3 Potential Problems...and the solutions!

We live, breathe and speak fluent Turf here at George Davies. In an ideal world, every single roll of turf that we sell will be harvested, laid and established with ease and will thrive thereafter. Unfortunately, this is not always the case. Whether it be the intervention of Mother Nature or an unforeseen roadblock that you just didn’t plan for, from time to time there may be issues that arise during your turf journey that may cause you to panic. However, there are simple solutions to the most common problems that can arise with turf, and we have explored a few of these below.

1)Moss Invasion

Although some people do like moss on their lawns, it is more commonly seen as an annoyance and something that needs to be dealt with. The arrival of moss can be due to a number of thingssuch as waterlogging, inadequate feeding, mowing too closely/ frequently or compacted soil. It’s important to identify the cause of your moss so that you can prevent any future attacks. In terms of getting rid of what is already there, the first thing to do is to apply a lawn treatment that contains a moss killer. This needs to be done before any raking/moss removal is started as you do not want to spread the spores and allow any further growth. The lawn treatment will turn the moss brown/ black which should make raking the debris out a little easier. Most moss killing lawn treatments will also contain a feed that will brighten the look of your lawn.

2) Worm Casts

Although you may not be familiar with the term itself, chances are that you have had Worm Casts in your garden. They sound awful, but Worm Casts are small piles of muddy soil that are expelled from the guts of earthworms. They are incredibly common in gardens throughout the UK and are particularly rife throughout the damper months as this is when the worms are most active. Now whilst earthworms and the resulting Worm Casts are unsightly and can cause issues with weeds if not treated, they can actually be beneficial for your turf, so it’s important to manage them rather than remove them entirely. With Worm Castings, it’s best to let them dry out and then disperse or brush them away with a metal broom; avoid using a garden hose to get rid of these as this will only force more worms to the surface as they cannot breathe in wet soil, and will result in even more Worm Casts. 

3) Dead Patches

Dead or dying patches on your lawn can often cause a major panic for people, and it’s no surprise as they can really ruin the aesthetic of your lawn, on top of the physical damage done. But don’t worry, dead patches are not always fatal.  As with moss, there are several possible causes of dead patches within your lawn – spilt oil or petrol from your mower, fertiliser or chemical overdose, dogs urinating in the same patch – and sometimes there may be no apparent cause, the grass has seemingly just started to die. Whatever the problem may be, again it’s important to try your best to identify it in order to prevent future issues. Depending on the size of the dead patches, you will either be looking at sowing new grass seeds or even laying some new turf (if the affected area is of considerable size.) It is important to prepare the site carefully in order to give your new grass the best chance and allow it to establish well, and this can be achieved by removing the dead grass with a rake and loosening the remaining soil. After reseeding, you should cover with a topsoil – you can see our range of topsoils here. Watering your new grass is a key factor in ensuring that it establishes well and thrives – you may need to do this as frequently as 2-3 times per day until your seedlings are established.

Any unforeseen problems with your new turf can feel like a major setback, especially when it was all supposed to be plain sailing. Whilst these issues can be very irritating, there is usually a solution that will put your turf back on the right track, and it’s often something fairly simple that can be carried out by you rather than having to call someone in to deal with it. Here at GDT we pride ourselves on striving to always sell a product of the highest quality, but unfortunately external factors such as those explored above can have an adverse effect on our turf. This is why we feel it is important that you, our customers, are armed with the knowledge and key facts so that if a lawn disaster does strike, you are prepared and are able to deal with it. Of course, our friendly team are always on hand to answer any turf related queries and advise on any of the mentioned (and unmentioned) possible problems, so please do not hesitate to contact us.

–  Isabelle