Lawn Care Programme

manorpurl

Hi,
As spring approaching in few months, I was wondering if someone has got a programme for lawn care round the year.
I do the following but no joy in creating the luscious green.
Spring
Rake Lawn, scarify as well.
Apply evergreen all round fertiliser containing weed control

Summer
Apply evergreen all round fertiliser containing weed control

Autumn
Rake Scarify lawn
Again, apply fertiliser

Not sure what i am doing. Do i need to do something extra? Am i applying the correct types of fertiliser for different seasons? please help geniuses

Dov_2

It Totally depends on a number of aspects--which type of grass, How much natural light your grass gets, Weather, Wear and Tear, Height of cut etc etc!!! I am a Greenkeeper on a championship course up in Scotland so my advice would be based on my professional opinion.
Spring--do as u do (Rake and scarify). However before u do this apply some lawn sand, or Iron (fe)--This wil knock back any moss, and will also harden the plant. Im not a huge fan of these commercial fertilizers claiming to work miracles. You will need a balanced feed of N-P-K. Something like a 11-5-5 ought to kickstart it into shape. Apply it at aprox 35g m2. Then apply a selective weedkiller when its actively growing.
Early summer-- Apply more fertilizer, judge it by how it looks, if its colour is fading you need N (nitrogen) This is where you get your GREENness from! A hint of iron(fe) is also handy, but be careful as it may dry it out a tad.
Summer-- Water is important, daily if possible and neccessary.
Late Summer--- Feed again as required.
Autumn-- Another tickle of Lawn sand will check any moss and give it a little protection into colder months. Some more fert will help-- something like a 6-10-10 is ideal with the potassium(k) being important for the winter months.

Hope this helps, any more advice gimme a shout.

Dov

Monkeysee_monkeydo

Hello, I read both your posts about your lawn. I'm not a green keeper like Dov and he's giving you good advice. I do a lot of regular lawn care jobs and lawn renovations for domestic clients over here in Scotland. I noticed you never mentioned aeration in your regular plan. This could make a huge difference. I recently scarified a lawn where I could actually smell like an iron sulphate smell (you'll know this if you've ever used lawn sand). I rang my greenkeeper friend and he said it can happen when a lawn has been fed a lot over the years but has never been aerated!! He said aerating will make the world of difference.

Also, what type of scarifier are you using because some of the domestic ones aren't up to much.

manorpurl

I am using a draper one. I am not sure if it is any good or not. But i have to collect a lot of moss just on 1 straigh run of 10 metres. Do you guys know of alternatives (a good machine that does aeration/scarification)? My price range is around 150 quids.

Thank you guys for your helpful advice.

Monkeysee_monkeydo

Draper look reasonable for domestic use. They do one with an interchangeable scarify/aerater attatchment for about £130....
You might be ok just picking up a cheap aerator from westfalia/ebay/amazon or wherever
You could get a hand push one on a roller for £20 !

manorpurl

To add, i have a 130 ft back garden, that will require a good aerator definitely.