Operations7 released
Operations
One page per operation: depth, spacing, timing window, calibration.
Lime and pH: rate per 0.5 unit, and the species that must not be limed
Lime is the cheapest long-term improvement you can make to a lawn, and the most commonly misapplied. The rate depends on the soil texture and the buffer capacity, not on the pH alone, and there is a…
Scarifying: measuring thatch and taking it off in millimetres
Thatch is not a cosmetic problem. Past 15 mm it becomes a hydrophobic mat that sheds water, harbours disease, and holds the crowns above the soil where they dry out. The method is to measure the…
Irrigation: deep soaks, ET replacement and deliberate deficit
Watering a lawn correctly comes down to two numbers: how much reaches the root zone in one application, and how dry the soil is allowed to get before the next one. Deep infrequent soaking grows deep…
Overseeding: rate, soil contact and the autumn window
Overseeding fails for one of three reasons: the seed sat on thatch instead of soil, the soil temperature was wrong, or the rate was wrong for the species. Get all three right and a thin lawn thickens…
Nitrogen: split ratios, single-application caps and the soil temperature trigger
Nitrogen is the only nutrient you will apply every year, and the only one where the timing matters as much as the total. The method is an annual budget per species, a split ratio that puts the weight…
Hollow-tine aeration: depth, spacing and the two-pass method
Core aeration removes a plug of soil and thatch, and that removal is the whole point. Depth 75 to 100 mm, spacing 50 to 100 mm, two passes at right angles. Doing it at the wrong soil moisture wastes…
Mowing: setting the height and holding the one-third rule
Cutting height is the single parameter that decides which species can live in your lawn. Set it wrong and no fertiliser programme or irrigation schedule will compensate. The method is a fixed target…