Noel Moore Lawncutting & Property Maintenance

St Johnston, Co Donegal F93 A4T0  
Noel 087 1726589 / Office 087 241 6910

January

There is very little work to do on a well-established lawn this month. You may need to remove fallen leaves and surface rubbish. You can do nothing to help the lawn in the wet and cold bitter weather.  Try to keep off the lawn as much as possible as you will harm it by walking on very wet or frozen areas.  Also try and not let your pets on the lawn as they too can harm it more so than yourself.

 

With those long wet days and nights, you have a very good chance to give all your gardening machinery an extra overhaul. You can empty the fuel tanks, wash the machines all down.  Change the oil plugs etc. If you want, you can use old engine oil to paint the deck of the mowers etc.  This will prevent rust setting in.   It is a good idea to sharpen the blade and all the other lawn tools for the spring day. If a chance of a dry fine spell of weather comes along, you can do a little bit of turfing where possible.

 

February

Once again there is very little work to do this month.  If you can, try to keep off the lawn as long as possible as you still may cause some harm to the turf. If you see the old worm casts appearing you need to scatter them with a besom only when they are dry.  If the lawn is very water-logged, you are best to leave them alone until a later date. Even if we may get a good dry spell of weather do not be tempted to cut your lawn before the season begins.

 

If you hadn’t got a chance due to the weather conditions to do some turfing, now would be a good time. Also if you have an area of your garden, which you wish to sow out, now would be the time to make it ready if and when the weather is suitable.

 

March

Now this is the month where all the hard work begins. As soon as the grass has started to grow and the weather and ground conditions are all right, you need to rake and lift off all the dried up leaves and surface rubbish. Do not rake too much at the lawn as you may damage the grass. If you had a very heavy frost over the winter it is a good idea to get a water filled roller and give the turf a very light rolling.

 

Now that you have that all done your lawn should be ready for its first cut. You now should have your lawnmower ready to be started up set your mower for a high cut this time as cutting your lawn low may cause a yellowing. You may be better to choose a dry day to give your lawn the first cut.

 

Two cuts are more than enough this month to give the new grass a chance to come up. Mowing isn’t the only lawn job this month.  You need to carefully look at your lawn for signs of moss etc.  You may need to apply a moss killer if necessary. You also can tidy up the edges of the lawn with a lawn edger.  If you have broken down edges, you can now replace them.

 

April

This month you can get stocked up with your lawn feeds and weed killers. You can start feeding your lawn in the third to fourth week of this month again if the weather and ground conditions are all right. If you intend to use lawn sand make sure that it is spread evenly and that any dead moss leaves etc are all racked up a fortnight later. You can mow your lawn as often as it needs to keep the grass down but make sure you do not give it a very bare cut as you still can do some damage.

 

If you see any patches of coarse grass you need to dig this out and keep an eye on the edges of the lawn as well. When you have removed the worn area of the lawn you now need to refill the hole with very well sifted soil and then you can reseed or if you wish use turf. When you buy in turf make sure that you buy from a good stock background otherwise you may have a lot of lawn problems. Always check the turf when planted to make sure the edges are fitting neat and tidy - refill joints if necessary.

  

May

You can continue mowing. Increase the frequency as necessary and lower the cut of your mower closer to the height for summer level. You need to be mowing your lawn every week in May.

 

By now you should see the general lawn weeds appearing this is the best month to apply your weed killers. But you must remember that you only apply the weed killer in a fine dry day and if the lawn has a bit of moisture all the better and of course you need dry grass also.

 

If your lawn has a lot of clover or meadow grass you are best to brush or rake the patches before you start cutting.

 

At this time of year the soil is usually moist but sometimes we can get a prolonged spell of dry weather at this time of the year. If this happens you need to water your lawn well before obvious signs of distress appear and always irrigate copiously.

 

June

This month the summer mowing should be well under way. If you think that your lawn is growing too fast you can mow once a week other than that twice a week is fine. If we have a long dry spell at this time of the year you should raise the height of the cut remove the grass box on the mower and let the cuttings lay on top of the lawn.

 

This is the time of the year where all the hard work begins. You need to keep feeding and weeding your lawn this month. If the lawn is off-colour use a quick–acting nitrogen feed such as sulphate of ammonia or a proprietary liquid one.

 

If you see any of the general lawn weeds that you have treated earlier in the season you need to use a spot treat weed killer on these. Raking your lawn is still very important at this time of the year for keeping the runners of the clover under control.

 

Once again we could be in for a hot spell this month.  If that happens you need to be prepared to water your lawn as often as required. Hot weather this month may have baked the surface soil too much sometimes if this happens it is a good time to prick the surface very lightly before irrigating.

 

July

You need to keep mowing your lawn as often as possible at the required height water the lawn if the weather is still in a dry spell. Rake the lawn as often as possible keep an eye on the edges and the weeds.  You may still need to use some of the spot on (weedkiller) if required.

 

You need to keep an eye on the clover and pearlwort. If your lawn suddenly has yellow patches appearing you need to use a good strong weed killer. July is a little late for maximum effect, but you should not ignore these weeds as they still can cause a lot of problems.

 

July is that time of year when we all need to get away for a holiday with the family. You need to make sure that you have someone arranged to cut your lawn as often as required as you may have a large job on your hands when you return home.

 

August

The same general work applies for this month as for July if you have areas of your garden with long over grown grass you can cut this down to a very low height. If you have an area of ground that you want to sow out you can start this in late August it best to have the ground in good shape and good drainage is a great help.

 

August is the last month for spray on weed killers and feeding your lawn.  By now your lawn should be in a great shape. August is also a good month for scarifying if you have a lot of moss in your lawn. You need to treat the moss first to get the best results. You need to apply sulphate of iron on your lawn now you need to be aware that your lawn will turn as black as your boot this will last for a week or too.

 

When the green starts to appear again you now can get your scarifier out and remove the moss it is best to cross the rows as well. After you have removed the moss you now rake the waste all up or you can give your lawn a mow, as this may be a lot easier on you.

 

You now can mix some seed and fertilizer and sieved soil together and spread this on your lawn with your lawn spreader for best results. If we still have a dry spell it is best to water your lawn to give the mixture a chance to get into the ground.

 

September

This is a very busy month in your garden calendar mowing should be going well for you this month again if you wish you can set your mower a nick higher as this will get you ready for the autumn season.

 

Worms can be a bit of a problem this time of the year as there are no worm killers you need to sweep the worm casts away of the lawn. You can still carry out lawn repairs,  bumps, hollows and fallen down areas can be replaced at this time of the year as well.

 

This is the main month for reseeding new lawns if you are laying down a turf lawn it is best to try and leave it till next month if you can. Once again check the areas that you have scarified if there is still moss set the scarifer to a high height and give the area a light run.

 

October

This month mowing almost comes to an end you should have your mower set to a high cut for the last two cuts. You can apply autumn fertilizer this month general lawn repairs should be carried out this month edges should be trimmed worn areas should be returfed and leaves should be all lifted of as some of these can cause yellow areas to your lawn.

 If you are sowing out a new lawn this should be well under way this is the time to lay your turf lawn.

 

November

If the weather is fair give your lawn one more cut for the season this is more than enough it is a good idea to gather up fallen leaves broken down branches etc. if you still see worm casts appearing on your lawn brush them away maybe next year you should sow some lawn sand on it may help depending on the quality of the soil.

You now can wash down all your machines change oil etc for the next season. If you still have turfing to do this is still a good time.

 

December

This is a very quiet month apart from brushing up leaves etc you should try and keep of your lawn as much as possible as you may damage areas of the lawn. If you have to go on to your lawn it is best to put down boards to prevent rusting.