Category Archive Blog

Byhello@eco-gardener.co.uk

Lawn Repair

Eco-Gardener regularly carries out a range of lawn repair works for our customers across Didsbury and surrounding areas. If you are fed up of bare patches, dead or dying grass, moss and thatch and stubborn weeds, we can help.

We can carry out a comprehensive plan over a number of weeks to return your lawn back to lush green grass, that even the grounds people at Wimbledon would be proud of!

Here are the main 4 parts to the lawn repair process:

Step 1: Scarifying

This is the first step in the process. We use a range of techniques to remove dead and dying grass buried deep in the lawn. Over time this acts as a barrier preventing new grass blades from growing through and replacing the old dead grass. This thatch can lay deep in the lawn and is often unnoticeable.

You will be amazed by just how much dead thatch can come out of your lawn. In this picture just a few square feet of lawn as produced a bin bag full of dead grass.

This acts as a lawyer underneath the grass blades that can prevent new grass growth. Once removed the grass will look darker as the top soil beneath is now visible.

Step 2: Weeding

The one job most gardeners dislike, weeding! There are many lawn feed/weed and moss killer products available from your DIY store. You may have even tried them before. Whilst they can work, sadly they are never 100% effective. Dandelion is a common weed found in lawns. Their roots can grow over 9inches deep into the lawn.

Eco-Gardener Lawn Repair

The only truly effective way is to remove them all by hand. If you have never done this before, try taking out just one as a test. They are hard work to remove, and removing the root is the only effective way to completely remove them.

Step 3: Soil Aeration

Now we have removed the dead grass and weeds, we can see more of the top soil. Areating the lawn allows air, water and nutrients to penetrate the lawn down to the roots. Sending these vital nutrients direct to the root gives the lawn the best chance of growing and ensuring goodness goes to the vital parts.

Aerating the lawn also helps with over seeding. Prior to sowing new grass seed, aerating the lawn can help protect newly sown grass seed.

Lawn areating can be done a number of ways. From a simple fork in the ground to a variety of other tools including power tools for larger lawns.

It is important to ensure equal coverage all across the lawn.

Step 4: Over-seeding & Top Soil

The final step is to now spread new grass seed whilst adding a fresh layer of top soil to the lawn. This will great a thicker lawn as new grass seed germinates and starts growing in between the existing grass. Its worth noting that just throwing down extra grass seed on top of a lawn, without doing the above three steps will have minimal impact, and just provide seed for the birds to eat!

It is important to use a grass sowing spreader or someone with expertise.

Too much seed means seeds are competing for resources.

Too little and it wont be effective in removing the patches in your lawn.

It is also important to ensure the correct soil top dressing is done. This will give the grass seed the best possible chances of success and provide the required conditions for the grass seed to start growing.

About Us:

Eco-Gardener is an environmentally friendly gardening service. We provide all the normal garden services you would expect, but work sympathetically with your garden. We aim to recycle and reuse all garden material. We also sell a small range of garden products which are 100% recycled from local gardens including Eco-Mulch and Eco-Wood chippings. We off-set our vehicle carbon emissions and donate regularly to the Woodland Trust.

Contact us for a free no obligation quote.

We can do a range of jobs from taking down trees and hedges, pruning and cutting back, or regular garden maintenance. We can also do large one-off jobs such as a full garden clearance. 

Experienced and professional yet small and local, your garden is in safe hands.

Byhello@eco-gardener.co.uk

How to improve your lawn

As the grass cutting season starts in Spring, many people turn to the garden lawn which has been dormant all winter, to bring it back to life and turn it into a tennis lawn! How to improve your lawn? Here are Eco-Gardeners top-tips.

The winter can take its toll on your lawn, with frost and snow doing there best to harm your grass. However your grass is hardy and will usually come back strong in the spring, so how can I improve my lawn?

Many lawns suffer with moss, patches and inconsistent growth across the lawn. Here are some answers to the many questions we are asked at this time of year, how can I improve my lawn? We cannot promise to turn your grass into a lawn fit for Wimbledon, but we will try our best!

Water the lawn deeply

Lawns are thirsty, especially during prolonged dry spells. Watering your grass is vital, however it can be better to give it a really good soaking when you do water it. This is known was watering deeply and its recommend to do this 3 times per week, rather than a quick water everyday.

Watering deeply promotes the roots of the grass to grow deeper, making it stronger and more drought resistant. Watering daily will give your grass a shallow root system and less resistant. Install an outside tap and hose with a sprinkler can do the job. Make sure it waters all areas of the grass, and if not, manually soak the areas the sprinkler misses.

How to improve your lawn

Rotate your trampoline

Trampolines feature in almost every garden in the UK with young children. However they are not great for your grass. They cast a shadow over a large patch of grass preventing sunlight and also block rain water.

Our best advice is to rotate the trampoline around your garden every few days. This means it does not damage one part of your lawn over time, but instead the grass gets time to recover. Just drag it to the four corners of your lawn every few days (especially on rainy days).

How to improve your lawn
Move your trampoline to different corners of your lawn every few days.

Scarify & Aerate

Overtime, your lawn gathers dirt, waste, thatch and dead growth which can impact the health of your lawn. In the same way a rug gathers dust, a lawn will have dead growth, moss and weeds. The lawn and its soil also becomes compacted over time which can prevent good growth. A good rake will do the job. Start on a small area and you should see moss and thatch coming up (just like the pictures below). For larger lawns, a scarifying machine will do the job over large areas.

Feed, Weed and Moss Killer

This is a great product and will feed your lawn. It will also kill weeds and also moss that hasn’t been removed by scarifying. The moss will turn black and die off, so the lawn may actually look worse, before it looks better. Expect some results in around 7 days, but check the packet as it can only be applied twice per season. Also grass shouldn’t be cut a few days before and a few days after applying. Follow the instructions carefully as its strong stuff, do not get in your eyes and quickly sweep off paths in case of staining.

How to improve your lawn

Lawn Fertiliser

There are many types of lawn fertiliser, an example of one product is shown below. Sunshine and water alone will not get you a rich green lawn, so lawn food will give it some extra help. The one below can be applied using a simple watering can. For larger lawns, a hose pipe attachment can help spread the lawn food over a wider area.

How to improve your lawn

Recycle Grass Cuttings

When we cut the lawn using a mower, most of us bag up the lawn cuttings into the green bin. But in fact, those cuttings can be a source of rich nutrients and food for your lawn. So long as they are small clippings, you can rake them across the lawn and they will break down back into the lawn. Professional lawn mowers have a ‘mulch’ facility automatically spreading the cuttings as a mulch on the lawn. Free lawn food!

Do not cut your grass too low

A common mistake is for people to cut their lawn very low. Its a common misconception because tennis lawns, bowling greens, and golf greens are also cut very low. However cutting a garden so low just encourages weed growth. Rule of thumb, never cut the grass by more than one third and avoid using the lowest cutting setting on the lawn mower.

Reseed at the correct time and not too much

Grass seed is common and you can buy it at most shops these days, including supermarkets. If you have soil patches on your lawn, simply rake up the soil (around 5 cm deep) and spread the grass seed. Do not use too much and spread the seeds out – otherwise they will compete for sun/water/nutrients and you will get poor growth. Following the instructions on the pack and be sure to water well.

How to improve your lawn

Weed your lawn

Sounds obvious but try to avoid relying only on weed killer products. Much better to weed the lawn by hand. This will ensure you remove the weed and its roots, ensuring it doesn’t grow back. There are a wide range of weed removers, including those on poles to avoid back strain, or just get the professionals from Eco-Gardener to do the hard work for you!

How to improve your lawn

About Us:

Eco-Gardener is an environmentally friendly gardening service. We provide all the normal garden services you would expect, but work sympathetically with your garden. We aim to recycle and reuse all garden material. We also sell a small range of garden products which are 100% recycled from local gardens including Eco-Mulch and Eco-Wood chippings. We off-set our vehicle carbon emissions and donate regularly to the Woodland Trust.

Contact us for a free no obligation quote.

We can do a range of jobs from taking down trees and hedges, pruning and cutting back, or regular garden maintenance. We can also do large one-off jobs such as a full garden clearance. 

Experienced and professional yet small and local, your garden is in safe hands.

Byhello@eco-gardener.co.uk

Should I use mulch in my garden?

Mulch is brilliant for your garden. Mulch is one of the most versatile and useful materials for your garden and can come in many forms.

Mulch is essentially a top dressing for your soil. It can be used on beds and planters. It provides a range of benefits from suppressing weed growth to helping retain moister. The term ‘Mulch’ is a generic term to describe materials that can be used as mulch.

Should I use mulch in my garden?

Here are just a few reasons to consider using mulch on top of your garden beds and planters.

  • Keeps your garden soil moist in summer
  • Protect roots from cold in winter
  • Improves soil texture
  • Deters some pests
  • Suppress weeds
  • Gives a decorative finish
  • Provides nutrients into the soil
  • Perfect for beds, borders, planters and containers

Organic Mulch

We recommend organic mulch when possible, mainly because it can be created from recycled garden waste. Basically a mix of soil, compost, wood chippings and leaf mould combined, could create a great organic mulch. This mulch also offers the best moisture retaining properties.

Should I use mulch in my garden?

Wood Chipping Mulch

Wood chip and Bark chippings can be an excellent mulch. They have great moisture retention and offer all the benefits mention above. It is also versatile and a little cleaner, you can walk on it to tend plants or event use for paths.

Should I use mulch in my garden?

Stone chippings / aggregate

Stone chippings became popular for top dressing beds, due to their low maintenance and wide range of materials and colours. It doesn’t offer the same moisture retention as other mulch, but other wise will do a good job. Hard warding and wont rot down over time like organic mulch.

Should I use mulch in my garden?

If you would like Eco-Gardener to help with your garden contact us here

Byhello@eco-gardener.co.uk

What is Eco-Gardening?

Eco-Gardening is about working in sympathy with your garden and the natural environment around you to achieve your garden ambitions.

Gardens, gardening and the wider agricultural and farming industries rely heavily on the land. This has increased over many years through industrialisation of agriculture, intensive farming and increasing number of golf courses and parks.

What is Eco-Gardening

Whilst the above provides many vital goods and services such as food, increasingly consumers and producers are becoming aware of the environmental impact we are having on the land.

Eco-Gardening

Gardening as its part to play in reducing our carbon footprint, recycleing more garden waste, reusing and repurposing, working in harmony with the environment and the seasons.

Eco-Gardening is about working with your garden not against it:

  • Pruning trees in winter to protect trees and encourage spring growth
  • Recycling all garden waste (wood chippings, mulch, compost)
  • Using water saving devices such as water butts
  • Using solar panels to power lights or water features
  • Providing a habitat for wild life such as insects and birds
  • Working by hand and not using petrol power tools
  • Consider planting a range of plant species in your garden to create a diverse habitat for wildlife
  • Try and grow your own fruit, veg or herbs
  • Plant trees to improve and clean the air around you

Whenever possible try to avoid the following:

  • Buying new bags of compost, try to reuse and add nutrients to existing soil
  • Disposing of organic waste which could be mulched or chipped
  • Try and save or reuse water from paddling pools and containers
  • Using petrol power tools

If you would like Eco-Gardener to help with your garden contact us here

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