treatment - LJN Blog Posts - Landscape Juice Network2024-03-28T23:08:30Zhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/treatmentTreating your lawn in February – is it too early?https://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/is-treating-your-lawn-in-february-too-early-in-february2016-02-20T08:57:01.000Z2016-02-20T08:57:01.000ZLandscape Juicehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/LandscapeJuice<div><p><a href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314728028?profile=original" target="_self"><img width="250" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314728028?profile=RESIZE_320x320" width="250" class="align-right" /></a>[Sponsored by <a href="http://www.progreen.co.uk" target="_blank">Progreen.co.uk</a>]</p>
<p>The “meh” type of winter we have experienced (so far) means many professionals and homweowners are already dusting off their faithful mower and some are already cutting!<br />
‘Is it too early to cut and treat?’ – the answer is no, but don’t wade in as if that 12 degree winter day is the same as our 12 degree summer day…</p>
<p>If the grass is growing and you are itching to get out there, use this quick checklist:</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Assess</span> … the weather, recent rainfall and what mix is the soil? Is it clay, silt, sand, or a combination? Excess moisture plus foot traffic can cause the soil to compress like a sponge – except it does not bounce back afterwards and roots need air gaps in the soil to take up nutrients.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Rake:</span> Using a machine or hand rake – remove thatch* and leaves from the lawn – if you are bringing up soil on the tines or the grass stays flat then its safe to say cutting should be delayed</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Cut:</span> Sharpen mower blades because a blunt one will tear the leaf and leave it open to frost damage or disease. Set height – remove no more than one quarter the height - moss thrives in shorter grass. Use a 4 wheel mower ideally as roller mowers can compress moist winter soil and set up for poor conditions the rest of the year.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Spike:</span>  Aerate the soil. Only the most sandy soils will not benefit from spiking or hollow tine aeration to get more air to the roots and increase drainage.</p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Spread:</span> Fertiliser – some forms of dissolved Nitrogen can descend through the soil by 1 cm per day – flushed by consistent rainfall. Applying in rainy conditions is therefore a waste of money. However, grass needs energy to grow – consider a urea based slow-release fertiliser as that ‘sticks’ to the soil and slows it down being available to the roots when conditions allow.</p>
<p>*Thatch: This is the dead material from the roots & shoots and in good biological conditions will be converted to rich humus soil. Some thatch is natural but excessive thatch stifles nutrients reaching the roots and potentially harbours disease and poor turf.</p>
</div>A seasonal treat for the grasshttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/a-seasonal-treat-for-the-grass2015-09-25T16:59:23.000Z2015-09-25T16:59:23.000ZLandscape Juicehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/LandscapeJuice<div><p>[Sponsored content]</p>
<p>The growing season is winding down and many customers will start to mentally close the curtains on the garden and tuck it up for winter. They seem resigned to the fact that the lawn will look a bit rough until next spring - but that need not be the case. It is an ongoing process of educating our customers that the annual ‘spring sprinkle’ of fertiliser should be split into more, smaller applications throughout the year. </p>
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<p>Several factors need to be understood: grass will continue to grow slowly and a weak lawn with no feed will come out of five winter months looking poor and needing a bunch of remediation work. Autumn grass will require energy to grow, however, too much energy (in the form of Nitrogen) can make a bad situation worse and bizarrely make the lawn weaker and more prone to disease.</p>
<p>A special feed is needed at this time of year  - a standard spring fertiliser will cause a massive flush of growth, leading to straggly, gangly growth which is more susceptible to fungal disease such as red thread and rust. Higher rainfall at this time of year also means Nitrogen (Nitrate) is more easily leached from the soil – a waste of your money and environmentally disastrous for wildlife in nearby lakes and rivers. Autumn/ Winter fertilisers are formulated to have less Nitrogen. </p>
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<p>The role of phosphorous, P in the N-P-K,  is hotly debated. A lack of phosphate will show up in turf as poor growth and rooting, combined with a dark/ purplish discolouration to the leaf. However it is found naturally in most soils, is immobile in the soil, does not leach and interacts with soil microbes for availability to the grass roots. Some golf courses have had a ‘zero phosphate’ rule for over 30 years so, unless there is a clear deficiency, we advocate no extra phosphorous outside of spring time. </p>
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<p>Progreen has a stable of granular fertilisers and chief amongst these are;  <a href="http://www.progreen.co.uk/Fertilisers/Fertilisers-for-Lawns/Amenity-Turf/Fertilisers-for-lawns-spreadable-granules/Amvista-No-5-Autumn-Winter-Fertiliser-20kg/prod_671.html" target="_blank">Amvista no.5</a> and <a href="http://www.progreen.co.uk/Fertilisers/Fertilisers-for-Lawns/Amenity-Turf/Fertilisers-for-lawns-spreadable-granules/Amvista-Long-Life-Fertiliser-10-0-20/prod_913.html" target="_blank">Amvista Long Life</a>  - which are both formulated with low Nitrogen and no Phosphate.</p>
<p>Amvista no.5 (3-0-12 +2MgO+2Fe) also  has added Magnesium and Iron to harden the grass and provides a nice green colour, while the Long Life (10-0-20+3MgO + 6 CaO + 4 SO₃)  is a slow release granule which will drip feed Nitrogen in small amounts whilst the weather conditions suit continued grass growth. This can be applied throughout a mild winter to keep the turf fed  - this will also better withstand disease and repair itself quicker after aggressive use or harsh weather.</p>
<p> For advice and questions don’t hesitate to contact Progreen: (01778) 394052, <a href="mailto:info@progreen.co.uk" target="_blank">info@progreen.co.uk</a></p>
</div>It's lawn timehttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/it-s-lawn-time2012-02-17T16:20:36.000Z2012-02-17T16:20:36.000ZDan Frazer Gardeninghttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/DanFrazerGardening<div><p><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Dan Frazer Gardening has been busy preparing for the lawn season 2012 for the past few weeks now. The mild weather in Glasgow and Central Scotland means that grass has actually been growing and we have had the mowers out on a few occasions.</span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">Up until the start of February many lawns were incredibly boggy. There had been a lot of rainfall on top of hard ground which left it pooling, unable to drain properly. During this time we stayed away from lawns as far as possible to prevent any root damage and surface marking. But now things appear to be a bit warmer (despite the forecast for snow tomorrow!) we have been able to get out and do some raking, edging and clearing up all sorts of debris and leaves from our lawns.</span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">The aim for 2012 is to ensure that, as always, our lawns are properly cut, fed and treated. Much of the ground in Bearsden and Milngavie is clay so most of our lawns benefit from top dressing, generally after being aerated with hollow tines. Any steps that improve the clay soil structure generally benefit grass growth, from air and water transfer to nutrient uptake and root growth. A lawn with compacted soil and poor grass roots will not last for very long.</span></p><p><span style="color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode','sans-serif'; font-size: 10pt;">In general, we are looking forward to the season and again being able to offer our clients exactly the lawn treatment they require. No extras or unnecessary sales, just thorough and dependable lawn treatment.</span></p><p> </p></div>Lawn services around Glasgowhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/lawn-services-around-glasgow2010-04-18T20:44:55.000Z2010-04-18T20:44:55.000ZDan Frazer Gardeninghttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/DanFrazerGardening<div>Grass cutting has really picked up for the business now. I have just taken delivery of a new Masport Rotorola that everyone seems to be talking about and tomorrow it's getting it's first test on a private housing estate I maintain. Good thing is the site is roadside so plenty passers-by should see the good work.Looking for ways to purchase extra lawn equipment. I have a good hire station nearby and have been making weekly visits for scarifiers and a lovely camon aerator (£2.5k worth, not this year I think), plus the usual turf cutters, rotovators, cement mixers etc. It would save time and effort to have these machines rather than hiring but there are cost and storage considerations.There are still plenty new enquiries for lawn cutting around East Dunbartonshire and Glasgow. I have taken on a new residential site, plus a large domestic job in Glasgow.For the first year of full-time operations things are going very well.</div>Turning swimming pool backwash water into water suitable for amenity irrigation - organicallyhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/turning-swimming-pool-backwash2009-01-25T13:30:00.000Z2009-01-25T13:30:00.000ZSustainable Land Managementhttps://landscapejuicenetwork.com/profil/SustainableLandManagement<div><p>Just a very easy solution to a rare but potentially costly, (in terms of fines), problem.<br/> <br/> With thanks to Dr Loveday Jenkins for this system, introduced at a 4 star hotel in Cornwall. It conformed with Environment Agency guidelines, whilst assisting to get a gold award in the sustainable tourism criteria. Although strictly speaking not sustainable, it was the best and cheapest system to deal with chlorinated backwash water, which due to the quantity and chlorine contained should not be allowed into private sewage systems and to date, despite it's simplicity, (although I assume someone else must be using such a system), it doesn't appear to have been copied. The design and parts were supplied by PFS in Helston, Cornwall and the final cost came to under £3000.00.<br/><br/>The backwash water is simply pumped into the top of a large holding tank, at least 10,000litres. Preferably open topped, although this is illegal in areas with public access, so a netting is required. Access into the tank is necessary as sediment needs to cleared at least once a year. Each backwash needs to remain in the tank for a period of at least 48 hours. Dosage of a nutrient rich 'organic' substance is added to a ratio of at least 1 part per 20,000litres. We used pure Comfrey based liquid fertiliser. An external tap is linked to a pumping system, which extracts the water from the tank at a height of 500mm above the base of the tank. (It is essential for this height due to the variety of chlorination products available, some of which contain additives which do not degrade and therefore need to be removed periodically.)<br/><br/>The pumping system leading to the external tap requires a UV filter attachment, according to flow.<br/><br/>The water is then suitable for irrigation on grass, (although we never used it on Greens, tees and high quality lawns), shrub and perennial flowerbeds. The water was regularly tested due to the close proximity of the Helford River and the designations imposed, and passed sufficiently. The water also was no threat to the biological sewage system installed, if there was no need for irrigation at any point.<br/><br/>Thought this was worth sharing as when the problem arose, there was no info about at all.<br/><br/><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cornish-Stone-Walls-Hedges/175511807867">Cornish Stone Walls</a><br/><br/><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://www.paysagedurable.com">www.paysagedurable.com</a></p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p> </p><p><a target="_self" href="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3314115080?profile=original">WoodlandTrustemailresponse.pdf</a></p></div>