Bald spots caused by moss, weeds or dead grass. Puddles of water after a rain shower. All familiar territory for garden professionals and lawn specialists. Not to mention cloverleaf, thistles and dandelions where grass should actually be. Or grass that turns yellow during a heat wave, or turf crawling with leatherjackets and grubs.
Be it grass in a park, public garden or sports field, with proper maintenance, your knowledge and experience and the right equipment, any problem can be prevented or solved. We will work together to get your lawn back into top condition in no time. We’ve featured 3 machines that can help you keep lawns green and healthy.
Overseeder
Bald spots in the grassy areas of a park or public garden are often easy to repair using an overseeder. For instance, with our petrol overseeder. This machine sows new grass seed into existing lawns. That means you don’t have to lay completely new turf. It’s possible to overseed grass from spring to autumn. Please bear in mind that after a cold winter, it can sometimes take a while before the lawn is ready for overseeding. This is because the soil temperature needs to be above 10 degrees.
The secret behind successful overseeding is allowing the grass seed to germinate as quickly as possible. Overseeding every year or two helps rejuvenate the turf and ensures that lawns stay healthy and beautiful. After an overseeding treatment, lawns can almost immediately be used normally again.
To further increase the success rate of overseeding, we recommend topdressing. Topdressing means spreading a filler over the turf. Ideally, it’s better to choose compost to cover the newly planted seeds to prevent them from drying out. The advantage of using compost is that it’s also an instant fertiliser and increases the organic matter in the soil.
Lawn roller
When laying new turf (or artificial grass), a lawn roller is a must have. It is used for example by landscapers and municipalities in parks, football pitches, sports fields, playing fields, riding stables, paddocks and other maintenance areas. A lawn roller is used after the ground has been levelled. The roller is then used to press the soil down well. Has the grass already been laid? Lawn rollers can come in handy then, too. For the best results, run the lawn roller over the grass again. This will ensure good contact between the turf and the ground.
You have to fill the hand-operated roller with water yourself. This makes it easier to transport the lawn roller. And once it’s filled with water, you can roll with as much as 75 kilos. Of course, the roller is also excellent to use when laying a driveway or garden path.
Electric scarifier
Moss and weeds such as cloverleaf, thistles and dandelions can be seen growing in lawns. These accumulate in the turf along with dead grass. After a while, this will form a spongy layer of thatch. Scarifying the lawn with a professional scarifier allows you to remove that layer of thatch very easily and effectively. As you know, grass needs oxygen, nutrients and water in order to grow. This is because the blades of the electric scarifier loosen the thatch, allowing the turf to ‘breathe’ better again. The supply of water and fertiliser also improves, allowing the grass to grow better.
To keep lawns healthy, we recommend scarifying at least once a year, preferably when the soil is not too dry or too wet. It is sometimes necessary to scarify a lawn a second time in autumn. But only do this if you notice that the turf still contains a lot of moss and other weeds.
