Maintain Turf in Parks and Gardens
Know the factors affecting the maintenance of established fine and coarse turf
Looking after your lawn and creating the ideal environment for grass can be challenging for the most passionate Gardener. There are numerous factors that play a part in manufacturing the flawless lawn that greatly enhances the appearance of not only your garden, but your home too.
The main Factors you want to remember to keep your lawn perfect:
Mowing – You will need a Good mower that will treat your lawn in the way you want it too. Having a good routine will help it look neat and will also promote a healthy blade.
Depending on your turf, you will have to have different cutting ranges, for example;
“Rough”; mow at last once per year, because if the turf is not mown at this frequency, wild flowers will start to produce.
“Utility”; mow in season once per week. In the summer you should adjust the height of your mower 13mm, and in the winter 25mm.
“Semi-Fine”; mow in season twice a week. In the summer the height of cut should be 5-7mm, and in the winter 7-13mm
“Fine”; mow three times a week in season. 4-5mm in the summer and 6-8mm in the winter for your height of cut.
Watering – Watering your grass will benefit it. Things to remember when watering your grass;
Try to water in cooler times of day to avoid evaporation.
You should water it when your lawn is hard and lost all springiness.
Water enough to soak the soil to a depth of around 4 inches minimum.
You should give enough time between watering periods so it can dry up.
And not enough watering will favour your weeds.
Soil Compaction and aeration – Soil compaction has various causes. Aeration is the process by which air is circulated through, mixed with or dissolved in a liquid or substance. Aeration reduces soil compaction by perforating the lawn with small holes or slits. This maximizes irrigation. Aeration is one of the most important operations that can be performed on turf.
Grass Types – there are many different grass types that are suited to everyone’s need of a lawn. Depending on what grass you have, and how you use it, you need to treat it with the right care.
Thatch – Thatch forms on the top of the soil and at around ¼ inch thick is fine for your lawn, providing a protective layer, reducing water loss from evaporation. If it was any thicker it would start to prevent problems, protecting disease and badly affecting overall soil performance.
Top Dressing – Topdressing the lawn is the process of adding a fine layer of ‘home mixed quality soil’ to the lawn surface. Top dressing benefits the lawn as it builds up the quality of the soil over a period of time, - sandy soils will be able to retain moisture better and so the lawn will be more resistant to drought, clay soils will drain better thus improving root development
Scarification – Scarification is carried out to remove organic matter from around the base of the grass plants and tidy up any straggly lateral growth. In a nutshell, scarification removes material, probably in the form of thatch or moss that will otherwise prevent good dense grass growth. If you do not scarify, debris will build
