Dealing With A Neglected Lawn

One day, son, you could have a lawn like this. (New College Oxford,)

1. Evaluate the % of Weeds and Grass. If a lawn is primarily moss and other weeds, it may be best to start again, through clearing lawn and sowing new turf.
However, if grass still dominates despite many weeds, it can probably be rescued.
Start by cutting at a high level and slowly reducing height of cut.
Rake the lawn to remove a lot of thatch and moss. After raking is a good time to cut the lawn.

2. Feed with Nitrogen based feed in spring /summer to give grass good start and help it outcompete weeds.

3. Use General weedkiller to tackle the weeds in the lawn.

Best Lawn Weed Killers

Lawn weed killers

• For bare areas try reseeding, first clearing out the lawn and then sow seed making sure it is well watered.

• Water in summer to maintain strong grass growth.

• Improve Drainage. Try aerating the lawn through spiking and a good regime of raking. This will help the lawn.
• In autumn feed with a potassium based feed to help strong roots.
• Provide paths in very wet and muddy areas. Sometimes it’s best to give up an area of lawn in a really unsuitable spot. Decking takes much less maintenance…

General Tips for lawn Care

Watering Systems for the Garden

Sprinklers in use at Oxford Botanic Garden – necessary for the new grass seed being planted.

One of the challenges facing gardeners is getting sufficient water into the garden. There are different options available which have different pros and cons.

Sprinkler system / Sprinkler Host

Attached to water supply, sprinkler systems automatically spread water to a wide area ensuring a widespread coverage. However, it is somewhat wasteful as many water will go on paths e.t.c where it is not needed. There is also likely to be more evaporation as it is sent into air. This may be the best solution if you need to water a large area of new grass but for borders can be wasteful.

Leaky Pipe. A leaky pipe is a hose with a porous membrane. It means that water seeps out of pipe slowly. This means that a hose laid across a border will filter water to the soil where it is needed, at the roots of plants. Similar to a leaky pipe is a seap hose. Which is a hosepipe with a series of pin size holes, having a similar effect to a leaky pipe.

Drip System. This is one of most sophisticated and expensive systems. It is a hose with a serious of drips which can be turned on and off. This means that a pipe laid along a border can get water exactly to the plants which need it. This is very good because it enables you to discriminate between plants which need a lot of water and those which don’t thrive on excess water.

Watering Can. Hard work for anything but small gardens, it enables water to be directed exactly where needed.

See also: Watering Tips

• Watering systems at Amazon.co.uk
• Watering cans at T&M

Best Lawn Weed Killers

The traditional lawn weed killer, is based on  Ferrous Sulphate. Ferrous sulphate will kill moss and damage the broad leaves of weeds such as dandelions. However, ferrous sulphate is not guaranteed to kill all lawn weeds, so it is usually combined with other selective weedkillers with active ingredients such as:

• MCPA
• Dicamba
• 2,4 D
• Mecoprop- P
• Dichlorprop
• Fluroxypy

Take care when applying lawn weedkiller, it is important to follow instructions careful. Make sure you don’t apply too much as you could be left with brown grass.

After application do not walk on lawn until it has rained or two days have passed. The application may take a long time to have effect, up to 4-5 weeks. Some weeds may need a second application.

It may also be worthwhile doing a bit of grubbing for stubborn weeds (using trowel to dig up tap root).

Also, it is important to combine lawn weed killer with good lawn maintenance. For example, if your lawn is very mossy, try to ensure better drainage, and more light, otherwise the problem will just return.

Best Lawn Weed Killers

Lawn weed killer

Four in One Weed killer and Feed. Feeds grass, kills weeds, controls moss and helps protect against draught.

Spot Lawn Weed Killers

Useful for direct spraying of problem areas. This is easy to use with a simple spray gun action – saves having to mix up chemicals.

Spray on lawn weed killer at Amazon

Related

• Common Lawn weeds and treatment

Best Weed Control

There are different ways to control weeds in the garden. This will depend on the type of weed.

Hoeing.

For annual weeds, hoeing is often simplest and most effective way of killing them. Wait until they have got to a reasonable size, but, before they start setting seed, then hoe cutting them off at ground level.

Be careful of hoeing bare soil as you may bring weeds seeds to the surface. Also, I like to take care to avoid hoeing any self-sown annuals that you actually want.

Choose a dry day, so that you they will soon dry up. They can later be collected and put on compost heap.

Grubing.

Be prepared to go on hands and knees. Get a trowel or fork and dig under the perennial weeds tap root. Loosen the soil and try and get as much of the root as possible. It works better on dry soil as it tends to be easier to sake off the soil from the roots. Be careful, not to split up the tap root into smaller pieces, as you may end up multiplying the weed.

Glyphospate

Glyphospate is one of the commonest available weed killers. It is often sold under brand names such as RoundUp. It will kill any plant material, so take care when spraying. One option is to use some suitable gloves and put some weedkiller on the tips of the gloves and then smear it directly on to the leaves. You can also use a small brush to apply the weedkiller directly.

Glyphospate Weed Killers

at Amazon.co.uk

Weedkillers at Amazon.co.uk

If necessary, cut away some lower leaves of a nearby choice plant to make it easier to get the weed.

For climbers like Bindweed, put a cane in ground to allow it to grow up. (see picture top)

After applying Glyphosate, give the chemical time to travel down in to the ground.

Related

• Controlling invasive weeds
• Most Common Garden Weeds
• Tips for weeding a garden

Best Plant Food

To get best from garden it is important to make sure your plants have adequate food and nutrients. It is also important to make sure they aren’t overfed with the wrong kind of food.

The first thing is to try and feed the soil. See these soil improvement tips. This will provide natural food and also help the organic content of the soil.

However, it may be hard to get sufficient compost in a short space of time. Therefore, the garden will need additional feeding.

A liquid feed is ideal for pots and grow bags. It enables you to feed exactly where you want and the food is immediately in the soil. Sometimes it is worth feeding less than the manufacturers recommendations but more frequently – less but more frequently is main thing.

Slow Release Feed.

Slow release feed is great for the low maintenance gardener. One sprinkling in spring can be sufficient to provide food throughout the gardening season.

Organic Feed.

If you have a patch of comfrey, you can make your own organic feed  by stewing comfrey in a tub of water and draining off the liquid. Be ware it is somewhat smelly. See: Free comfrey plant food

Tomato Food.

There isn’t a specific ‘tomato food’ Tomatoes just thrive on Potash – which is element ideal for fruit and flowers. It is relatively low in nitrogen – good for green growth, but, this will help provide a bumper crop. Tomato Feeds

• Plant Food at Amazon

Modern Garden Furniture

Tasteful Garden furniture

Modern Garden Furniture is a matter of taste. The advantage of plastic garden furniture is that it is much more weather resilient and can often be easily folded.

However, if it is cheap plastic, it will look and feel cheap. Many trends are heading back to ‘retro’ style furniture and the classic wood furniture which blends in with the surroundings.

Garden Furniture at Focus DIY

Old Style garden furniture which has attracted an old style user.

Dealing With Greenhouse Pests

General Principles for dealing with pests

• Companion Planting – plants like marigolds can attract natural predators like hoverflies
• Keep Greenhouse space clean and tidy so slugs and snails don’t have anywhere to hide.
• Check regularly for damage before too late. Use magnifying glass and check underside of leaves.
• Keep plants strong and vigorous so they are more resistant.

Dealing with Specific Pests
Red Spider Mite

Red spider mite are tiny insects almost invisible to the naked eye. They cause yellowing  and mottling of leaves.

Prevention – avoid periods of drying out and overwatering. They thrive in dry atmosphere, so spray the underside of leaves and dampen down the greenhouse. Also, you can introduce biological control

Whitefly

Whitefly can soon take over a greenhouse. They suck sap and makes the leaves turn yellow. If you tap leaves, you will notice a white powder fall off. Can be dealt with through biological spray or proprietary pest control.

Vine Weavil.

Once an adult lays eggs, they can cause real damage to plant roots causing whole plants to drop at stem and die.

Check overwintered compost. Look out for adults who might be laying eggs. Can be dealt with by parasitic nematodes, but, the worst of the damage may have occurred.

Slugs and Snails.

Keep greenhouse floor clear of any debris that may give them hiding places.  Also keep the floor dry except where watering. For slugs you can use a whole variety of methods depending on your preference.

• Slug Pellets
• Beer Traps
• Parasitic Nemotodes.
• Go Hunting in Evening with a pair of scissors

Related

• Dealing With Slugs and Snails
• Pest Control at Amazon