2016 Lawn thread

[jagnet]

Esseesse said:

Is the 'Thatch eating fungi' effective?

Yes, most definitely. They exist naturally in the soil already, but depending on conditions they can often do with a helping hand. Introducing additional beneficial fungi and bacteria can help out compete less beneficial ones but you still need to provide the conditions for them to thrive. Aerating by micro tining throughout the growing season on areas that suffer compaction really helps, and avoiding the use of fungicides is important.

You could also help the bacteria/fungi balance through the use of compost teas and compost rich top dressings instead of, or in addition to, fertilisers such as those two that I suggested.

If everything is well balanced there should naturally be minimal thatch present in the lawn as it gets converted to lovely rich humus at a rate roughly equal to the speed at which it's produced.

I've been using the Maxwell Myco fertilisers for a little while and I've seen noticeable reductions in thatch levels, even in one particularly thatchy lawn. Whether the reduction would have been the same had all else been equal bar using simple blood/fish/bone instead as a fertiliser I couldn't say.

Whilst there's a big difference between sand based sports turf and domestic lawns, these core samples below show what a big difference it makes to the health of the soil by letting nature do its thing:

Edited by jagnet on Sunday 4th September 06:53

[Mallinson1984]

Here is a few photos of ours... Moved in last year and the garden was not exactly to our liking or family needs so has taken a while to get some clearing done so I can create new lawn.

Before









During clearing









Clearing just about finished, glyphosate added, seed and starter fertiliser ordered from lawnsmith and will hopefully be ready for rotovating, leveling and seeding in a couple of weeks when I get back from work again...







I'm heading back to work today so hoping the glyphosate will work its magic over the next couple of weeks and I'll return to a rather sad looking brown patch of earth.

Rotovating, leveling, final seed bed preparation and seeding planned for the first week of my next leave so will hopefully be all done in time for autumn setting in and ideal germinating conditions being with us...

I will post more photos as things progress further and or the resulting (hopefully lush)lawn once it starts to establish

Edited by Mallinson1984 on Monday 5th September 08:03

[Esseesse]

Mallinson1984 said:

Here is a few photos of ours...

Where's the palm tree (Trachycarpus) gone?

[Esseesse]

jagnet said:

Esseesse said:

Is the 'Thatch eating fungi' effective?

Yes, most definitely. They exist naturally in the soil already, but depending on conditions they can often do with a helping hand. Introducing additional beneficial fungi and bacteria can help out compete less beneficial ones but you still need to provide the conditions for them to thrive. Aerating by micro tining throughout the growing season on areas that suffer compaction really helps, and avoiding the use of fungicides is important.

You could also help the bacteria/fungi balance through the use of compost teas and compost rich top dressings instead of, or in addition to, fertilisers such as those two that I suggested.

If everything is well balanced there should naturally be minimal thatch present in the lawn as it gets converted to lovely rich humus at a rate roughly equal to the speed at which it's produced.

I've been using the Maxwell Myco fertilisers for a little while and I've seen noticeable reductions in thatch levels, even in one particularly thatchy lawn. Whether the reduction would have been the same had all else been equal bar using simple blood/fish/bone instead as a fertiliser I couldn't say.

Whilst there's a big difference between sand based sports turf and domestic lawns, these core samples below show what a big difference it makes to the health of the soil by letting nature do its thing:

Edited by jagnet on Sunday 4th September 06:53

Thanks, I may use their autumn stuff.

[oyster]

Is it time for a full and severe scarify yet?

[Rib]

weve had quite a bit of rain here, if the lawn is looking healthy then I'd go for it, (if its still looking stressed from being dry best hold off a little longer) if it does dry off again just keep it well watered and it should recover pretty quickly with the warm ground temperatures we have still

[Mallinson1984]

Esseesse said:

Where's the palm tree (Trachycarpus) gone?

Unfortunately the palm tree lost the fight with the chainsaw and stump grinder (the same as the 80ft cedar in the front garden)

[bomb]

todays cut.

[eps]

bomb said:

todays cut.

Very nice, if i may ask what mower did you use?

[bomb]

My mower - Bought it from B and Q about 4 years ago. Cost was about £140 I think.

[Alfachick]

I am considering renting a petrol scarifier from HSS to do my mums front lawn. Its about 10m x30m at a guess. Will it be possible to do this all in one day or would it be prudent to rent the machine for longer? There are other patches of grass on the property so I guess if I rent it for a bit longer and am ahead of schedule then there is always more that can be done...

A secondary question, how often should a lawn be scarified? It doesn't get walked on a great deal, although it is and has historically been very mossy and home to all sorts of different types of grass. I will post pics up on Wednesday.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

It's not the scarifying per se that takes the time; it's raking up the dead material that takes the time and energy.

If you're doing it all on your own, then I'd think a 10x30m lawn might be a tall order in a day. But if you have one or two helpers, each armed with a rake, then collecting up the dead material will be much quicker.

Don't forget to factor in the time for disposing of the material as well. There will be lots and lots! If you've got a suitable area to make a massive pile then you could leave the disposal for another day, but if not then you'll need to make many trips to the tip during the course of the job. I usually fill the council's green wheelie bins and load them into the back of the car.

If you can afford to rent for 2 days then that will take the pressure off.

Ideally you'd scarify once a year, and September is the best time. Late spring is the second-best time.

Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Friday 9th September 17:49

[wjwren]

My moms lawn which is about 600sqm was always prone to moss. I scarified it last year, had it aerated and have green thumb 4 times a year but more importantly cut on the highest or 2nd highest setting. No moss at all now.

[Tahiti]

I've got hold of a wheeled scarifier, and have given the lawn a good going over this weekend. I was rather (and pleasantly) surprised by the amount of moss and thatch that I got out.

I've overseeded, top dressed and fertilised now and will continue to give it a bit of sprinkler action in the mornings. We will see how things pan out.

[Classy6]

Anyone have any recommendations of a mower for my lawn? Or even a method?

It's very small 6x5metres and butts up on 3 sides - against fences and sleepers. It's literally been laid about 2 months ago so still looks really good (until I cut it!) and is growing like it's on steroids!

I've been using my Dad's wheeled electric mower for the last few cuts but finding it very difficult to get a nice clean cut in terms of the 'lines' and how the finished cut look visually. The grass net on the back of the mower means it pushes it a couple of foot or so away from the fence so I find myself having to do 2 runs down the side of each of the fences to even get the mower to start doing straight sideway cuts.

Also because it's on wheels every time it gets to the other side I physically have to pick the mower up and turn it 180* and place it back down the right way otherwise when turning it just flattens the grass, which ultimately happens anyway because I'm stepping all over it!

Been thinking of a small hover flymo, but then understand the roller on the back of the mower is what gives the grass the 'lines' affect? Or an 'old skool' push mower as I should be able to get in tighter to the fence without the hassle of picking it up?

I'll post a picture up tomorrow, probably alot easier to see than explain!

[Craikeybaby]

I'd suggest an old school push mower, and maybe a strimmer to get right up to the fences etc. I've got a similarly small lawn and went for a petrol mower, but in hindsight a push mower would have been better.

[jagnet]

As Craikeybaby suggests, an old push mower is ideal and will give a much nicer finish than a flymo. If you want stripes, then the Ransomes Ajax is a great little 12" mower and can usually be picked up for around £25 on ebay. Since most won't have been properly sharpened in a long time then it's worth getting it serviced first. One that's been restored and sharpened already will likely sell for around £75. If you want to buy new then there's the Webb 12".

I wouldn't even worry about boxing off the clippings - not only will you save space without the grass box but you'll reduce the fertiliser requirements of the lawn over the year and encourage beneficial fungi/bacteria that break down the clippings.

No mower will cut right up to fences and sleepers. I would suggest using a half moon edging iron to cut back the lawn a touch from obstructions and create a nice defined edge that can then be maintained with edging shears. Putting a curve into the lawn in corners will also make cutting it much easier. Otherwise a set of lawn shears can be used to deal with areas that the mower can't get to.

[paulrockliffe]

I bought an Einhell scarifier earlier this year for about £90 on eBay. nothing special but it did a great job and should last well as it'll only be used once a year. My lawn is similar area to a 10 x 30 too.

The basket is small and fills quickly, but it's much quicker to use it and empty it a lot than to have to rake it up when you've finished. I followed myself around with a wheel barrow so I wasn't walking too and from a pile, so it was still quick. Took about 3 hours to get it all ripped out and the wheely bin full.

Don't do what I did though and pile the excess up on the lawn until your next garden waste bin collection, it makes a mess of the grass!

It's a once a year job that is best done around now, but I had great results doing it in the spring though I might do it this time next year.

[Rib]

Just a note for you all, its this time of year that the Cranefly will be emerging from lawns, if you happen to notice a lot of empty casings on the lawn before you mow I'd highly recommend applying a treatment in the next month as all the products available now work much better at an early stage rather than being used in the spring.

[Joe M]

Just applied verdone/weedol concentrate to my whole lawn, and typically, its started raining 5 minutes later. No rain was forecast until tonight, grrr.
Should I be looking at reapplying or will I need to wait it out and hope it works?