Have a client that has three acres of struggling grass on top of a very poor cheap top soil
Various grass treatment franchises have tried to resolve but results have been expensive and unsatisfactory
Rather than pumping more chemicals into the grass and soil - the obvious seems to be trying to improve the soil -
Its way too expensive to start again so the question is : Is a good mulch mower likely to make a noticeable improvement to soil structure and grass over a several year period ?
To me it seems to make sense but can anyone advise whether this is pipe dreams ?
Im guessing this would need to be in conjunction with hollow tining / compost- sand infill etc etc - but is there a realistic chance mulching will get organic matter efficiently into soil in the medium term time frame?
Any advice appreciated
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it depends how often you will be cutting it and you might end up with a thatch problem have soil samples been tested to see what the problem is as it might need a deferent type of grass to match the conditions of the site, load of variations that can affect things
David is right, pH could be a problem here. Testing it is the only way to find out. 6-6.5 would be about right for lawn pH.
As for the mulching; aeration will be key. Making sure plenty of air gets into the soil will help the good bacteria and fungi develop, they will decompose the clippings for you. Otherwise, you could end up with a lot of thatch. I would choose compost over sand as it holds moisture and nutrients better. If the lawn is already quite wet however, you may be better off starting with sand.
If the customer finds the lawn is not green enough there are some very good organic lawn feeds available. The smellier the better!
surely better soil would be worth the risk of thatch ? cant thatch be removed at a later date
i think i need a good book on grass :( -- anyone recomend one that doesnt just advise constant chemicals
Problem is, your nutrients and organic matter are locked up in the thatch. If you take it away you are almost defeating your object of mulching.
David's book is very good, and whilst it does talk about mineral fertiliser the NPKs are quite sensible and not over the top. It also gives you the background knowledge about aeration, top dressing etc.
http://www.davidhedges-gower.com/modern-lawn-care-the-book/
If you are looking for some good information on soil biology then I highly recommend this PDF: http://cesantaclara.ucanr.edu/files/230250.pdf warning: it's not exactly light reading :)
A +1 for David's book. The industry needed a new take on lawncare in this age as most of the others are somewhat dated and just repeat each other.
I got each team a copy and two of my team leads went on his intro course last year near Oxford. They said they learnt a lot. I know he was hoping to put together a lawncare course for pro's....
cheers -- thought i remembered someone advising that book before
have purchased it --
didnt really want to start the grass education but knowledge is key lol -- add it to the other five books i have on the go -- head liable to blow up soon
any luck next year ill be a jack of all trades and master of none
The theory is great but sometimes decisions come down to price, and giving the full treatment works for 3 acres could be something the client doesn't feel comfortable with at all over the years.
In my experience a regular mulch WILL make a huge difference to the type of lawn you describe. I had one just like it which I cut weekly, and in the course of 4 years it was a completely different lawn. It was never treated, and while it wasn't a high quality lawn, it was green, grassy and nice to look at.
Thats kinda what i was hoping dan
did you manage to airiate or scarify or just mulch mowing later part of the year ? im presuming you picked up in spring and started mulching summer ?