| Lawncare
Tips From Lawnmowers and Leisure? 
Lawns,
bright green - nature at its best:
A play area for children, an area for
adults to sit or lie in, a meadow of flowers to enjoy - a lawn in your own garden
can fulfill many wishes. There are certain preconditions to ensure that
the lawn remains bright green and care is limited to regular mowing:
The correct preparation: Loosen the subsoil, lay top soil to a depth of approx.
20 cm, even out any bumps or deep hollows so that the mower's progress is not
hindered later. Scatter the grass seeds (approx. 30 g/m²), rake them
in, roll the ground or tread down firmly using boards, then water with a fine
jet. The lawn should never be allowed to dry out before it is mown for the first
time. Important: When mowing for the first time, only use newly sharpened
blades so that the delicate grass is cut and not torn. Rule of thumb:
Ideally, no more than 1/3 of the blade of grass should be cut when mowing. The
cutting height for lawns under normal usage conditions should be between 3 and
5 cm, depending on the weather and time of year. Spring: An initial clearing cut
removes leaves and twigs. To encourage a thick lawn mow once a week. Aerate a
heavily matted lawn using a scarifier when the soil is warm and dry. For spring
fertilisation, use a long-term fertiliser. During periods of intense growth, cut
the lawn twice a week. Summer: If it is extremely hot, never cut
the grass short (approx. 5 cm) and water well. Mow tall "holiday lawns"
in several stages. If you mulch you save yourself from having to fertilise in
summer! Autumn: Mow less frequently when the weather is dry. Autumn
fertilisation does not have any effect until the following spring. It can be omitted,
particularly if the lawn has been mulched. If necessary, test the soil for any
deficiencies in calcium, phosphor or potassium (soil sample). From autumn
onwards, the grass should no longer be cut vertically as temperatures are too
low and the light is too weak.
 Before winter
sets in (frost), mow the grass to approx. 5 cm and, at the same time, suck up
or mulch the autumn leaves using Mulching Mowers.
May
- an ideal month for lifting your lawn
Why aerate your lawn?
Dead grass and parts of plants, weeds and moss
are turning into a matted lawn in course of time - the lawn suffers of oxygen
starvation.
Vertical cut means pulling matted lawn and moss out of the
lawn. The lawn is cut in a vertical direction. Following aeration, oxygen, water
and nutrients penetrate down to the roots more effectively - the lawn is "aerated".
May and September are the optimal months to give your lawn a lifting.
Your lawn will be aerated in an ideal way with the either a petrol or electric
scarifier.
A short time after aeration, the lawn regains its freshness
and splendour.
Lawnmowers & Leisure tip for autumn: Resting
your lawn for the winter In autumn, as the outdoor season gradually
comes to a close, your lawn requires some well-earned care. This will ensure that
it gets through winter in good health and that fresh new grass springs up in spring.
Before the first cold wintry spells cover the ground with frost, the lawn
should be cut once more and provided with nutrients. For the autumn cut, the lawnmower
should be adjusted to a cutting height of 5 centimetres. The cuttings should be
disposed of using a composter or on the compost heap, forming the basis for humus
as a valuable organic fertiliser.
Mulch mowers are not choosy when
it comes to picking up and processing cuttings. As well as grass cuttings, they
collect and shred fallen leaves, tree seeds and thin twigs. Consequently, growth
next spring is not inhibited and surface compost consists of an ideal mixture
of nitrogenous green material and carbon-containing leaves.
Autumn is
also the season for petrol & electric blowers & vacuums. Fallen leaves,
tree needles, remaining grass cuttings or even the first new snow can be swept
together using the appliance.
Composting Tips From
Lawnmowers and Leisure? 10 Golden Rules - Semi-shaded area
near the house and out of the wind
- Container for collecting, composting
and storing the material
- Shred the plant trimmings using the shredder.
Long branch sections (approx. 5 cm) facilitate ventilation.
- The better
the balance between "green" nitrogenous materials and "brown"
substances containing carbon, the better the result
- Do not pile up large
quantities of the same material in one area, always mix materials (e.g. grass
cuttings with wood chips)
- Ensure that the climatic conditions are correct:
Not too damp, not too dry
- Always cover the compost to protect from rain,
sun and weeds
- Compost material must make contact with the soil so that
small animals can wander in and out
- Inject freshly added compost material
with mature compost
-
Always have a pitchfork handy so that you can
continually mix newly added material, such as kitchen waste, with the old material
underneath
The C : N ratio
The C : N ratio (carbon : nitrogen ratio) is important for the rotting process.
The starting ratio should be approx. 20-30 : 1. During the composting process,
carbon decomposes (heat build-up). The finished compost has a C : N ratio of approx.
15-20 : 1.
Carbon (C) : Nitrogen (N)
Material C : N
Paper 1000
: 1
Sawdust 500 : 1
Straw 100 : 1
Oak and beech leaves 60 : 1
Kitchen waste 25 : 1
Farmyard manure 15 : 1
Grass cuttings 12 : 1
Vegetable waste 8 : 1
Tips And Tricks -
Inject freshly laid compost material with a shovel of "mature compost"
so that useful micro-organisms can initiate the decomposition. -
Always
have a small pitchfork handy next to the compost silo, so that the "biodegradable
waste" from the kitchen can be mixed with the old material underneath straightaway. -
Collect chopped branches and add them to the grass cuttings throughout the
year so that the mix is right. -
Stone dust balances out a deficiency
in micro-nutrients. The fine powder also retains odours (gases) well
Information supplied by VIKING- Quality Machines for all applications!!
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