Amateur Gardening 9-Oct-2021

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SUMMER takes its toll on lawns with drought and heavy footfall, whereas winter’s damage is caused by rain, waterlogging, frosts and fungal diseases. Autumn is usually a kinder season that gives us gardeners a window to make any repairs to our lawns, tidy them up, solve any problems that have developed and maybe lay some new areas of grass if necessary. The key objective about now is making sure your stretches of sward are as strong and healthy as possible to cope with the months ahead. Give your grass a boost with an autumn feed that has been specifically formulated to strengthen grass without making it grow, as new shoots will be killed off by cold weather. Many of these seasonal feeds also contain root boosters and moss eliminators. Tackle perennial lawn weeds now…

How to lay fresh turf in autumn AUTUMN is the ideal time to lay new turf because the rain will encourage root growth and help the turves knit together and the poorer weather makes us less likely to stray onto newly-laid grass. You can also lay turf in spring but it may need more watering and we are more likely to walk on it, which can damage the new roots and grass. Never lay your turf when the ground is waterlogged or frozen. Always ensure that the turves you buy are lush and green with no yellowing edges – it is always a good idea to check they haven’t been lying around in stock for too long either. Here is what you do: Fork over and break up the soil of the area you…

Got a story? email ruth.hayes@futurenet.com AS autumn advances and we start thinking about replenishing our soil and ‘putting the garden to bed’ for the winter, the time is ripe for considering making the move to a more organic way of horticulture. The charity Garden Organic is encouraging AG readers to garden without chemicals to create a balanced and diverse environment where native plants, insects and wildlife can thrive. Emma O’Neill, the charity’s head gardener, says that the best way to go organic and to improve your garden’s biodiversity is to start with baby steps. “Start small and learn as you go,” she said. “If you go all-out and have unrealistic aims you will not be successful and may get discouraged. “Patience is key. People write to us and says ‘help, I’ve got pests in my garden…

1 Healthy soil is the keystone of successful organic growing, and earthworms are a great ally. They improve soil structure by creating pathways that allow air and moisture to circulate, and munch through any organic matter, breaking it down so it gets mixed into the soil. 2 Make your own compost and leaf mould and add them to your soil, either as a mulch or by digging in. It will improve your soil structure and add essential nutrients. 3 Bees, butterflies, flies, hoverflies, even wasps, all help transfer pollen from one flower to another, creating flowers and fruits. Encourage them with a mix of plants. Hoverflies love fennel, coriander and yarrow; butterflies love nettles and buddleia; bees make a beeline for lavender, sunflowers, echinacea, marjoram and comfrey. Grow their favourites in pots…

EVERY season has its staple chores and right now, we are busy raking up fallen leaves. These are the cornerstone of leaf mould, one of nature’s greatest soil enrichers, so it makes sense to collect them while you can and stash them away for a couple of years while they break down before use. Collecting fallen leaves also removes them from hard surfaces where they become dangerous and slippery as they degrade and get wet, and from the lawn where they can cause yellowing of grass and harbour pests and other problems. Deciduous leaves have different properties and decompose at differing rates. The quickest and best are beech, oak and hornbeam. Thicker leaves such as sycamore, walnut and those in the chestnut family take longer to break down, though you can speed up…