The Greenasgrass Blog2008-12-04T05:00:53ZNo Authorlap@greenasgrass.orgCopyright 2008, No AuthorSPHPBLOGVerge Cutting on rural roads, visibility splays and a single 4 ft (1.2m) width from the carriageway are cut twice a year; additional cutting is done when necessary to maintain sight lines; and
on urban roads, the whole verge is cut, to keep the height of the grass between ½ in (12mm) and 3 in (75mm). ]]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry061015-1811542006-10-15T00:00:00Z2006-10-15T00:00:00ZChemicals and what they are forArmillatox consists of a blend of phenols emulsified in a vegetable oil soap and is completely biodegradable. Diluted with water and applied from a watering can, it becomes a highly effective fungicide and moss killer.
It is available from the Trading Hut in a 500ml plastic container with built in dispensing device. An instruction booklet is also included, which gives the appropriate dilution and details for the treatment of honey fungus (Armilloria mellea, from which the product gets its name); clubroot in brassicas; white rot in onions; black spot on roses and rose re-plant problems caused by soil sickness; moss in lawns and on hard surfaces and fairy rings on lawns; destruction of ants in the garden and wasps' nests. It is a useful disinfectant for greenhouses/poly-tunnels, staging, seed trays etc., and is the only disinfectant to be effective against the dog roundworm Toxocara canis.
What's It For? — Autumn & Winter Lawn Feed
If you treated your lawn with fertiliser this year, you probably used 'Spring and Summer' and/or 'Feed, Weed and Moss Killer' as and when necessary. These fertilisers have a high nitrogen content compared with their phosphate and potash contents in order to promote vigorous growth. It is not always realised that they should not be applied after say about the end of August, since this can lead to soft growth, which may be susceptible to disease as winter approaches and average temperatures drop. However, your lawn could still benefit from a change to 'Autumn and Winter Lawn Feed', the nitrogen content of which is relatively low but with high phosphates and potash contents. These ensure a strong root system and disease resistance and provide for vigorous growth when spring arrives.
What's It For? — Bonemeal
When finely ground and sterilised, bones provide a slowly available source of 'organic' phosphate, which is safe to handle. As a bonus, they also provide a useful level of slowly available 'organic' nitrogen.
Bonemeal is a particularly good pre-planting fertiliser for roses, shrubs, trees and other woody plants, encouraging strong and healthy root growth, leading to quick establishment. Vegetables, especially peas, potatoes, onions and root crops benefit from it and a regular dressing encourages the vigour and colour of outdoor bulbs and plants.
It may be applied all the year round as a base dressing before sowing and planting. Sprinkle it evenly over the whole area (4oz per square yard) and work into the top 4 inches of soil with a fork. When planting roses, trees and shrubs, mix 4oz with the soil from the planting hole before planting. As a top dressing to established plants, sprinkle it evenly amongst bushes and flowers, between rows of vegetables or over the whole area covered by the branch spread of trees and shrubs. Hoe or rake in and, if dry, water well for maximum benefit.
What's It For? — Calcified Seaweed
Calcified Seaweed is a calcareous marine algae resembling coral, known to marine biologists as Lithothamnium Calcareum. It is dredged from the sea bed mainly off the Brittany coast, dried at low temperature and crushed to a fine powder, which is readily assimilated by the soil. It contains about 46% calcium oxide, 5% magnesium oxide; sulphur, copper, iodine and cobalt and some twenty trace elements. It is an ideal soil conditioner and clay breaker, and can be used on lawns, beds and borders as an alternative to lime to correct soil acidity. It is highly favoured by chrysanthemum, sweet pea, dahlia, leek and onion growers. It is non-toxic and safe to use, does not scorch and stores well if kept in a reasonably dry place. 'Seagold' comes with an explanatory pamphlet listing application rates for different circumstances; copies can be obtained from the Trading Hut on Sunday mornings from 10.30am to 12 noon.
What's It For? — Lime
Soil is limed as and when necessary to counteract its natural tendency to become more acidic and to create and maintain optimum conditions for plant growth. Soils may be alkaline (chalk or limestone soils) or acidic (peaty soils) in reaction. An alkaline soil contains lots of calcium - an element required in small amounts by all plants. In very acid soils there is a shortage of calcium salts. The acidity or alkalinity of a soil is measured on the pH scale, which ranges from zero (exceedingly acid) through 7 (neutral) to 14 (exceedingly alkaline). In Britain most soils tend to be slightly acidic due to rain constantly leaching out the calcium. Luckily, most plants will thrive if the acidity of the soil can be adjusted to a compromise pH of 6.0-6.5. Club root disease of brassicas flourishes in acid soils but can usually be controlled if the soil can be held at a pH 7.5 (the upper pH limit for this class of vegetable). Simple soil testing kits, available from garden centres, enable you to determine the pH of your soil. They also give a list of plant pH preferences and the amount of ground limestone that you need to apply to raise the pH by one unit.
It is always preferable to use lime in the form of ground limestone (or chalk), which is safe and easy to apply. Hydrated lime (slaked lime, builder's lime) is available but its caustic nature means that it must be handled with care and applied with care to avoid damaging plants in the vicinity. If possible, apply the lime in autumn or after winter digging so that the rains wash it in slowly. Choose a calm day and spread it evenly by hand. Never use lime at the same time as manure or nitrogenous fertilisers as it may react chemically with them and reduce their effectiveness. If you are in a rush, apply the lime to soil that has been raked to a fine tilth and distribute it by raking well into the top few inches. Water the area and allow it to stand for a week before applying a nitrogenous fertiliser.
What's It For? — Milk
It would seem that the kitchen, rather than genetic engineering, may hold the key to garden pest control in the future. According to a report in New Scientist (14th Oct '99) Brazilian scientists have discovered that spraying plants with dilute cows' milk stops powdery mildew in its tracks. The disease is controlled conventionally by spraying with benomyl or other synthetic fungicides. Apparently, milk diluted with nine parts of water is just as effective. So milk joins that other kitchen standby, bicarbonate of soda, as a safer alternative to chemical sprays. The only snag is that in Britain, because neither substance is approved as a pesticide, anyone tempted to try them in the garden risks prosecution!
What's It For? — Old Carpet
Even when an allotment is filled with crops, a large area of bare ground remains that needs to be kept free of weeds. This area can be reduced considerably if access paths between rows / blocks of crops are covered by strips of carpet. Strips of man-made fibre carpets resist rotting and should have a life of at least two seasons. They are easy to cut with a Stanley knife using a tightly stretched garden line as a guide. Such covered pathways can be created quickly as and when required and the carpet rolled up when not needed. When the strips begin to sprout weeds, as they certainly will, simply turn them over as often as necessary.
What's It For? — Phostrogen
Phostrogen is a specially formulated all-purpose plant food in the form of a white, water-soluble powder. It contains nitrogen to promote healthy green foliage; potash to develop abundant flowers and fruit and make plants drought and disease resistant; phosphate to encourage a strong, healthy root system; and essential trace elements to keep plants healthy.
For convenience, it is normally applied as a solution in water. It can be used regularly throughout the growing season for all types of plants, both indoor and out. Apply plant food solution round the roots of plants as far out as the foliage reaches, using as much solution as when watering thoroughly.
How much and how often?
Container plants and young plants and seedlings: 1 level 5ml teaspoon in 10 litres of water, at every watering.
Flowers, shrubs trees, lawns, fruit and vegetables: 4 level 5ml teaspoons in 10 litres of water, every 7-14 days.
Tomatoes: 4 level 5ml teaspoons in 10 litres of water, every 7 days after first flowers have set.
House plants: 3 pinches per litre, at every watering.
Powder application, apply 2oz per square yard as a soil dressing in spring and repeat in the summer. Alternatively, to feed your garden in minutes, use a Phostrogen 'Handy Feeder', 'Easy Feeder' or 'Thru Hose Feeder'. Simply pour 250g of powder into the feeder bowl and use as directed in the feeder instructions.
What's It For? — Spring & Summer Lawn Feed
This fertilizer is specially formulated for lawns and grassed areas, and contains nitrogen, phosphate and potash (N-P-K 11-5-5). Used at 6-8 week intervals from say April to August, it will maintain an attractive lawn with good colour (see also What's It For? — Autumn and Winter Lawn Feed). Apply evenly at 1oz per square yard when rain is forecast, but if no rain falls within 48 hours water it in with a hose or watering can. Do not apply on top of wet grass as some scorch may occur. Do not use during very dry or frosty weather. After a very wet winter you may have to 'renovate' your lawn by dressing it with 'Lawn Feed, Weed and Moss Killer' - possibly more than once (the manufacturer recommends not more than three such treatments annually). This contains herbicides (to kill the weeds); sulphate of iron (to kill the moss); nitrogen (for top growth); potash (for hardiness) but no phosphate (for root growth). Being a 'multipurpose dressing', it costs about 20% more than Spring and Summer fertilizer at today's prices. Therefore, once your moss and weed problems are under control, change to Spring and Summer Fertilizer - it's better and cheaper.
What's It For? — Sulphate of Iron
Sulphate of Iron is used for lawn improvement, moss control and for creating the acidic soils needed by lime-hating plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, heathers etc. It darkens the lawn grasses and improves their appearance. Used regularly, it gradually increases the acidity of the soil, which discourages some weeds and favours the finer grasses. It helps to protect the lawn against some common diseases and controls moss and algae growth.
As it is soluble in water, a convenient "moss killer" can be made by dissolving 1oz in 2 gallons of water and applying this from a plastic watering can with a fine rose over 4 square yards in spring and autumn. In spring, the inclusion of sulphate of ammonia (2oz) will boost the growth of the grass but this should be omitted from the autumn treatment so that the grass will harden off for the winter.
What's It For? — Sulphate of Potash
Potash strengthens plants and makes them more weather and disease resistant. It also encourages flower formation and colour, leading to better blooms and higher fruit yields. It is particularly beneficial to tomatoes.
Apply it from early spring to November as a base dressing before sowing or planting. Sprinkle it evenly over the whole area (2oz per square yard) and work it into the top 4 inches of soil with a hoe or rake. As a top dressing to established plants, apply early in spring (1oz per square yard generally and up to 4 oz per square yard for fruit trees and bushes). Sprinkle evenly between rows of vegetables, amongst flowers and over the whole area covered by the branch spread of trees, shrubs and fruit bushes. Hoe or rake in and, if dry, water well for maximum benefit. Do not apply as a heap at the base of the stem and shake off any that lodges on the foliage. It may also be dissolved in water (1oz in 2 gallons) and used as a liquid feed.
What's It For? — Sulphate of Ammonia
Sulphate of Ammonia is a well-established, quick-acting, growth-promoting fertiliser with a response normally seen in about 10 days. Its main use is to give a rapid boost to established, quick-growing vegetables and salad crops. It is also a very effective spring tonic for shrubs, fruit and spring greens.
Apply it from April to September. Sprinkle it evenly between the rows of vegetables and under the full branch spread of trees, shrubs and fruit bushes (1oz per square yard). Hoe or rake it in and, if dry, water well for maximum benefit. Do not apply as a heap at the base of the stem and shake off any that lodges on the foliage. It may also be dissolved in water (1oz in 2 gallons) and used as a liquid feed. A light sprinkling over the surface of a compost heap each time the height rises by about 6 inches will speed the rate of compost production by 'feeding' the organisms responsible for the degradation process.
What's It For? — Superphosphate
Phosphates are vital in helping root development and the quick establishment of young and recently moved plants. Vegetables, especially peas, potatoes, onions and root crops benefit from them and a regular dressing encourages the vigour and colour of outdoor bulbs and flowers. Phosphates also encourage the early maturing of fruit.
Superphosphate may be applied all the year round as a base dressing before sowing or planting. Sprinkle it evenly over the whole area (2oz per square yard) and work into the top 4 inches of soil with a fork or hoe. As a top dressing to established plants, sprinkle over the whole area covered by the branch spread of established bushes, trees and shrubs (2oz per square yard). Hoe or rake in and, if dry, water in for maximum benefit. Do not apply as a heap at the base of the stem and shake off any that lodges on the foliage.
]]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry061011-2007242006-10-11T00:00:00Z2006-10-11T00:00:00ZHousing21 approves Green As Grass Suzanne Etheridge
Housing21 Court Manager, Edmund Bacon Court.]]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry060924-2111592006-09-24T00:00:00Z2006-09-24T00:00:00ZA to Z of plant namesAngel's Fishing Rods - Dierama
Apple - Malus
Auricula - Primula auricula
Avens - Geum
D
Daffodil - Narcissus
Daisy - Bellis perennis, Shasta Daisy = Leucanthemum maximum [also see Ox-Eye Daisy]
Day Lily - Hemerocallis
Dock - Rumex
Dutchman's Breeches - Dicentra cucullaria
Dutchman's Pipe - Aristolochia elegans
E
Elder - Sambucus nigra
Evening Primrose - Oenothera
F
Fennel - Foeniculum
Fireweed - Epilobium
Fleabane - Pulicaria dysenterica
Four o'clock Flower - Mirabilis jalapa
Foxglove - Digitalis
G
Geranium - often used to refer to Pelargonium [link goes to true geraniums]
Glastonbury Thorn - Crataegus monogyna 'Biflora' [twice flowering]
Golden Rod - Solidago
Goose Grass - Galium aparine also known as Cleavers
Gorse - Ulex europaeus
Granny's Bonnets - Aquilegia
Grape - Vitis
Y
Yarrow - Achillea
Yew - Taxus baccata
]]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry060917-2135402006-09-17T00:00:00Z2006-09-17T00:00:00ZDoes livery work After spending hundreds on decorating our work vehicles do we see any real benefit from it? Im not sure if it actually increases our turnover but I suppose it does elp us to put over that craved professional perception. ]]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry060917-2052462006-09-17T00:00:00Z2006-09-17T00:00:00ZSeason set to meet christmashttp://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry060917-2033142006-09-17T00:00:00Z2006-09-17T00:00:00ZNew turf to attle the heat wave RTF stands for Rhizomatous Tall Fescue, a new generation of tall fescue bred by Barenbrug Research, which, when included in a turf seedmix brings a whole new set of benefits to the groundsman, landscaper or gardener.
As our climate and our way of life changes, more and more demands are being made of our sportsfields and lawns. Gardens are generally smaller, with higher fences which ultimately mean they are much shadier.
People expect grass to remain green all year round, whatever it may be subjected to. And if the RHS prediction is correct, changes to our weather will mean that the traditional English lawn grasses will find life very difficult indeed.
That’s where Festuca arundinacea (tall fescue) comes into play. It keeps its colour all year round, will withstand heavy wear, grows well in partial shade, tolerates drought and will stand periods of water logging. Tall fescue roots can go down as far as 1.5 metres into the soil – ideal for stabilization and because of this, the plant has low nutrient and water requirements which makes it perfect for environmentally sustainable situations. The old fashioned cultivars tend be course-leaved and clump forming and only really suitable for forage but Barenbrug’s new cultivars have some rather interesting characteristics.
Firstly, they are relatively fine leaved compared to their old fashioned cousins. They will withstand mowing down to as little as 12mm and have a low build up of thatch, but more importantly with RTF there is the added ability to reproduce via rhizomes.
A rhizome looks a bit like a thick, fleshy root, but it is in fact an underground stem that has buds on it. These buds mean that the rhizome can send a shoot up to the soil surface while extending new roots downwards to produce a whole new plant, (a bit like a strawberry runner). From the end-users point of view, this means a strong, easy to handle turf roll which establishes fast to form a dense lawn/playing surface which is quick to repair itself when damaged.
Q Lawns’ RTF turf is grown on the Company’s trade mark black soil and is expected to be available for dispatch from May 2006. Included in the seed mix is a percentage of smooth stalked meadow grass, which is another drought tolerant, wear resistant grass and so the final product will be ideally suited to a wide range of applications including sports fields, race courses, parks, gardens, children’s’ play areas and general landscaping.
]]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry060917-2020572006-09-17T00:00:00Z2006-09-17T00:00:00ZEye catching logo Our new logo has helped us to get noticed ]]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry060917-2018002006-09-17T00:00:00Z2006-09-17T00:00:00ZWayne now has his PA1 and PA6 hand held applicator qualifications
Weed Killing
Difficult weed killing and problematic areas of brush in the need of extermination we have the skills and knowledge of such situations. Glysophate is not always the answer so a bit of knowledge will deduct the correct process of eradication of those stubborn weeds. We do not reccormend any non certificated operator to carry out any herbicidal work as the training required has a vital part to play and non compliance can cause legal and enviromental issues and massive fines.
Drive clearing
Driveways can get in such a state with annual and perennial weeds taking over. Treatments are available to eradicate weeds.
Brush killing
Woody weeds such as brambles can be stubborn but when using the correct herbicide it doesn't have to be difficult.
Paddocks
Equestrian grazing does suffer from Ragwort and thistles which both come under the 1959 weed act. Thistles cause grazing animals discomfort but can be controlled with Thistlex. Our boom or broad cast spreaders make short and efficient work of tough situations.
Weeds Act 1959
'Under the Weeds Act 1959 the Secretary of State may serve an enforcement notice on the occupier of land on which injurious weeds are growing, requiring the occupier to take action to prevent the spread of injurious weeds. The Weeds Act specifies five injurious weeds: Common Ragwort, Spear Thistle, Creeping of Field Thistle, Broad leaved Dock and Curled Dock.']]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry060917-1958452006-09-17T00:00:00Z2006-09-17T00:00:00ZRadio Controlled Spider New equipment potentially saves lives.]]>http://www.greenasgrass.org/pppblog/index.php?entry=entry060917-1738242006-09-17T00:00:00Z2006-09-17T00:00:00Z
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