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Replies
Lawn or borders?
If borders, I have found a very generous application of green waste compost dug in helps tremendously to enhance the water holding capability of the soil.
Do you mean lawns or beds ? For the beds good old fashioned well rotted manure and lots of it. For the lawn probably a slow release granular type. I would say that the sandy soil is leaching away nutrients very quickly especially if it is low in organic matter.
What are you currently using?
Premium coated controlled release fertilisers will take quite a while to burn a lawn if applied properly - They will of course still require watered in, however they will sit on the turf for a lot longer without doing damage than say a standard release product. Generally the more expensive the fertiliser the higher/better the coating
I would be surprised to hear of a lawn treatment company not using a controlled release fertiliser already, so there is a good chance there are under lying issues like compaction, thatch or our old friend Mr moss.
Question I would be asking are things like;
What height is the grass cut & what is the frequency of the cutting?
What kind of grasses are already in the lawn, what is his general expectation of the lawn, is he unhappy with the growth and or colour, what have the treatment company been applying?
How long does it take before the treatment disappears from the lawn after it has been treated, what sort of schedule does the current company do.
I do lawns myself, mine start in March, end of May, mid August and finish in December / January
Any chance of a picture or two?
If it is a lawn issue then a slow release granular fertilizer may be the way to go. I have seen good results with certain products on a few 'problematic' lawn this season.
How big an area are you dealing with?
Only issue here is that it is getting a little late in the season for some extended life products and the customer would need to be particularly careful about watering them in as the high nitrogen value can lead to extreme 'scorch' if not watered in as per the instructions.
Another option is to do some soil samples and send them off to see if the soil is particularly lacking in something.
+1 - soil sample will tell you the CEC which is the ability of the soil to hold and exchange nutrients into a usable form by the grass roots. Sandy soils will also usually be lacking in micronutrients.
Slow/ controlled release are a good idea but they rely on temperature AND water - the client may need to be irrigating 3 + times a week in sustained dry weather.
Might also be worth thinking about a liquid spray which is mostly foliar uptake - based on 'a little & often' it will help the roots establish & grow longer which helps it cope with leaching moisture.
Happy to suggest a few options - not all on our website.
Richard@Progreen
(01778) 394052
Interesting to read the replies here.
I have a lawn I've looked after for about 10 years. The estate was built 15 years ago, and the developer put down about 100mm of sharp sand and then turfed it. The grass never took, unsurprisingly, and after a few years they had new turf laid over the old stuff, so we now have turf on top of about 15mm soil from the old turf, then 100mm builder's sand!
I've managed to keep it reasonably well with a regular feed programme. It is fire-fighting though: the merest hint of a dry spell and it's looking sickly as there's no depth of soil, and in wet conditions you need to feed it constantly as it's washed straight through.
The only really ideal long-term solution is to start from scratch. My one needs masses of organic material mixed in to the top 150mm or more: fighting underlying conditions such as poor soil, compaction, inadequate drainage are a constant battle between client expectation and what you can deliver.