Fitness Training
Gardening
For Lawns
Words: Trevor Jones, Head of Garden Operations
I
f you are not one for exercise but need to get fit
without subscribing to a membership of your
local gym, then now is the time to get your body
toned and your lawn looking like a bowling green
with “Fitness Training for Lawns”. It’s the latest tip
from your Head Gardener to get your body in shape
while rejuvenating your lawn! No pain, no gain!
Follow the programme below and repeat it every year
to keep you and your lawn in shape.
1.
Mow your lawn as usual collecting the
clippings in the grass box.
2.
Use any brand of moss killer purchased from
the garden centre or use sulphate of iron at a rate
of 400 – 500g in 10 litres of water over a 100 square
metres. Both products will kill the moss and turn it
black. Use a springbok rake [flexible wired toothed
rake] to scratch out the moss and debris [thatch]
that makes the lawn feel springy. Raking will also lift
creeping grasses that usually pass under the mower.
This action is good for your lawn and will tighten
your stomach muscle giving you that desired six
pack! You can cheat and use a powered lawn rake
but just think of the abs being produced as you get
stuck in with your springbok.
3.
Mow the lawn again at right angles to the
original cut which will collect more of the debris
left behind from your raking and sever the creeping
grasses that your rake caught and dragged upright.
Add the debris to the compost heap.
4.
It’s worth following this fitness regime by
spiking or hollow coring the lawn. The aim is to
puncture the soil surface to allow air into the soil,
improving drainage and alleviating compaction.
Bad surface drainage encourages moss to grow and
discourages the grass. In serious cases, you end up
with a lawn full of liverwort and green slimy patches
of algae. You can rent or buy various devices to make
the job easier but if you only have a small lawn you
can use a garden fork stabbing it down 8 – 10 cm and
every 10 – 15 cm between holes working your way
across the lawn. A hollow coring machine could also
be used which extracts a core of soil. These cores are
swept up, composted and replaced with coarse sand
which is brushed into the holes.
5.
Having abused the lawn it will now need
a feed to encourage it to put on new growth. An
autumn / winter fertilizer should be applied which is
low in nitrogen and high in phosphate and
potash. Do not use a summer fertilizer as it contains
a high percentage of nitrogen which promotes lush
soft growth which would be damaged by the cooler
temperatures and would encourage disease. A high
percentage of phosphate and potash found in an
autumn fertilizer will encourage root deve lopment
and hardiness to see the lawn through the winter.
6.
The final step in the fitness regime is to top
dress the lawn. Top dressing is like mulching a flower
bed though far less material is used. Sprinkle a
5mm layer of sterilized soil mixed with sharp sand
and work it into the lawn with a stiff brush. The top
dressing will fill the holes made from spiking and
encourage new growth to establish. The heavier your
soil the more sharp sand you can mix with your top
dressing. If you have an underlying soil that dries out
too quickly you can add some compost into the mix
to encourage moisture retention.
After all this hard work your lawn will start to look
the business and as for those stomach muscles that
you forgot you had, a hot bath with a stiff gin and
tonic will be a just reward. Enjoy!
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