Lawns Flashcards
What is grass and why is it perfect for lawns?
- Grass is a cotyledon with a fibrous root system and narrow leaves.
- It’s so successful because of the presence of meristematic tissue at the base of the leaf, meaning it can grow back after being cut.
- It can also produces new leaves at the base of the plant.
- It also spreads by stolons or rhizomes.
Name two grasses for a high quality ornamental lawn.
- Festuca rubra subsp. commutata (fine-leaf, tufted, drought tolerant) 80%
- Agrostis capillaris (fine-leaf, rhizome, moderately hard-wearing) 20%
Name two grasses suitable for hard-wearing utility lawns.
- Lolium perenne (Perennial ryegrass, very hard-wearing) 40%
- Poa pratensis (Smooth-stalked meadow grass, tolerates wide climatic conditions) 20%
(Add into mix 30% Festuca rubra subsp. rubra and 10% Agrostis capillaris.
Describe four maintenance tasks of lawns.
Mowing: the removal of excess grass growth to a height of 1cm in summer and 2cm in winter. This is usually carried out with a cylinder mower which will also collect the grass clippings. Edges should be trimmed using long handled edging shears.
Scarification: is carried out to remove the debris (thatch) e.g. weeds and moss in the lawn. Scarification also encourages the production of side shoots (tillers) at the base of the grass. It can be carried out using a spring tine rake or with a pedestrian operated mechanised scarifier. It is usually carried out in two directions.
Aeration: is the removal of a core of soil or making holes in a lawn to improve drainage and air movement in the soil. This is achieved by using a garden fork and inserting the tines up to 7.5cm into the soil at 0.5m distances. Alternatively a hand held aerator with hollow tines can be used for small areas and a mechanised one for larger areas.
Top Dressing: is carried out after aeration to encourage the grass to produce tillers. It consists of 70:30 sand:loam for a light soil and 80:20 for a heavy soil. It is distributed over the turf with a shovel at a rate of 2-4kg/m2 and then worked in using a tru-lute or a besom broom.
Additional tasks which gained marks included; weeding, feeding, irrigation, pest and disease control.
Describe the technique for seeding a lawn (excluding bed preparation):
- Seed is sown evenly at a rate of 35mg/sqm by sowing broadcast in two directions, after dividing the amount of seed in half.
- It can also be spread by a cyclone spreader before being lightly raked in.
Describe preparation of a seed bed for lawns.
- Start with weed removal. Annual weeds can be hoed, perennials may be sprayed
- Cultivation: double digging on new site. Can use rotary cultivator.
- Levelling: Break up any clods with a rake.
- Consolidate: Tamp down to remove air pockets (shuffle)
- Fertilise: Base dressing of bonemeal (70g/sqm) or superphosphate (120g/sqm) lightly raked in
- Then spread seed or lay turf.
Describe the symptoms and control of two pests affecting lawns:
Leatherjackets
- Larve of cranefly/daddy long legs
- Brownish-grey grub to 4cm long
- Leave dead patches or dying turf, as feed on roots of turf
- Most damage appears in spring (Feb/Mar)
- Use damp sacks overnight to bring larvae to surface, then remove.
Moles
- Tunnels and molehills, leaving irregular surface
- Reduce earthworm population, use repellant species like Euphorbia lathyris, or use mole traps.
Describe the symptoms and control of two turf diseases.
Fairy rings
- A circle of dead or dying grass inside a larger band of dark grass, or a ring of toadstools
- Fungal disease
- Dig out the ring to 50cm deep and 15cm either side of symptoms, replace with fresh soil and reseed.
Red thread
- Fungal disease
- Patches of infected grass have light brown or bleached appearnce, with reddish tinge
- Patches 7.5cm to 25cm in diametre (can be much larger)
- Prevalent in late summer/autumn on soils lacking nitrogen
- Add nitrogen to improve soil fertility. Improve drainage and aeration. Turf fungicide containing trifloxystrobin.
List the benefits and limitation of establishing lawn from seed.
Benefits
- Easier to handle
- Easier and lighter to transport
- Greater range of cultivars and mixtures available
- Cheaper to purchase than turf
- Lower labour costs than turf
- Can be store longer than turf between purchase and use
Limitations
- Takes longer to establish lawn
- Restricted to specific times for sowing the lawn
- More prone to best and disease problems
- Preparation of seedbed is more critical than when laying turf
- More prone to weed problems than turf.
State an ideal month for carrying out the following:
- Scarifying
- Feeding with a high nitrogen fertiliser
- Feeding with a balanced fertiliser
- Mowing
- Aerating
- Top dressing
- Weed control
- Mole control
- Control of fusarium patch
- Control of pests e.g. leatherjackets.
Scarifying: Mar-Apr, Sept-Oct
Feeding with a high nitrogen fertiliser: Mar-Aug
Feeding with a balanced fertiliser: Mar. Sept-Oct.
Mowing: Mar-Sept
Aerating: Apr-June, Sept-Oct
Top dressing: Mar-Apr, Sept-Oct
Weed control: Mar-Apr, Sept-Oct
Mole control: Feb-June
Control of fusarium patch: Sept-Nov
Control of pests e.g. leatherjackets: July-Sept
Describe the process of turf laying:
- Ideal time is autumn or spring
- Check quality and for P&D when it arrives
- If you need to store for a couple of days, unroll and water in a shady area
- Follow same steps as seedbed preparation (weed, cultivate, level, consolidate, fertilise)
- Begin laying the turf from a straight edge, stagger them like bricks
- Don’t stand on turf, use boards
- Work top dressing into the joins (1-2kg/sqm)
- Avoid walking on it for a month, water in dry weather.
Outline an annual maintenance program for lawns (both ornamental and utility).
- Mowing: Mow whenever in active growth. Ornamental mowed to 2cm in winter and 1cm in summer; utility mowed to 4cm in winter and reduced to just under 3cm in summer. Mow on dry days. Mow longer and less in drought.
- Edging: to keep need, as required, and keep grass out of beds
- Fertilising: At beginning of growing season to encourage vigorous growth. Spring/summer: NPK at 12:4:6 and magnesium. Autumn: low nitrogen to avoid leaf growth. NPK: 5:5:15.
- Weeding: Selective herbicide as required, as per instructions.
- Renovations/scarification/aeration: Autumn
- Top dressing: In autumn, after aeration. 70:30 sand: loam. 2-4kg/sqm.
Describe the control of weeds in a lawn.
- Can be controlled by handweeding, using a daisygrubber, spade or fork (to ensure you remove all the roots)
- Mainly carried out in spring and autumn or whenever weeds are seen
- Hand weeding can be carried out alongside feeding and aerating
- A selective herbicide (2,4-D) can be used to control broadleafed weeds by spraying the whole lawn or a spot treatment (often it’s incorporated in lawn feed).
