It has been a pretty cold and wet start to the month but warm weather is hopefully just around the corner. If you haven’t managed to get your mower serviced yet, get this booked in at your local Toolhire shop ASAP. As soon as the weather warms up your grass will start to grow.

• First Cut. When mowing your lawn for the first time this year it is important to adjust your mower to a high setting so that you just “top” the grass. You should never cut more than 1/3 of the total length of the grass. The trick is to start high and then reduce this as we move further into Spring.
•  Don’t rush in. March may be the official start to spring but Winter can have a sting in the tail. There may be a few frosts yet to come and temperatures may not warm up straight away. If this is the case then hold back. Mowing too much in cold weather can cause a lawn to yellow.

I hope you find this advice helpful and stay tuned for more monthly lawn care tips.

Kieran Phelan

Much of what you can do in February will depend on the type of winter weather we are experiencing. If there is 3 feet of snow on the ground then concentrate on keeping warm and working on your snowman building. On the other hand if it turns out to be a relatively dry and mild month there are jobs that can be done.

• Aerating. As we covered in January, too much use of a lawn through the winter such as walking backwards and forwards, kids playing, pets wandering about all help to compact the soil. This will then prevent rain water from draining properly and can seriously stunt the lawns growth. The simplest thing you can do do is to spike or aerate the ground. This will improve drainage and prevent wet muddy areas forming. Try using a hollow tine aerator to remove thin plugs of soil. Or you can spike the grpund with a garden fork down about 15cm/6″ deep. After spiking a few square metres, brush a dressing of sharp sand into the holes and spread a top dressing to help the grass root in the spring. Remember to use only sharp sand and never builder’s sand for this. This should only be done if weather conditions are mild and dry. Some years it may worth waiting till March.
• Scarifying. If conditions are mild and dry now is a good time to scarify your lawn. There are plenty of tools you can hire or buy for this but a nice soft rake can work just as well. Remove any moss or thatch that has built up and allow your lawn to breathe. You may not see the benefit of this straight away but come spring your lawn will thrive.

I hope you find this advice helpful and stay tuned for more monthly lawn care tips.

Kieran Phelan

January might be cold and wet but lawns are never far from my mind. You may not be getting much use out of your lawn at this time of year but there are a few things that you can keep an eye on.

•  Remove any dead leaves or debris that are laying on your lawn. These can cause brown patches if they lay on top of your lawn through the winter and may even help spread disease. Its not the most exciting of jobs but it can really help keep your lawn looking good and staying healthy.
• Try to stay off your lawn when it is waterlogged or there is a heavy frost. This may seem obvious but its scary the amount of damage that can be caused by overuse of a lawn when it is too wet. Now is not the time for a football match in the back garden!
• Get your lawn mower serviced and the blades sharpened. January wont be the month where your lawn mower will see much action but now is a great time to get it serviced. Sharpening the blades is extremely important. A blunt blade will hack at the grass causing bruising and this can leave your lawn looking brown or yellow.

I hope you find this advice helpful and stay tuned for more monthly lawn care tips.

Kieran Phelan

Oakley Turf Farm Manager Kieran Phelan is taking on the epic endurance event Ironman UK. The Iron man is a long distance triathlon consisting of a 2.4-mile (3.86 km) swim, a 112-mile (180.25 km) bicycle ride and a marathon 26.2-mile (42.2 km) run, raced in that order and without a break. The reason for this all is to help raise funds and awareness for Spinal Muscular Atrophy Support UK. Kieran said “It is going to be the hardest thing I have ever attempted, a race that is designed to test you to the limit but if we can raise some money and awareness for SMA then it will more than worth it. I will be racing with friends all in memory of Baby Nelle who lost her battle with SMA aged 4 months. We hope the money raised will help other families dealing with SMA”.

The event takes place in July 2016 so Kieran and the team have a long winter of training ahead of them. Good Luck and Go Team Nelle!!

 

Oakley Turf Farm has recently donated 17 new footballs to Harwich and Parkeston Football club. Harwich and Parkeston were broken into not once but twice over the Christmas period and a box of new footballs were taken. Oakley Turf decided to help out and replace the stolen footballs. We believe strongly in supporting local organisations and hope our donation will help the club move forward.

Oakley Turf Farm are proud sponsors of Harwich & Dovercourt Rugby Club.

Oakley Turf recently turfed a street for a local Garden Party! The event organised by award winning pub the Alma attracted 100’s of visitors. The turfed street was used for children’s games, a dog show and local band to entertain the visitor’s.