Core Lawn Treatments
Our Core treatments form the cornerstone of our lawn treatment programmes: these treatments fertilise the grass and suppress the weeds and moss. Five Core treatments are applied in the course of a year although you can have less should you wish. Each treatment is applied at a particular stage of the year according to the following schedule.
Early Season (March-May): Fertiliser and Weed Control
Mid-Season 1 ( May-July): Fertiliser and Weed Control
Mid-Season 2 ( July-September): Fertiliser and Weed Control
Late Season (September-November): Fertiliser and Weed Control
Winter Season (November-February): Moss Control/Turf Hardener
Fertiliser Application
During the spring months we use a granular fertiliser, which is slow release, low temperature activated, with decent quantities of nitrogen, magnesium and calcium designed to stimulate new leaf / shoot development and improve colour.
Summer fertiliser contains nitrogen for leaf / shoot development and colour, a small amount of phosphate for root development, tillering and energy transfer, and potassium for cellular structure and nutrient formation/transfer. If the soil is well hydrated we will use a granular application or if the weather is particularly dry, or if the lawn is under stress then we will switch to a liquid application.
Autumn fertiliser is granular contains lower nitrogen, modest phosphate and high potassium to drive growth into the roots, toughen up the cell walls and protect the plant over winter.
Selective Herbicide
During each of the first four seasonal treatments we apply a selective herbicide, which kills broad leaved weeds without harming the grass. We use a variety of professional grade herbicides and cycle the products across applications in order to get maximum benefit without stressing the grass. The herbicides are effective on post-emergent weeds, i.e. they will only kills weeds that are in leaf.
Moss control / turf hardener
The winter months are a great time to tackle moss control and this treatment contains Iron Sulphate which inhibits the formation and development of moss, toughens the plant against disease and stimulates chlorophyll production to green up the lawn.
Moss/thatch inhibiting fertiliser
If moss is a particular problem we may suggest using a moss/thatch inhibiting fertiliser as a replacement for the standard fertiliser during the summer months. It’s very high potassium content kills moss, and the composting bacteria breaks down dead moss and thatch and returns them as nutrition to the grass. The soil needs to be warm for this treatment and it is very long lasting. The fertiliser acts as a rebalancer for the lawn and can be a less invasive alternative to scarifying.
Core Plus
Core Plus offers an enhancement to the Core Essential treatments providing an additional high-dose application of liquid seaweed and humic acid at each of the 5 visits. All of our standardised plans include Core Plus treatments.
Seaweed provides a large number of trace minerals and vitamins which benefit the health of the plant and stimulate soil life and bio-diversity which in turn boost the growth and health of the plant particularly the roots.
Humic acid assists with nutrient transfer allowing the plant to extract more nutrition from the soil increasing the benefit of fertiliser. It also helps the soil to retain moisture during dry weather.