guidelines on rain water collection e.g. water butts, and the use of secondary water (water that you have used already such as bath water) for irrigation purposes.

The weeds that can occur on lawns are too numerous to list here but some of the commoner ones will be recognised by most gardeners, for example dandelions, daisies, creeping buttercups, white clover and plantains. Control options for gardeners fall into three categories: 1, hand weeding; 2, combined weedkiller and fertiliser products, often referred to as "weed and feed" products and 3, herbicide (weedkiller) sprays applied using a sprayer or watering can.

Hand weeding has much to recommend it for small lawns or clumps of weeds in larger lawns. It is free, only requiring some of your time. No chemicals are applied if you prefer to avoid chemical use on environmental grounds. It can be done more or less at any time using a long bladed garden knife or proprietary weeding tool. Using a knife locate the crown of the plant and cut underneath it and remove the weed in its entirety. Long rooted species such as dandelions can be a bit difficult but if you work carefully around its tap root you can sometimes pull it up completely. You will be left with little bare, or thin, patches where the weeds formerly were but these will soon fill out in the growing season.

Weed and feed products will be found along with the lawn fertilisers in the garden store and you apply these just as described in the fertiliser modules. In addition to the fertiliser these contain selective weedkillers which will be listed on the box usually after the fertiliser analysis. Common ones include 2,4-D, dichloroprop P, MCPA and mecoprop P and others. Some may also list ferrous (iron) sulphate for moss control or specifically include a mosskiller. Weeds differ in their susceptibility to different weedkillers so these products often contain two or three of these chemicals. Use of these products will give adequate control for most lawn owners. As with fertiliser, apply when rain is forecast or water in as per the product instructions.

For the more experienced gardener who is familiar with the use of garden sprayers the use of liquid weedkillers may be considered but bear in mind that contractors have to undertake a training course and pass an exam before they are allowed to use such equipment and products. Chemicals can enter your body by skin absorption or vapour inhalation that you may be unaware of so treat all weedkillers with respect, rigorously follow the manufacturers' instructions for mixing and application of the product and the use of personal protective equipment.

Dogs may be man's best friends as one of ours seen in the snow here but unfortunately they can be problematic as far as lawns are concerned. Clearly they need an area to be let out on to perform their natural functions but if this to be the lawn then forget about any quality.

The main problem is urine scorch which may kill the grass in patches. There are two possible mechanisms here. One is the hormonal content of urine, notably that of bitches, which acts in a similar way to weedkiller as far as grass is concerned. The second is its so called "salt index" which means it has a high concentration of dissolved matter that scorches the grass in a similar manner to fertiliser spillage.

So there are really only two strategies: avoidance and management. For a high quality lawn avoidance is the only solution. Some owners create a separate area in the garden that the dogs are let out on whilst others take their dogs out on sufficient walks so they do not use the lawn at all. In my case the dogs are allowed on one lawn but not on the other. If dogs are allowed on the lawn, immediately watering in the urine will dilute it sufficiently that scorching does not occur. However in most cases where this is not done, scorched patches will be created and these will fill in to some extent during the growing season provided the lawn is well maintained and not under stress from other reasons. If however there is some other impediment to growth for example shade caused by nearby trees then the patches will most likely die out as they will if the dogs repeatedly use the same places.

Renovation of the dead patches can, in theory, be done at any time during the growing season but the best times are spring and autumn. You can buy "patch packs" of seed from garden retailers specifically for lawn renovation. The technique is to break up the surface of the patches to create a seedbed, sprinkle on the seed at the rate recommended on the pack and then lightly cover (not more than a few mm in depth) with soil or compost. Protect the area with netting to keep off cats, birds and of course the dogs. Keep watered until the seedlings become established. clip with shears initially until the grass is strong enough to withstand the mower.