Lawn treatments and the ingredients

[RoofTops]

You can lay turf throughout the summer providing you keep it damp and don't let it dry out. The recommended times for sowing seed are spring or autumn with autumn usually considered best as spring sown grass will have to cope with high summer temperatures and possible a drought when it is not fully established.

 

[louiseww]

Hi Brosville
Thanks for your comments. Just so you know my own garden has been completely pesticide free for the last twenty years and I get very upset when neighbours don't think about the consequences of their actions.
Spoke to the neighbour yesterday and she said that she will continue to press them but if they don't come up with the answers she won't use them again. So 'gently, gently, catch the monkey' - the next conversation will steer towards organic non invasive care of the lawn.
My laws are covered with orchids (pyramid and ladies tresses) clover, buttercups and daises, vetch and primroses and others too numerous to name.
Louise

 

[louiseww]

Nice one!
L

 

[louiseww]

It's amazing the things I learn on this site, mole hills and worm castes for my seedlings, great stuff!

 

[Brosville]

Probably not a "mass market" suggestion, but I've found my chooks have improved my lawn...... They're in a moveable ark which over the course of the season trundles all round one of the lawns, and I'd guess it's a combination of their scratching and fertilising that leaves behind happy healthy grass.......

 

[Storm™]

My laws are covered with orchids (pyramid and ladies tresses) clover, buttercups and daises, vetch and primroses and others too numerous to name.

Two words - heavily protected.

The pyramid orchid is rare. Very rare. As far as I am aware found on freswater marshland. And all of the randomly growing orchids are very rare. And you are not permitted to treat in their presence. Our little village which used to house lovely Cornish people is now being over run with scumbags from essex/kent/london/surry etc who loved the village so much they moved there. Insisted on a playground for their kids, which only the youths use for a beer meet, then it was "we insist on having a village pond because there has always been a pond here" which as I showed the council inspector was a buried wash tub full of weed. Cut these trees down they are dangerous. Its too dark at night when I walk up the track - streetlit now, lovely, dirt track is really uneaven it needs tarmac. SO I moved. If I wanted to move back to Essex I would. It appears Essex is has moved to me. Dire. Anyway (i love orchids) and after seeing a few in the long grass the "the grass looks untidy cut it right now scum", were told to politely get stuffed by the council as the orchids have to be allowed to grow unmolested by chemical or blade. This is North Cornwall Council or as its laughingly called now "One Cornwall Council". But if all else fails its worth looking into.

 

[hedgerow pete]

we did the re grass seeding in the autum but they did not grow as well as i wanted, it was best quality seed so it must be a dog soil problem. no i cant get rid of the dogs or the grass.

so what should or can i do to the soil/grassed arae before returfing it to remove the dog piddle polution

 

[psafloyd]

Probably not a "mass market" suggestion, but I've found my chooks have improved my lawn...... They're in a moveable ark which over the course of the season trundles all round one of the lawns, and I'd guess it's a combination of their scratching and fertilising that leaves behind happy healthy grass.......

Yes, their scratching must help to remove some of the thatch some people spend plenty of money and effort on trying to remove.

 

[Skyhook]

we did the re grass seeding in the autum but they did not grow as well as i wanted, it was best quality seed so it must be a dog soil problem. no i cant get rid of the dogs or the grass.

so what should or can i do to the soil/grassed arae before returfing it to remove the dog piddle polution

Urine contains ammonia, urea, and uric acid, all poisonous to grass until soil bacteria have broken them down to nitrates, at which point they become fertilizer. Therefore if you have a temporary problem you can either flood with water to disperse it (see my previous post), or dig it over so the most contaminated part is now a few inches down, or wait. If it is ongoing then the soil may not drop below toxic levels, in which case you may have to look at other solutions, eg take the dogs for a short walk before letting them in the garden. Then the above methods will stand a chance.

Or harvest it and sell it to Carling- I'm sure that's what they sell!

 

[RoofTops]

HP - you could perhaps dig it over and then lime it. But when you turf it the dogs will come back so I guess you will have to put netting or something over the turf until it is established.

 

[Erichalfbee]

One of my dogs,the old one, scorches the grass with one pee.... you'd think he was passing agent orange. The younger dog's pee has no effect ...... I'm sure you all wanted to know Everytime the old dog goes I throw a bucket of water over the grass. That works well.

 

[Poly Hive]

Last year I met a couple who were walking the canal searching for mole hills for the above reason.

PH

 

[Black Comb]

Get Astroturf.

 

[Storm™]

ON Gibraltar harbour walk, I cam across a dog latrine. A square about 2 metres by 2 metres. Tiled, and this sloped down into a drain which went to a dry soakaway. In the middle a tanilated post. They all used it on or off the lead.

 

[louiseww]

We know our orchids are rare and we treasure them. We only discovered them after going on holiday one June years ago without mowing the lawn, imagine our surprise when we got back. We mow around each patch now and have watched them multiply over the years.
Yet another reason for not putting anything on the lawn. We are not the only ones to have them in our road, a landscape gardener a few doors down has a large patch at the front, we think that the grass laid for lawn must have been downland way back in the 1920s and 1930s and these orchids are reasonably common on chalk downland but still protected, I will add a photo on my page if I can work it out!
Louise

 

[louiseww]

They have those in France too! The signs are also in French because their dogs can read them!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Our wild orchids are lovely.
Louise you are very lucky.
I walked the Coast to Coast one year and found a huge patch (don't know what species) and they were being nibbled by the sheep

 

[RoofTops]

Louise, I would be surprised if they came in on turf - unless it was as seeds. Orchids like this have a tuber fairly deep in the ground - below the level of turf. I suspect they might have been already in the ground when the houses were built and a few survived the diggings but equally likely the tiny seeds blew in on the wind. They can travel long distances apparently.

The tubers are very nutritious. Might be worth bearing in mind if times get hard!