April in the Garden
Spring is finally here, the days are lighter for longer, and the weather is getting warmer ☀️
Planting a garden can be a wonderful hobby. Gardening is a great gentle physical activity that can help older people and people with chronic degenerative conditions stay active and healthy. Gardening is also a great way for active, busy, and very stressed out people to take some time to relax and get back in touch with nature. Gardening is a fabulous family activity and lets parents spend some quality time with their kids while teaching their kids about nature and how to be ecologically responsible.
Some of what can be done this month… April is the month to lay turf or sow grass seed to create a new lawn or repair damaged patches.
Essentially, a sand-soil base is best for instant turf as it allows for water to flow freely underneath and throughout the turf. If your base is already sandy, look at mixing in some organics to boost the nutrients (more on this later). Comparatively, clay based soil can be quite dense and compact.
Ground Preparation
Remove existing turf by slicing beneath the turf with a spade. For larger areas, consider hiring a purpose-designed turf cutter from a local tool hire.
The soil then needs to be turned over thoroughly to a depth of 15cm using a spade or a powered cultivator.
Clear the area of stones, weeds, old turf and other debris.
Before laying turf the ground needs to be level and the surface should be firm but not compacted. If your soil is poor quality and has been neglected over the years, give your turf the best start at adapting to it’s new environment by adding a layer of The Real Soil Co, Superlawn ‘Lawn Topsoil’, £5.99 each or 3 for £15.
Turf ideally needs around two – four inches of top soil to root in. Rake the area to produce a smooth, level surface. Lightly tread over the surface by foot to reveal any soft patches which can then be raked level. This process should continue until the whole area is firm and level.
Spread a general-purpose fertiliser over the ground one week before laying the turf. Prepare the area, levelling the ground and removing big stones.
Ordering
Your area should now be all prepared and ready for the turf.
Firstly measure the proposed lawn area accurately in square metres. If you need some guidance on how to do this, please let us, we are more than happy to help. Like most turf suppliers, we cut each roll to 1 meter squared, so ensure you measure up in metres or convert your value to metres prior to ordering.
Now you can place your order for Singletons Premium Seed Grown Lawn Turf £4.20 per sqm (roll).
Turf needs to be laid as soon as possible after it has been delivered, ideally within 24 hours. Therefore order you turf for delivery on the same day, or one day prior to when you plan to lay the turf. If you can’t lay the turf immediately, keep the delivered turf in the shade (particularly in hot weather) and remove any film wrapping from the pallet.
Laying the Turf
Now that the hard work has been done to prepare the ground, you are ready to lay your new turf. Use planks to work from and walk on, to avoid walking directly on the new lawn.
Start by unrolling one strip of turf around the perimeter of the lawn. Avoid using small pieces at the edges as these can dry out and perish. Ensure that the underside of the new turf is in full contact with the soil below.
Lay the next strip along the longest straight run and continue to work across the lawn, strip by strip producing a pattern similar to brickwork.
Butt adjoining edges and ends against each other, but avoid stretching the turf.
Overlapping pieces and ends of rows should be cut off neatly using a sharp knife or a half-moon lawn edger.
Watering
Newly laid turf needs watering well to root in and get off to a good start. The amount of watering will be dependent on the time of year that you lay the turf, with much more water needed during the summer months.
Water your new lawn well immediately after laying using a hose pipe or sprinkler. Continue until the water has soaked through to the soil beneath the turf layer.
For the following week to two weeks, water your lawn well every evening (unless the rain does it for you!) The hotter, drier and windier the weather, the more water will be needed. Water immediately and profusely on any sign of the turf drying out for example gaps, lifting, browning or curling.
Mowing
Depending on the time of year that you lay your lawn the time of the first mow can vary, but the turf should be ready for its first mow around two weeks following laying.
Resist the temptation to make the initial cut until your new lawn has rooted. This can be easily checked by lifting a corner to see if the roots are attached to the soil layer below. For the first mow, set the lawn mower to its highest setting to avoid stressing the grass.
Trees and Shrubs
Feeding and mulching
Mulch rose and shrub beds with a 5-8cm (2-3in) layer of organic matter, multi-purpose compost mix with farm yard manure. This will help retain moisture during dry spells, reduce weed build-up and over time improve soil structure. Pay particular attention to mulching around rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias, as flowering is impaired if they are allowed to dry out during late summer.
Feed trees, shrubs and hedges with a balanced fertiliser (such as Growmore or Fish, Blood, & Bone), sprinkling it over the root area before hoeing into the soil surface. This will particularly benefit young, weak, damaged or heavily pruned plants.
Roses
As April progresses, the roses are edging towards bud burst and this is the moment to give them a feed with. It’s best to scatter around the roots, but not too close to the main growing stem. Don’t over the top, a handful scattered is plenty.
Spraying against pests and diseases is best done in April, prevention is better than cure, and you can do it only once in the year, if done this month this would be the most important time, just as the leaves start to unfurl, catching the first signs of infestation before they take hold. Rose Clear Ultra is one of the best ready to use spray, this one systemic, that will deal with greenfly, blackfly and other aphids as well as Blackspot.
Pruning now is hardly a task at all – take out any crossing branches that you may have missed earlier in the year, any suckers appearing from beneath the graft and of course any bits that are dead. Remember that roses, particularly shrub roses, are better not pruned at all until they have produced mature wood so leave well alone for their first few years. Floribundas may need attention now for they are pruned a little later than others. They are more vigorous than shrub roses and need quite hard pruning. Flowers are produced in clusters at the end of shoots and on new wood so in early April shorten stems to a foot or so from the ground aiming for 2–3 inches above last year’s cut. When you have three or four ‘steps’ in these stems from cutting them thus each year, cut back into older wood to start again. As always, cut to an outward facing bud and angle the cut down from the bud. The tying in of new growth on climbers and ramblers is easily done now when the shoots are so flexible.
Happy Gardening! 🌱