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27th November 2009

Thanks to the customers who have contacted me worried about the level of mushroom and toadstools growing on their lawns. This is quite normal and normally coincides with a wet spell of weather during Autumn. The good news is that in nearly all instances, they do not harm the lawn. The presence of fungi is evidence that beneath ground level there is decaying organic material such as old roots, lawn thatch and leaf litter taken down into the ground by earthworms.

In response to the question that I have been asked most frequently over recent weeks, no, there is no chemical treatment that will prevent the growth of mushrooms and toadstools. What I recommend is that they are simply brushed or raked from the surface as and when they appear. This will prevent them from producing spores which could settle in other parts of the lawn.

6th November 2009

All of a sudden trees are shedding their foliage en-masse and lawns are becoming buried under a carpet of leaves. I cannot stress enough the importance of routinely removing leaves from lawn. Left uncollected they will prevent light and air getting to the turf. Short-term this is only likely to discolour the grass, but if left for longer, the damage becomes permanent and could spell the end of the lawn.

As an aside if you are a keen composter of your garden waste shred the leaves prior to composting and they will breakdown down more quickly. The easiest way I have found of achieving this is to run the mower regularly over the lawn. Not only does is collect the leaves for you but it also chops them up and mixes them with any grass clippings collected.

20th October 2009

The unseasonally mild spell of weather we are experiencing this month has been great for lawns. At last some respite from one of the driest Septembers on record. The mild and damp weather has now provided the ideal conditions to undertake the lawn renovation work which under normal circumstance would have started several weeks earlier. As a result the scarifier has been working flat out throughout the month to rid lawns of the worst of the thatch that has built-up during the dry summer months, which if left unchecked will hinder the growth of new grass. October has also provided great conditions for any seeding work.

30th September 2009

Another month and virtually no rain has fallen. I heard on the local TV news that Royston and surrounding villages was officially one of the driest places in the UK in September. Apart from those lawns that are being artificially irrigated, most are looking pretty brown and sorry looking. Lawn renovation activities temporarily put on hold until some damper weather arrives.

Ideally, lawns should only be scarified when weather conditions can provide warmth and moisture. The absence of either will prevent any appreciable recovery from taking place.

31st July 2009

What happened to the barbeque summer? So far there been few signs that it will materialise. More worryingly from a horticultural standpoint whilst most of the UK has experienced regular rainfall, down here in the south-east corner of the country rainfall has been few and far between.

What has also not helped is the windy conditions which seem to have prevailed. When the occasional shower has materialised any ground moisture has been quickly evaporated by the wind.

28th April 2009

Well another disappointing Spring. Far too little rain at a time when it is needed most to help bring about strong and vigorous recovery on lawns recently scarified or sown from seed.