Lawn Care Thread

[Patch1875]

Seti said:

Hi.

Does anyone have any tips for getting rid of worm casts? They seem to be taking over.

Thanks

Brush them off, worms on the lawn are good for aeration and a sign of healthy soil you wil see them more when it's wet.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Dr Murdoch said:

Sorry if I've missed it chaps, but what order should I be doing things in at this time of year, is it:-

Scarify
Airate
Autumn feed
Over seed
lawn dressing (mix of sand and top soil)

That's pretty much correct, although last time I top-dressed I overdid it a bit and got fairly poor germination of the seed. I think I buried it too much.

So personally I'd recommend switching the over-seeding and top-dressing so that you seed on top of the top-dressing, rather than the other way round.

Check the instructions of your autumn lawn feed. I use the Scotts "lawn builder" stuff, and that says not to apply within 6 weeks either side of seeding. However, I have just ignored that to a certain extent by applying about 3 weeks after, and the baby grass seems fine.

You can get special "starter" fertiliser designed to give seedling grass a boost. If you look at the "lawnsmith" web site they sell a product. I'm going to try using that when I scarify and overseed next year.

I'd say you need to be getting on with it now, because the remaining warm-ish weather is running out!

[Seti]

Patch1875 said:

Brush them off, worms on the lawn are good for aeration and a sign of healthy soil you wil see them more when it's wet.

Thanks but they're not really 'brushable'. They're like a sticky mud?!? Guess I'll just have to wait for them to dry out......might be a long wait!!

[RichB]

Patch1875 said:

Seti said:

Hi. Does anyone have any tips for getting rid of worm casts? They seem to be taking over. Thanks

Brush them off, worms on the lawn are good for aeration and a sign of healthy soil you wil see them more when it's wet.

Try a bessom broom (witches broom) it breaks them up better than a normal broom.

[Cactussed]

To update.
Having scarified the daylights out of our small front lawn, followed by fertiliser (Mo Bacter), overseed then reasonably regular watering, the grass has gone berserk. Helped I suspect by the clement weather, but its looking in amazing condition. Incredibly thick, green and fantastic.

Suspect weeds and moss are just not going to get a look in if I keep it maintained. Super pleased with the results.

So much so that I spent 3 hours mowing then double scarifying the back lawn. Once again it looks utterly ruined, but I have 55kgs of Mo Bacter and lawn seed being deliveed tomorrow, so aiming to have it all sorted by the end of the week. I'll prob me working in the dark given the nights are drawing in, but hey ho.

Now just need to sort out some sort of permanent irrigation system.