As the winter season is upon us, I wanted to share ways of keeping the nutrition in your soil during the winter months.  Nutrients are crucial to the health of your garden. Luckily here at Oakley Turf Farm we have some great soil improvers, and mulches to help keep your soil in tip top condition, ready for spring time.

Here are some tips to help you maintain the nutrient levels in your soil during the cold season:

Apply compost: compost is a great source of organic matter that can provide your soil with the necessary nutrients during winter. Applying compost in the winter will give it enough time to break down and release nutrients into the soil.

If you have acidic soil our organic mushroom compost is a great way of adding rich organic matter to your soil. It can improve weak soils, help break down heavy clay soils and improve water and nutrient retention.  Due to its ph being alkaline it also works well with flowers, vegetables, herbs and shrubs, as well as being totally organic.

Sometimes gardeners find their best growth and highest yields stems from adding manure to their compost/soil mix. Animal by-products not only add essential minerals, but  also a wide array of helpful bacteria to your garden.

Another simple way of adding nutrients to your garden is of course through creating your own compost from kitchen scraps, grass clippings, cardboard, etc. Or if you’re feeling adventurous, through creating a wormery.

The summer has finally arrived and we can’t wait to see what’s in store!

One thing we have heard is that this summer, is set to be hotter than last years, according to the Met Office☀️

Did you know that the meteorological calendar for summer covers the duration of June, July and August, or by the astronomical calendar it begins on the 21st June, a day referred to as the summer solstice. The summer solstice marks the point when the Sun reaches its highest point in the sky.

Now is a good time to think about looking after yourself when you’re out in the heat in the garden.

Our top tips for keeping cool in the garden are:

✨Try and do your gardening in the early morning or late evening to avoid the hottest part of the day

👒 Always wear a wide brimmed summer hat to keep the sun off your head and face.

🚰 Have a bottle of cold water in an insulated bottle or keep your bottle in the shade.

⛱ Put all your tools in the shade when not using them.

Now sit back and relax and let Oakley Turf Farm do the hard work for you this summer!

With our moffetts (small forklift) we can easily deliver on gravel drives ways, slopes and narrow passages that a normal lorry can’t. If you have any delivery concerns when ordering just put your comments in the “additional information” section when at the checkout page.

 

Happy Gardening!

 

Improve your garden or allotment soil with compost!

 

April is a good time to add a layer of compost to your beds, borders and fruit and veg plots. To help you get your best plant and food yields!

Why should you use compost in your garden or allotment?

There are so many benefits to using compost. It:

🌱  Adds nutrients and organic matter to your soil

🌱  Improves fertility and yields

🌱  Increases your soil’s physical structure and its workability

🌱  Aids water and nutrient retention

🌱  Improves weak soils and helps to break down heavy clay soils

Should you buy compost or make your own?

This is really a personal choice and can depend on how much space and time you have!

If you have room in your garden you may want to give over a corner of it for a compost heap or compost bin.

It’s a really handy way to recycle a lot of food, household and garden waste. 

 

You can add things like:

From the garden: Grass and hedge cuttings, weeds and nettles.

From the house: Teabags, eggshells, fruit and veg peelings, paper and cardboard.

 

It will take at least a few months before your compost is ready to use so it’s not an instant solution!

 

You can, of course, buy your compost ready-to-use.

This saves having to have a compost heap or bin in your garden. Which is especially good if you don’t have much space.

You also don’t need to tend to the compost or wait until it’s ready to use. You can collect or have it delivered and use it straight away!

Where can you buy great quality compost in Essex & Suffolk?

Well, as it happens, here at Oakley Turf Farm, we supply a range of fantastic composts, including:

🌱  Compost

🌱  Organic Mushroom Compost 

🌱  Horse Manure

🌱  Farm Yard Manure

 

Our compost is certified to a high-quality standard and is great for plants, shrubs, fruit and vegetables.

You can buy yours here.

 

🌱  We’d love to see your photos of your plants grown with Oakley Turf Farm soil improvers! You can email them to us or leave us a review or tag us on our social media pages.

Happy Gardening!

 

Spring into action! March garden jobs and tips!

 

When the sun is shining, there’s no better place to be than in your own garden.

Whether you have a cottage garden, a backyard or several acres, you can make the most of your outdoor space.

Now is the perfect time to give your garden that all-important spring clean. It’s not just indoors that benefits from a bit of TLC this time of year!

And it’s something the whole family can get involved with.

Clean & tidy

🍂 Little ones can pick up any dead leaves and debris left over from autumn and winter.

While older ones can get stuck into the weeding.

Give them a little added incentive, by making it a competition to see who can pull up the most weeds in ten minutes! The winner gets an ice cream!

Make do & mend

🔨 Fix anything that’s broken. Falling fences, the sagging shed roof etc. so everything is safe and in good repair for the coming year.

🖌️ Smarten up and protect fences and sheds with a coat of paint/wood treatment.

🧽 Clean the greenhouse inside and out, if you’re not using it yet.

Beds & Borders

🌲 If you haven’t already, add a thick layer of mulch to your beds and borders when the ground is moist.

It suppresses weeds by stopping the daylight from reaching the ground.

Mulch also creates a thermal layer in hot and cold weather and protects plant roots. So while it suppresses weeds, it actually helps your other plants to grow! 🌷

You’ll still need to weed every now and then. But nowhere near as often as if you don’t use a mulch layer!

🌲 Our specially-produced bark chips are great to use on your beds and borders. They aid weed suppression and water retention.

Plant the seed

🍓 Sow sweet peas and plant summer flowers, vegetables, and fruit.

Lawn Care

🌱 If your lawn is looking a bit worse for wear after winter – DON’T PANIC!!

As the weather warms up in spring, lawns are great at repairing themselves.

We recommend giving lawns spring fertiliser. This will help them bounce back to life and prepare them well for the year ahead.

If any bare areas don’t repair themselves, add a small amount of seed and water it in.

🌱 If you’re laying a new turf lawn this year, spring is a great time to do it.

It’ll have time to establish strong roots and be healthy and strong when you come to use it much more in the summer.

It’s a good idea to add a layer of topsoil before you lay your turf, to keep your new lawn in great condition.

You can buy your turf and topsoil from us here.

Happy Gardening!

 

 

 

 

February gardening jobs and tips!

 

There’s not an awful lot of gardening to do in February. But there are always a few jobs and preparation for spring and summer that you can do!

Lawn Care

🌱 Try to keep off frosty or waterlogged grass as much as you can to avoid damaging it.

🌱 Gently rake leaves and debris such as twigs from your lawn regularly. If left, they can create brown patches and even spread lawn disease.

Don’t forget the lawnmower!

🌱 Keeping your lawnmower in good condition will help to keep your lawn in good condition too!

Have your mower serviced and the blades sharpened regularly.

A sharp blade will cut the grass cleanly. Unlike a blunt blade that will tear it, which can cause it to turn brown or yellow.

If you don’t have the tools to service your mower yourself, your local tool hire company can often do this for you.

 

Beds & Borders

🌲 Late winter or early spring (before the weeds start to grow) is the ideal time to add a thick layer of mulch to your beds and borders.

Lay mulch is when the ground is moist.

It suppresses weeds by stopping the daylight from reaching the ground.

Mulch also creates a thermal layer in hot and cold weather and protects plant roots. So while it suppresses weeds, it actually helps your other plants to grow! 🌷

You’ll still need to weed every now and then, I’m afraid. But nowhere near as often as if you don’t use a mulch layer!

🌲 Our specially-produced bark chips are great to use on your beds and borders to aid weed suppression and water retention.

 

Around the garden

✂️ Prune shrubs and climbers such as clematis, buddleia, hydrangea and roses.

🌷 Plant bulbs for summer flowers.

🌱 Sow sweet peas.

✔️ Prepare as much as possible now, so you can relax and enjoy your garden in the summer!

💐 And look out for daffodils and snowdrops, for the start of the stunning spring displays!

👀 Take a look around your garden for any other jobs to do when the weather warms up, such as lawn repairs. You can usually use grass seed to repair small damaged patches in your lawn. But for bigger areas, or an instant solution, new turf might be a better option.

 

Happy Gardening!