Pressure Sprayer, 5 L
Autumn Lawn Care
Seed Spreader
Grass Seed
The main problem with dogs on lawns is that of the brown patches caused by bitches urinating. Male dogs are not such a problem in this respect, for they do it differently..
The brown patches tend to be a circular patch with bright green grass growing around the perimeter as the bitches urine eventually breaks down to Nitrogen, which then feeds the area outside the actual damage. The brown patch is basically scorching - similar to that caused by applying too much fertilizer - especially in dry conditions.
Treatment by soaking the area with water - immediately after the bitch has done the deed! Soaking the brown patches after they have formed will be absolutely essential if you are going to over-seed the patches.
As with many things, prevention is better than cure. You - the owner - have the remedy. Keep your bitch off the lawn!
There are several applications available at most garden centres to keep your dogs away from certain areas. However, if you allow your dog to use the lawn as a toilet, then these applications are of no use. If a dog has to go, a dog has to go!
The answer to this problem should be self-evident. However, we get several emails asking what can be done about this problem.
English springer spaniel
Bitches are the main culprit as far as brown spots of dying or dead grass are concerned. Not because their urine is markedly different from that of a male dog, but very simply, bitch dogs 'squat' to urinate. Therefore a larger concentration of Nitrogen is deposited in a smaller place than that of a male dog doing the same job. Some male dogs are happt to squat pee on their home ground, and the results are exactly the same regardless of sex if your male dog is a 'squatter'. Normally, males (dogs!) are vertical 'pee-ers' and prefer trees or lamposts, or anything else that stands still and upright in the garden.
The chemical make-up is near enough the same. It is simply the concentration of Nitrogen - in the dog's urine - deposited by the squatting bitch which is the problem. Larger dogs - rather than certain breed - release more urine and hence Nitrogen.
The only way to 'cure' after the event, is to soak the spotted area with water.
The only method of prevention that we can vouch for - and you the owner will need to become involved - is to provide a 'litter' spot - any mulching or loose material will do the job, and can be 'hidden' from view in the shrubbery or whatever. Then YOU have to train your dog to use that area. Easiest done on a lead every time the dog wants out to the garden. She will soon get the message if that is where you lead her.
Another problem as a result of keeping dogs, is the severe compaction that can be caused - ultimately leading to the destruction of the lawn in many cases. The compaction and generally wearing of the turf, is when the lawn is used as an exercise area by the dog - or dogs. This is especially the case if you simply let your dog out onto the lawn in wet conditions - rather than taking it for a walk.
If you are going to use the lawn for this purpose, then you will need to have a maintenance regime for your lawn somewhat similar to that of a well used football pitch. Certainly coarser hard wearing grasses will have to be used, and a more intense schedule of maintenance, including spiking etc will be needed, if you wish to have what is normally classed as a garden lawn!
If you have read all this with an un-biased attitude, you will be aware that it is your dog ownership that needs to be adjusted - rather than blaming the dog. (I await the angry mails!)
Dogs fouling Private and Public land is protected by Law in the UK and Scotland. Is it a real problem, you may ask yourself? In 2015 alone there were 75,000 complaints made regarding dog mess in scenic spots.
There are estimated to be eight million dogs in the UK. That is a lot of dogs and they drop roughly one thousand tonnes of waste every day.
Yes, unfortunately it is a massive problem, healthwise and a financial cost to the councils who have to clean up someone elses mess. Just like flytipping is a problem.
The initial Act of parliament was the The 'Dogs (Fouling of Land) Act 1996', the Act applied only in England and Wales. It was not regulated in Scotland until the passing of the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003.
The Law In Short: It a criminal offence if a dog defecates at any time on designated land and a person who is in charge of the dog at that time fails to remove the faeces from the land forthwith. Conviction would lead to a fine.
The local council must keep public areas like parks, playgrounds and pavements clear of dog mess.
Dog Fouling Sign
The Dog Fouling Act of 2016 places responsibility on "the person in charge of the dog" at the time of the misdemeanour and the fines were updated to: Wherever you are in the UK you will face a fine of up to £80 of you fail to clean up your dog’s mess and are caught. That fine can rise to £1000 if you refuse to pay and the case is escalated to the courts.
Some local authorities have taken the Act further and are obliging dog walkers to be in possession of Dog Poop Bags or a scoop. The fines for being found without poo bags vary.
Dog waste is a serious issue and anyone in control of a dog is obliged to pick up their poo in public areas.
Those with disabilities that are restricted by sight or mobility are exempt from the fines and working dogs are unlikely to be penalised if they poo in a public place. Dog fouling regulations apply in most public places but not on common land, agricultural land and woodland.
If you come across regular Fouling on Public Land, ie, Parks, Sidewalks and playgrounds, please notify your local council and they will come along and clean it up.
If it is persistant, the council put up cameras to find the culprits.
Pressure Sprayer, 5 L
Autumn Lawn Care
Seed Spreader
Grass Seed
The First Cut
The spring season is an important time for getting your lawn into top shape for the following months. What you do now in the spring by way of lawn care, will determine how well your lawn will cope with the wear and tear of day to day use, and also its ability to withstand drought or even water-logging during the summer months.
Lawn Care Main
Lawns take up a lot of time compared with most aspects of the garden. In spite of the time and care lavished upon lawns, many fail to live up to expectations. Maybe the expectations are too great to start with. Problem being, that next door and surrounding areas seem to have better lawns!
Throwing money at an established lawn or patch of straw is not always the best way forward - neither the most successful in terms of attaining the quality lawn that you want. It is always a good ide to take a step backward, to see what the problem really is with the lawn. More often than not it will be something to do with your lawn care regime.
Lawn Aeration
Not all lawns need aeration; but most do! Soil Compaction drives air out of the soil. A garden lawn is probably the most hostile environment provided by gardeners in furtherance of obtaining a beautiful garden. This is one reason for aerating a lawn. No other plant / grass are subjected to such willful abuse than the grass on the garden lawn, it needs care!
Top Dressing Lawns
Top Dressing of Lawns is beneficial. It encourages new basal growth of the grass plants - giving a thicker sward of grass. Top Dressing is also a good way to 'level out' the bumps and hollows in an uneven lawn.
Top dressing is normally carried out in mid spring. It can be done at any time in the growing season (March-October), but a dressing in the spring soon 'disappears' under the resultant lush lawn growth. Earlier in the growing season - but not in the autumn - a suitable fertiliser or feed can be added to the top dressing to give that little bit extra.
Lawn Problems
There are many and varied problems associated with keeping a good - or even reasonable - lawn. Quite often the problems are caused by something quite simple. That is, if you know what to look for! Describing a lawn problem seems to be beyond many of the people who write emails to me for help. A brown spot is a brown spot is it not? Well, err no, not always.
Bumps in the Lawn
Ok! Let's get one thing right, straight away. You do not get a level lawn by using a roller. Using a roller, simply gives you hard bumps and hard hollows - and all the bits in between.
In fact, unless you are going to carry out all of the other operations necessary for a first class lawn, you can get rid of the roller altogether - although I might concede that it is useful for a light run over before the first cut after the winter.
Brown Patches in Lawns
There are several causes of brown patches on lawns and other bare areas on the lawn, some are outlined below... Broadly, lawn brown patches can be split into three categories - depending upon the size of the patch. Recognising the size and shape of the patch - simple you might think - can go a long way in identifying the cause of the brown patch. I have had mails in the past where the write has claimed to have brown patches on the lawn, when in fact the entire lawn was brown - killed off by the wrong use of a certain weedkiller!
Lawn Moss Killer
If you really want to eradicate moss from your lawn, then you have to find out the actual problem that is causing it, rather than just treating it. The reasons are various, but not too difficult to isolate.
They can be one or several of the causes outlined below.
The latter is also available as a ready to use 'Moss Gun' for small patches. Neither do anything by way of treating the basic problem of moss in lawns. They simply are simply Lawn Moss Treatments - killing the moss which is there. It will return. You can alsouse lawn sand
Moles in your Lawn
Moles are one of the most frustrating of all garden and lawn pests! They are rarely seen, but can cause absolute mayhem. The damage they do to plants is minimal, but if you are unfortunate enough to have moles in your garden, they will cause you more angst than an infestation of aphids! The main problem being, that they are so difficult to get rid of, and you normally see the damage they do, before you realize that you have a mole or so!
Cute little things they might be, but if your lawn is your pride an joy, or if it is just a nice lawn to sit and relax, the molehill trademark will soon turn you against them! One mole can wreak havoc in the garden, but a few and you have a potential disaster.
Fairy Rings in Lawns and Turf
Fairy rings in lawns normally start to show up in late spring or mid-summer. They then carry on growing right through until the autumn and usually into subsequent years. They are easily recognised by either of two or both trademarks. Once they have started, they will be visible throughout the year.
They are most commonly seen as dark green circles of lush grass in the lawn usually after they are a half a metre or so across, though they are visible at first as a tuft of dark green grass.
The Fairy rings may also be first noticed as a group of toadstools manifest in mid-summer. (Sometimes without the dark green grass!) Not all toadstools in the lawn are as a result of Fairy Rings.
Dogs Fouling Lawns | General problems
The main problem with dogs on lawns is that of the brown patches caused by bitches urinating. Male dogs are not such a problem in this respect, for they do it differently..
The brown patches tend to be a circular patch with bright green grass growing around the perimeter as the bitches urine eventually breaks down to Nitrogen, which then feeds the area outside the actual damage. The brown patch is basically scorching - similar to that caused by applying too much fertilizer - especially in dry conditions.
Treatment by soaking the area with water - immediately after the bitch has done the deed! Soaking the brown patches after they have formed will be absolutely essential if you are going to over-seed the patches.
Lawn and Garden Edging
Garden lawns have to stop at some point, often causing a minor problem as to how to end or edge your garden with your lawn. Much will depend upon the style of your garden, but you will also have to take into account basic things like, the type of lawn mower you want to use, and even the basics of, how much time do you want to spend giving your lawn a neat finish!
It is not normally a good idea to simply end your lawn at the boundary of your garden edge; against a wall or fence. This will inevitably lead to either additional maintenance work - or an untidy finish, where the mower blade cannot quite get to the edges of the turf at the garden border edge.
Feeding Lawns
Feeding a lawn is a relatively simple operation, but so many get it wrong, or do it when it it not necessary! Here's how and when to do it; and what to use.
Each of the aspects are important. Do it at the wrong time and you could end up with a weakened lawn. Use the wrong feed and scorching or unhealthy grass can result.
The process that causes most problems, is simply that of putting your fertiliser on the grass! Uneven application leads to a patch lawn at best, and a ruined lawn at worst!
Lawn Thoughts
The big sign outside the garden store commanded WINTERIZE YOUR LAWN.
I've fed the lawn: I've watered the lawn: I've mowed the lawn: raked it and watched a lot of it die anyway. Now I'm supposed to winterize my lawn? I hope it's not too late.
Grass lawns have to be the stupidest thing we've come up with outside of the IRS! We constantly battle dandelions, Queen Anne's lace, thistle, violets, chicory and clover that thrive naturally, so we can grow grass that must be nursed through an annual four-step chemical dependency.