Posts Tagged ‘seeds’ < back
Gardening and bulb Tips for November
15th Nov:
This time last year winter had well and truly arrived, this year nature is giving us a greater opportunity to complete those outstanding gardening task.
Traditionally November is a busy time in the garden especially with regards to planting (bare-rooted and/or root balled hedging, trees and shrubs.
• Remove fallen leaf from lawn areas and use to make leaf mould, an excellent compost for planted border. Simply dampen collected leaves and store in a black plastic bag. Pierce bag and set aside for 6 months
• Check and remove (rake/scarify) any moss and thatch from lawn areas
• If temperatures remain mild, grass will continue to grow, wait for dry conditions before giving the lawn a trim
• Apply autumn/winter lawn feed (high in phosphates and potash) to encourage good root development
• November is a good month to take a critical look at the garden, correct any mistakes, determine and plan changes for spring and try something new
• With a mild Autumn so far there is still time to plant your spring flowering bulbs. Here at some suggestions for some last minute bulb planting:
o Tulip Montreux, Tulip Fantasy, Leucojum aestivum, Nerine bowdenii and Fritallaria meleagris.
• Daffodils don’t have to be boring, here are some stunning and unusual suggestions:
o Narcissi Ambergate, Narcissi Audubon, Narcissi Rip Van Winkle, Narcissi Polar Ice & Narcissi Cum Laude.
Mowing Tips
28th Jun:
Firstly and most importantly choose the correct lawn mower for your lawn. Cylinder mowers are only really suitable for perfectly flat lawns with finer grass types. Consider whether you want stripes (in which case best results come with some sort of roller) whether there are hard to reach or sloping areas (use a lighter fly-mow) or if you need the mower to collect cuttings too.
Make sure your mower is serviced regularly and that the blades are as sharp as possible which will ensure a better cut. Do not cut your lawn too low.
Whenever you fill your mower with petrol, never do this on the actual grass as petrol burns grass.
Don’t cut your lawn too short (min 1 inch). Cutting your lawn too short can encourage lawn diseases, moss and weed growth. Also never cut more than a third of the height at any one time. If you do, it can cause scalping which can take 2-3 mowing cycles to recover.
Also try to remove any clippings from the lawn as this can encourage thatch which means moss will thrive.
Cut your lawn frequently as this encourages it to grow thicker which keeps out the weeds.
Don’t mow the lawn when it is wet as this can cause the soil to be compacted which suffocates the roots and causes bald patches.
Keep your edges nice and neat by using either a half moon edging tool or even installing an edging product such as EverEdge.
If conditions are very dry and the lawn is looking brown, try to keep off the lawn as much as possible as the grass will be dry and brittle and liable to break. Do not cut shorter than 2 inches and do not cut again until there is a sign of growth.
When watering, don’t overwater by watering every day. In the summer every 2-3 days should be enough. Water the lawn early in the morning or during the later part of the day when evaporation is at its lowest. An irrigation system is always a good idea.
Watering deeply will encourage deep root growth.
Aerate your lawn, using a fork on the smaller lawns and specialist machines (that can be hired) on the larger lawns.
Once this is done, scarifiy your grass, again using a hand rake on smaller areas and machines on the larger lawns. These jobs can be done in either order.
Next is the grass seed. On a small lawn scatter it by hand thinly. Careful not to be too generous at the start and run out before all the area is covered. Then using a stiff brush gently ‘encourage’ the seed down the holes as much as possible.
Next apply a top dressing, which is a mixture of compost and wash sand which helps improve drainage and fertility of the soil. Using a soft rake, gently spread the topdressing into the grass.
Feed your lawn regularly with an appropriate lawn fertiliser. This will make it greener and thicker, and helps return nutrients to the soil.
