How to Keep Your Lawn Clear in January

So here we are in January. No matter how much you clear the leaves and debris from your lawn it just keeps coming.

Make sure your lawn is kept clear to get valuable air and light this time of year. Also, trapping moisture this time of year can help disease grow and spread.

To help with this you need the right equipment.

Leaf Blowers and Vacuums are obviously a key piece of equipment here. There is a wide range available from those that are suitable for a small lawn to those that can do large estates. Lets look at some examples:

Swift 40v Battery Blower with Battery and Charger

This features a quiet engine and additional noise suppression so it's perfect for a built up area. The 40v battery is powerful enough to do the job and the variable air speed gives you options for wet or dry debris.

One of the advantages of Swift products is that one battery fits multiple products including Swift Lawnmowers.

Swift 40v Battery Powered Leaf Blower

MBV48Li 48 Volt Lithium-Ion Cordless Blower Vac

This excellent machine not only clears light debris but will also be able to clear light snow. The unit is also light weight and has an easily accessible hi/low power switch.

Changing from a blower to a vac is easy and does not require any tools.

Mountfield MBV48Li 48 Volt Blower & Vac

Stihl BR 450 C-EF Powerful, professional blower with Electrostart

This high performance backpack blower with ElectroStart so it can be turned on and off without having to remove the unit. This also means that fuel can be saved as the device can be stopped and restarted between jobs.

The Stihl ErgoStart features a pull start that helps the start when temperatures are below zero.

Both the handle and tube can be repositioned for maximum comfort.

Stihl BR 450 C-EF Leaf Blower

Towed Petrol Leaf Sucker PSUFT

This much larger unit comes with a 2 wheel chassis with suspension and lighting. This much larger unit is obviously for much larger jobs. The suction nozzle is fitted to 3 metres of hose which is 20cm wide.

The direction of the main discharge component can be altered as can the discharge head itself.

This has everything you need to help you cover that large area.

Towed Petrol Leaf Sucker

So there you go, 4 examples of blowers that will cover everything from a path, to a snow covered driveway to Buckingham Palace.

Remember this is also the time of year to look after your existing equipment. So if you have equipment that's been in your shed for the last few months now is the time to make sure it's all in working order.

Here are some tips for Winter Lawnmower maintenance. Follows these to make sure you're ready to go in February!

Lawn Care Tips: September, October, November, December

September Lawn Care Tips

September is a big month with a lot of jobs to perform before a quiet October.

Start by using a Scarifier to remove moss and deep thatch. Run over several times at slightly different angles to gently remove anything that needs removing. Don’t go at a complete right angle though as cutting across could damage the soil. But continue with deeper and deeper runs over the lawn. Don’t start too deep now matter how tempting it is.

Just like February, when the ground is soft and moist it makes for a good time to aerate. Again, this will allow the moisture and air to get to root level.

It’s also a good time to give the lawn a once over to see if you can spot any disease that may be forming. Look for spots and patches that stand out and any areas of slow growth or where the root looks dark.

Before the bad weather comes, now will be a good time to get rid of any weeds you can see. If you’ve been spot checking for weeds all summer a simple treatment will be all you’ll need right now.

When cutting, prepare the lawn for Winter by raising the blade height to give the root some shelter from the frost.

Combi 1066 HQ Lawn Rider - £1749

Now is a time to brush away Worm Casts (Those little piles of soil left by Worms) but obviously this will only work if they’re dry. Simple use a brush to sweep the soil flat.

October Lawn Care Tips

Easy one! Rake leaves and mow less often… That’s it

November Lawn Care Tips

Firstly, remove anything from the Lawn that won’t be needed over Winter. This includes toys, furniture, plant pots etc These not only damage the lawn as they sink in to the damp soil but they also cast a shadow preventing areas of the lawn denying it what ever little bit of light you’ll get over the next few months.

Don’t forget to clear leaves etc to prevent the build up of disease and prune back trees and bushes to reduce their shadow too.

Time to aerate for the final time of the year as well as give the lawn it’s final cut. Also, now is the time to apply a Winter Feed to give the lawn the nutrients required to stay healthy.

December Lawn Care Tips

If the lawn is waterlogged or frozen stay off it!

Finally, maintain your equipment to make sure it’s in good condition for Spring and store everything correctly so it’s all good to go.

Lawn Care Tips: July, August

July Lawn Care Tips

This is a maintenance month really.

Continue to cut no more than a third of the current length of the leaves to maintain an even neat look.

Princess 42 Electric 4 Wheel Rear Roller Lawnmower - £169

Continue to trim the edges of they start to look ragged especially around paving tiles.

If the lawn is more than a year old and it’s been particularly dry, leave the trimmings on the lawn. 

This will allow the ground to maintain moisture and while it’s the opposite of the Lawn Care Tips we’ve been giving so far, this time it has a benefit.

Just keep in mind that you don’t want to leave them on too long as you don’t want them still covering the lawn in Autumn.

If the lawn is less than a year old be sure to give it a water. If it’s the first or second summer, it might still be too young to cope with these conditions so help it out a little bit.

Another tip is to make sure you have cover for your holidays. Who would you trust to look after your garden while your way?

August Lawn Care Tips

Now growth of the lawn will slow down a little so lift the blades up a little to help maintain ground moisture.

As growth begins to slow this time of year it’s a good time to lift blades on the mower to allow the longer leaves to maintain ground moisture.

827M Compact Lawn Rider - £1399

Now is also a good time to fill in any cracks that may have formed from the dry weather. But, the materials used to do this will vary greatly on the size of cracks, type of soil/clay etc and will need a post all on its own just to cover the options.

But, if you have cracks, look at them now.

Lawn Care Tips: April, May, June

April Lawn Care Tips

Now we’re getting down to business. There isn’t that much to do in April except to mow and mow often from now until September. Some will suggest twice a week but that’s not always possible so mow as much as you can.

Again, no need to take off more than a third of the length in one go and generally you can repeat at the desired height to maintain an even look through Summer.

If you didn’t feed in March you probably should now. If you’ve been on top of your maintenance tasks the lawn shouldn’t be too starved of natural nutrition, but a feed can always help.

Follow the same rules as March, use a Spring/Summer feed and water lightly to prevent scorching.

April is also a good time to dig out patches of damaged grass and reseed if you didn’t get a chance to do it in February.

Either loosen with a fork and reseed to remove with a spade and relay new turf.

May Lawn Care Tips

Now would be a good time to reapply the feed if you feel the lawn needs it. Again, remember to lightly water after to prevent scorching.

Also, it’s a good time to have a look around for any weeds that may appear. Most can be weeded by hand no problem but others, especially those with a deeper root will need cutting or digging out.

Others can probably only be treated with a weed killer so examine the garden, do your research and weed accordingly.

If you haven’t done already, as the grass is growing quickly, trim the edges to make the lawn look extra neat and tidy.

Masport Petrol Lawn Edger MS-LE - £459

Use grass shears around difficult terrain such as paving stones and an edging tool for longer border sections.

Use a plank of wood to help guide a straight edge, layout string or rope to help guide around curves.

Remember to pick up the trimmings to add to the compost.

June Lawn Care Tips

Now is a good time to rearrange garden furniture that is casting a shadow. If you have a table and chairs, or maybe a slide and climbing frame this should be moved to prevent permanent impressions on the lawn.

This is also the case for ornaments and plant pots etc.

Continue to mow little and often, never taking off more than a third of the current length.

Consider a feed, check the instructions on your Spring/Summer feed to see how often they suggest using it. If you did a feed in May chances are you won’t need to do one in June.

If it’s been dry with a significant lack of rain then lawn will probably need a light watering just to prevent it drying up too much.

Compact Trolley Mounted Powered Waterer HBWP - £524.99

Lawn Care Tips: January, February, March

January Lawn Care Tips

We’ve talked about this already but remember to service your Mower. This is to make sure it’s in perfect condition as it has a lot to do over the next 10 months. Also, sharpen those blades if needed!

We also provided a guide on how to find spare parts on the website should you need any.

Continue to keep the lawn free from leaves or debris This is something else we’ve mentioned before but using a light rake or a brush will help keep the top of your lawn clear without damaging the bottom.

Trapping moisture in this way, especially this time of year when it’s damp enough. Will help diseases to grow and spread.

One Last point for January and any Winter month is to stay off the lawn if it’s frozen or waterlogged.

The frozen leaves are brittle and trampling the top can have damage further down. Also, those frozen footprints can hang around for quite some time and will not look great come summer.

February Lawn Care Tips

This is the time, weather permitting, that you can make any repairs to the lawn.

Here you can either dig up the soil with a fork to loosen it and get some air in there, rake it flat, seed and rake again. This will allow new grass to grow in the affected area.

Alternatively, you can remove the top layer and lay new turf. Either way the soft, damp conditions give you the perfect opportunity to repair the lawn.

Now is also a good time to trim back the hedges any anything over hanging the lawn. Just snip back and tidy up all that growth from the last few months. Not only will it look tidier, it will also allow what little sunlight there is to see the lawn and prevent some shaded areas.

Tanaka TCH22EAP2 ( 50 ) Double Sided Petrol Hedge Cutter with Free Mixing Bottle - £189

Remember to clean up any trimmings as well as to keep the law clear by continuing to use the light rake or brush.

While the ground is soft and moist now is also a good time to aerate. While there is plenty of moisture and air around aeration of the lawn will allow this goodness to get to root level. It also helps to prevent any build up of thick ‘thatch’ which may be preventing water and air getting to the soil.

March Lawn Care Tips

It’s time for the first feed of the year. Use a Spring/Summer specialist feed that will not only encourage growth but will prevent the growth of moss and weeds.

This feed will need to be lightly watered, so it pulled into the soil. This not only ensures you’re getting the best results but also prevents the ‘scorching’ effect you can get from having a nitrogen heavy feed sitting on the surface or on the leaves for too long.

Now is also the time to treat Moss. While Moss isn’t harmful, it grows in shady conditions so a sign of Moss on your lawn is probably a sign of poor growing conditions.

To remove Moss, if the feed isn’t working, it can be raked away for a short-term solution. However, if the underlying issue is not found and repaired then you can expect the Moss to grow back.

Now is the time for the first cut of the year. It’s just a maintenance cut really, nothing too deep.

You’re looking to trim a bit off the top, as we’ve mentioned before you should never cut more than a third of the current length in one go but here, you want much less than that.

Finally, for March if the lawn is less than a year old to remove any thatching and again, Moss. This is again to get light, warmth and moisture as deep into the lawn as possible. This will help to encourage growth, especially for a young lawn just coming out of it’s first Winter.

Product Spotlight - Strimmers

We’ve spoke a lot lately about large job such as the first cut of the year, lawn maintenance etc

But eventually you’re going to come down to those smaller, tidying/maintenance job that can really add those extra touches to your garden.

This is where a Strimmer comes in.

Yes, they can do larger jobs like trimming back overgrown areas, but they really come into their own on the smaller jobs like edging and trimming.

So let’s look at a few of these versatile little machines and see what they have to offer.

SGT 226 J Petrol Trimmer

This environmentally friendly petrol strimmer is great for all kinds of jobs. It features ‘Tap N’go’ where the line can be renewed automatically at the push of a button, even while it is in use.

SGT 226 J Petrol Trimmer - £119

Stihl FS 38

This is another strimmer perfect for along walls, around trees and around edges but the reason it’s on the list is that it weighs just 4kg!

Stihl FS 38 - £165

Tanaka TCG22EAB

While still light at 4KG, the Tanaka TCG22EAB features a bent shaft to allow for a better view of the job you are performing for extra control and accuracy. There is also a loop handle for firm yet comfortable control.

Tanaka TCG22EAB - £159

Stihl FS 50 C-E

To step it up a bit, the Stihl FS 50 C-E can still handle all the same jobs and has a bent shaft and loop handle. But it also has ‘jerk free starting’ and a more streamlined start up process as well as a low emission 2 stroke engine.

Not bad, especially when you consider it only weighs 4.5KG

Stihl FS 50 C-E - £240

Multi-Tool 5 in 1

For something that will look at all those little jobs around the garden, we have a 5 in 1 tool. This has a strimmer with ‘Tap N’Go’, a hedge trimmer, a pole pruner and an extension for those hard to reach high up places.

This is a very versatile and cost-effective addition to your gardening arsenal.

Multi-Tool 5 in 1 - £269

So as important as strimmer’s are, know you have options, think about the tasks you’re likely to do and shop accordingly.

Spring 2018 Lawn Upkeep

Happy New Year everyone! As we turn our back on 2017 we’re turning towards Spring and its mildly warmer weather. This of course means more outdoors time.

So if you followed our advice for Lawn care in November and Winter Lawn Mower Maintenance you should be in a good position to get a good start. It’s still early yet but there is no harm in getting ready to go in February/March. (Depending on the weather)

Scarifying

We’ve talked before about making sure the lawn is kept clear to help it breath and prevent mould and disease so I won’t go into it again here… But keep it in mind.

Aeration

Not only is this a good time to Aerate your lawn as your grass is growing but also the ground will be softer making it much easier.

This will let the roots breath and take in nutrients which will encourage growth.

Agri-Fab Towed Spike Aerator 45-0369A - £219

First Cut

For the first cut of the year you can cut as normal but just take care as the soil may be damp, so you might want to cut a bit higher than normal to make sure you don’t dig it up.

Remember to stick to the rule of never cutting off more than a third of the current length of the grass and you won’t go wrong.

This where an adjustable height mower comes in handy, allowing you to cut higher during these difficult periods.

Princess 34 Electric 4 Wheel Rear Roller Lawnmower - £109

First Feed

You should give your Lawn the first of its yearly 4-6 feeds at the start of Spring. You can buy specific Spring or Spring/Summer feed which is tailor made for this purpose.

You’ll want to get that Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium in there to help it recover. At this time of year you can usually rely on rain to rinse any dry granules, no need to water.

Broadcast Fertiliser Spreader (SP31508) - £224

So 4 things to prepare for. You only have 6-10 weeks before you have to put all of this into action so it’s worth thinking about now.