Feeding The Lawn – During late spring and summer, the rapid growth of grass means that frequent mowing is essential. The dangers of allowing the grass to grow too tall have already been pointed out, so the turf must be kept at the recommended height no matter how actively it is growing. On this basis it might seem that feeding the lawn is a foolish thing to do. Isn’t it hard enough to keep the grass down without forcing it to grow more quickly? Is it really worth the extra cost of fertilizer and the need for extra cutting just to make the grass look greener? The simple answer is that the plant foods contained in a compound lawn fertilizer do much more than make the grass look greener.

Their main task is to produce closely-knit turf in which neither weeds nor moss can obtain a ready foothold. The grass is indeed made more attractive because of its deeper green color, but equally important is the build up of resistance to drought and disease. Mowing is a serious drain on the soil’s reserve of major plant foods. Nitrogen becomes exhausted quite quickly – phosphates and potash more slowly. Unless the reserves are replaced the grass turns pale and the turf becomes thin and sparse. Fertilizer is needed – not too little but not too much. Good lawn management calls for a regular lawn feeding programme.

Fertilizers and the weather

Before feeding check the weather forecast. If possible, pick a time when showery weather is likely. Avoid feeding during prolonged dry weather. If treatment must be done at such times, water thoroughly shortly BEFORE application and then treat as soon as the foliage is dry.

The grass should be dry and the soil moist at the time of treatment. Never feed the lawn when it is raining. If rain does not fall for 2 days after application, water the treated lawn thoroughly to carry the fertilizer down into the soil.

Grow Your Organic Garden Using Aquaponics – Organic produce has become a huge seller in our local supermarkets. These products however come at a price. What if you could grow organic products easily in your own garden?

Aquaponics is the combination of hydroponics and aquaculture. It’s actually quite simple – the balance with nature. How does it work? Basically, it turns normal gardening on organic super drive as it feeds rich alive natural nutrients to your plants – 24 hours per day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Aquaculture, the process of growing fish in a tank, has one big problem – fish produce ammonia, algae, minerals, and other products that need to be constantly filtered. Plants eat ammonia, algae, minerals and nitrates – everything that the fish produce naturally! When you combine the two together this is the magic of aquaponics.

By connecting your fish tank water to the water of the hydroponics system your plants get an automatic food supply of almost everything they need to grow from the fish water. In turn the plants filter the water for the fish. Your plants exist in a natural balanced relationship with the algae/fish, which makes them grow faster and healthier. Plants grow twice as fast because of the rich nutrients in the algae.

With aquaponics you can grow amazing organic produce faster and healthier. Imagine a garden with no more weeds, no more fertilizing and no more soil pests. No more soil pests means the need for pesticides is therefore eliminated. This system also uses less energy and less space so you can grow more plants. The aquaponics system uses only 2% of the water normal gardening does because the water is constantly recirculated and you do not lose any to soil absorption. The roots of your plants are constantly submerged in nutrient rich water and you never have to worry about watering plants again. We are all looking for ways to save water – here is the perfect excuse to start your aquaponics organic garden today.

August in the flower garden can be a bit of a challenge. Summer is well under way and many herbaceous plants have reached their optimum flowering peak. You could be forgive for thinking that this month is a month of tidying up. However, with a bit of forward planning and some gentle encouragement you can design a planting scheme that will ensure that you have plants that flower well into the fall as well as encouraging those earlier flowering ones to produce second flushes. So in-between relaxing and enjoying summer in your garden, take a moment to check this short reminder of things you should be doing in the flower garden during August.

Once rambling roses have finished flowering prune them back, removing shoots that have finished flowering. Continue to deadhead herbaceous plants such as lady’s mantle, nepeta and delphiniums. Trim back any fading perennials and put the cuttings onto the compost heap. To ensure the continuation of tender perennials, take cuttings and bring them on in the greenhouse. Also take cuttings of lavender, sage and perennial wall flowers. Take cuttings of shrubs such as heather, geranium, hydrangea and fuchsia.

Buy bulbs for fall planting such as tulips, alliums, iris and crocus. Narcissus bulbs can be planted out now to flower next spring. Plant the rest towards the end of the month except for tulips which shouldn’t be planted until at least November. Remove any leaves on roses that show signs of blackspot and continue to deadhead as long as you don’t want the plant to produce hips in the autumn. Clear away any spent bedding plants and replace with forget-me-nots and wallflowers. Deadhead dahlias and they will continue to flower well into fall. Once lavender has finished flowering, remove the flower heads and trim lightly into shape.
Collect seed from those perennials that have finished flowering and store in labelled paper envelopes until you are ready to sow them next spring. Towards the end of the month is a good time to plant shrubs such as conifers and hedging plants. Prepare the soil first by digging in plenty of well rotted manure or compost. Make sure any tall growing late perennials such as chrysanthemums are staked to plant supports.