August

August Lawn Tips from Greenmaster

- by John Quinn, Master Greenkeeper

The UK’s only lawncare company with Master Greenkeeper expertise

Here are August’s lawn care tips from Greenmaster’s Managing Director and Master Greenkeeper John Quinn.

Persistent Lawn Weeds

If your lawn is weedy it is likely that you will have applied a selective weedkiller to it on one or two occasions through the summer months. While weeds like creeping buttercups, plantains, common and mouse eared chickweed and pearlwort have probably succumbed to your treatments, it might seem like some of the more persistent lawn weeds are impossible to kill off.

August is effectively the last chance to get the more persistent weeds like yarrow, parsley-piert, speedwells and clovers under control once and for all. Angus can recommend suitable selective weedkillers for these problem weeds. However, most of these weeds just need two or three attempts through the summer and the third one usually gets them. Don’t be too perturbed if they show up again in smaller numbers next year. The soil below your turf is effectively a huge seed bank for all manner of plants which have shed their seed there or have had it blown in or carried in by birds. The secret is to have such a tight, dense sward of fine grass that there is very little room left for weeds to take hold. By giving your grass the best chance of dominance you actually crowd out the weeds. Take a look at the section on planning for your autumn renovations below to see the kind of action you could be taking now to help get your grass in good shape for next year.

Late Summer Turf Nutrition

From where I am sitting on top of a hill in Perthshire it already feels decidedly autumnal and at this time of year we should be thinking about a late summer feed for the grass. This will be in preparation for the autumn renovation works. A little feeding now will get the grass in good shape to recover from the short term damage and stress caused by the heavy mechanical work recommended for mid to late September. A product like Turfcare Spring and Summer Lawn Feed. This also has a little Phosphorous (P) which is ideal if you are planning to over-seed the lawn in September. Phosphorous is very important for root development of new plants.

Autumn Renovation Checklist

In mid to late September when the barbeque has been put away and when football on telly is more popular than football on the lawn its time to get cracking on ripping your beloved lawn to shreds! Here’s your shopping list for next month:

  1. If moss is a problem you will need to order some lawn sand containing sulphate of iron. Order now so it is there when you need it. You will require about 60 grams per square metre of lawn.
  2. Scarifying can be done on smaller lawns with a spring tined rake, but if you have more than about 20 square metres you really should think about hiring a suitable scarifier.
  3. If your soil is poorly drained or heavy clay you’ll need to hollow tine prior to top-dressing with a medium to coarse sand. Again this can be done with a hand tiner for smaller lawns but only a mechanical tiner will do for larger areas. Get phoning now or they’ll all be out on hire when you want one. On sandy and free draining soils a slit or solid tiner will be a better bet.
  4. You’ll probably want to over seed your lawn so order in high quality lawn seed now. Allow 20 grams per square metre. Don’t skimp on price and make sure to specify NO ryegrass if you want a fine lawn surface.
  5. After hollow tining it is wise to top-dress with a medium coarse, uniform and round particle sports grade sand. Don’t be tempted to buy cheap concrete or building sand as it does exactly what it says on the tin..You don’t want a concrete lawn now do you?
  6. Finally you will need to apply a fertiliser product to get the grass in shape for winter. This needs to be low in Nitrogen (N) and high in Potassium (K) with a little Sulphate of Iron (Fe) for colour if possible.