Understant The Establishment And Maintenance Of Lawns Flashcards
State appropriate grass mixtures for the establishment of a high quality ornamental lawn
Festuca rubra subsp commutata
Agrostis capillaris
State appropriate grass species for a hard wearing utility lawn
Must include - Lolium perenne
Festuca rubra rubra
Poa pratensis
Agrostis capillaris
State the benefits and limitations of establishing lawns from seed
Ideal months to carry out task- autumn or spring when there is good rainfall.
Time required for establishment - 6 to 9 months to be used for anything other than light walking.
Immediate impact - no, it’s slow to establish.
Evenness of initial growth - not necessarily even initially.
Sustainability - easier to transport than turf.
Species in the mix - range of species to choose from to suit a range of circumstances.
Costs in purchase - cheaper than turfing
Costs in labour - quicker than turfing, but prep of the soil takes longer as a fine seed bed must be created.
Good for odd shapes.
Describe the procedure for establishing a lawn from seed
Site should be well drained and level
Remove perennial weeds.
In November, the ground should be dug deeply. Top spit turned over and left rough for winter.
Level the ground but leave top soil in position.
Add bulky organic matter to poor soil.
In march and April - soil should be forked over and broken up. Remove roots of perennial weeds. A rotivator can be used.
Add fertliser to the soil - adequate phosphate is neeeded for young grass roots - fish meal at 75g/m2, or a base dressing which include 75g/m2 rock potash
Rake and then heel to find soft spots, then rake again site to a fine tilth when soil is dry a week or 2 before sowing. Do final levelling and remove tones.
Choose a calm day when soil is dry for sowing.
Sowing by hand - 70g per m2.
Divide area into equal sections, calculate seed for whole area then divide into sections, divide the seed for each section in half, distribute this amount of seed equally over one section, then the other half of the seed over the same section at a right angle to the first direction, Repeat till all sections are done.
When using a machine - calculate area to be sown, measure out the amount of seed needed for whole area, divide in half, sow that amount of seed over entire area, then the second amount of seed over the entire area at a right angle to the first sowing.
Rake in the seed
Cotton covering as bird protection
Water in the seed gently.
First cut can be done once grass is 5cm high, and it can be cut to 2.5cm.
Remove weeds as they appear
State the benefits and limitations of establishing a lawn from turf
Ideal months to carry out task - Lay turf in September and October or March and April
Time required for establishment can be used quickly
Immediate impact
Evenness of initial growth - even growth
Sustainability - heavy and bulky to transport.
Customising of species in mix - limited range of grass species and varieties available
Costs - £s per kil or labour hours x square meter - more expensive than seed to buy.
Describe the procedure for establishing a lawn from turf
Site prep - hand cultivation (turn over top spit and level, leave rough over winter. Fork over soil and break up in march or April Rake and roll to produce a fine tilth. Remove stones and do any final leveling), weed eradication (remove perennial weeds), methods (Spade and fork to do it by hand, or a rotivator can be used. A roller can be used, or it can be firmed by stepping on it), consolidation, levelling, base dress including ingrediants and rate
Laying techniques - starting from the edge of the site, unroll the first turf rolls into a straight line. Lay the next line so that the beaks between rolls do not coincide (alternate bond pattern). Try to keep sections of turf as big as possible so that they are less prone to drying out. Do not step on new turkeys while laying the next row. Do not stretch truces. Large areas can be laid by mounting rolls of turf onto a tractor. Tamp down the turves or use a light roller to get rid of air pockets. Apply a light top dressing of compost or good quality top soil. Rake in using a lawn rake or lute. Keep turves moist until they have rooted well.
Do not include drainage systems
Describe the annual maintenance programme for quality ornamental and for hard wearing utility lawns
Height of cut - do not cut to close in drought. Ornamental - 12.5mm in summer and 20mm is spring/autumn/drought/ Utility 25mm in summer and 30mm in spring/autumn/drought
Frequency of cut - cut when 12.5mm longer than recommended height. Do not remove more than 1/3 of the blade length during any single mowing.
Remove clippings or not
Feeding - feeding can prevent scorching or Corticium disease in summer. In March, give top dressing of 50-60g/m2 of fish meal bulked up with sand and repeat 4-6 weeks later. Last feed should be done before July to prevent Fusarium wilt.
Scarifying - Autumn job. Vigorous raking with a wire rake or a vertical mowing machine. Removes dead grass and other debris and stimulates growth of grass plants.
Aeration - Improves root growth, allows a top dressing to be brushed in. Autumn job. Spiking to be done 1 year in 3 and good for heavy soils and lawns which are very compressed.
Top dressing - Increased root growth and grass growth. Coir is good - 500g/m2. Autumn job, no later than the end of October. May be used to level the lawn by filling hollows, to apply nutrients etc
Edging - use edge trimmers or strummers to keep edge defined.
Weed control - a selective weed killed can be applied in autumn. Physically remove weeds where necessary.
Control of pests and diseases - Before top dressing, moss, Corticium or Fusarium can be controlled. Worms- worm casts - maintain an acid soil, avoid excessive use of organic fertilisers and top dressings, box off clipping, leatherjackets - grubs eat roots and shoots - chemicals and same controls as worms and moles - sonic mole deterrents and trapping.
Tasks should relate to a 12 month maintenance programme
Name grass diseases and controls
Fusarium path disease -
Small orange-brown spots appear and kill off patches of grass. Grass becomes wet and slimy.
Moisture control
Avoid alkaline conditions
Reduction of annual meadow grass
Remove clippings and thatch control
Corticium Disease -
Red Thread -
Bleached patches of damaged grass, often tinged pink with red ‘needles’ visible under wet conditions
Apply adequate fertiliser especially of summer nitrogen, select resistant cultivars.
Fairy rings - Arcs and circles of dark green turf or crops of toadstools caused by soil inhabiting fungi.
Lift the affected turf from the ring, including 300mm on either side. Trench dig the central 300mm wide area where the ring were and remove the soil. Replace with fresh earth from elsewhere, the reseed or turf. Treat in spring or autumn.
Describe the range of equipment used for mowing, feeding, scarifying and aerating to maintain lawns
Types of mower - Cylinder mowers - Good control of height of cut, clean and precise cutting, can remove clippings. Can be difficult to handle in confined spaces and around standing objects, rollers increase compaction.
Rotating blade/disk mower - robust machines, good for banks and slopes, good for utility areas, little soil compaction. May not remove clippings, can produce thatched layer, can cause unsightly tearing of the grass.
Reciprocating mowers - Useful for cutting very rough grass. Poor control of height and limited use in confined spaces.
Flail mowers - Capable fo cutting grass up to a meter tall, low maintenance requirements, capable of dealing with very rough grass areas. No use of fine turf, can leave areas in an unsightly state.
Lawn feed distributor - granular fertiliser distributors can be pedestrian operated and can apply fertiliser at an appropriate rate evenly and accurately with no overdosing. Roller feed mechanism, spinning disk mechanism and a belt feed system.
Scarifier - springtine rake and powered mechanical
Aerator - solid and hollow tines. Spiked roller or an aerating fork.
