January Garden Care Jobs

January is one of the coldest months and most of us are not in a desperate hurry to get busy in our gardens, but time well spent now will pay great dividends come the spring. Johnsons Lawn Seed looks at some of the jobs you can tackle this month that will help give your garden a green flying start for the year ahead.

January is offering a golden opportunity to get lawns into the best possible state ahead of their prime growing time. Clear away the remainder of fallen leaves, old twigs, branches and other debris which may have blown onto the grass and paths over the darkest days of winter. Nobody loves clearing gutters and drains but carpe diem - there is no time like the present to get that icky job out of the way for another season.

It is vital to remove leaves from grass because they trap moisture on the surface which can cause fungal infections and a spike in worm activity, as they love to feed on rotting organic matter and will then leave their worm casts behind. Even though they’re unsightly, the good news about worm casts is they are full of nutrients, so if you do spot them forming, wait until they are dry then gently sweep them away with a garden brush. 

If you spot any big weeds rearing their heads early in the day get rid of them at once to reduce the chance of them spreading. You can also apply an organic moss killer at the same time as giving the lawn its winter feed.

Once dead leaves and other debris have been removed it really boils down to ensuring that grassy areas are given as much rest as possible.

Keep off the Grass

Try to stay off lawns when it is frosty or wet as grass is easily damaged in such weather conditions and may not repair itself properly.

• Remove garden furniture and outdoor toys which may have been left strewn on the grass and discourage people from walking across the lawn.
• Salt is not good for lawns but if you really must use it choose a calcium chloride-based rather than a harsher, sodium-chloride-based mixture.
• If you are in a part of the country which has sufficient snowfall to build a snowman, try to do it on hard ground rather than the lawn. Snowmen can take ages to melt, which is not good news for the grass underneath and can allow diseases taking hold.
• You don’t need to worry about mowing your lawn this month but you can give your mower a service to make sure you’re armed and ready at the first sign of new shoots in spring.
• If puddles appear after heavy rainfall it could be because the soil beneath the lawn is too compacted. Aerate grass with a fork or spiking tool to improve drainage, relieve compaction and allow more air to reach to grass roots. (You can also make a note of where puddles appear and do this task later in the year if preferred).

Plan for the future

New Year, New Beginning: Get yourself in the mood with some strategic planning. What worked well last year and what was an unmitigated disaster? Think of how to improve things and make a list of the plants you want to cultivate in the months ahead.

• Dig over empty beds in preparation for planting, making sure you enrich the soil with well-rotted manure or organic composting material.
• Spread mulch over beds which have been planted with spring bulbs, to give them plenty of the nutrition necessary for abundant, healthy blooms.
• Flowers such as begonia, geranium, sweet pea, verbena and lobelia can all be sowed this month, along with bare-root roses.
• Consider how to protect plants against predators and take early preventative measures.
• Chit your first seed potatoes in a frost-free place and plant onions and cauliflower seeds under glass. Raspberries can be planted out this mon th whilst hardy fruit bushes and trees can be pruned back.

 The Johnsons Lawn Seed Portfolio

 1) Tuffgrass with Dog Patch Resistance

By incorporating naturally dog urine-tolerant fine-leaved dwarf perennial ryegrass, scorched yellow patches in lawns have been consigned to history with Tuffgrass, which has excellent drought-resistance and stands up well to low temperatures and snow.

2) Quick Lawn with Accelerator-treated seed

Quick Lawn’s new formula offers rapid germination and fast establishment – all while needing just a third of the amount of water that’s usually required to get new lawns going. Gardeners benefit from a strong, thick and healthy lawn, even in cold or wet conditions.

3) Luxury Lawn Seed

Luxury Lawn is a traditional mix that’s designed to be mown close whilst retaining a lush appearance. Offering excellent drought-resistance, Luxury Lawn will thrive in shady areas too, with its dense sward giving unsightly weeds little space to establish.

4) After Moss Lawn Seed

With wet winters and drought-hit summers now common across the UK, conditions are ripe for invasions of moss. After Moss is coated in a special calcium carbonate-based shell that gently raises the pH level of the soil to help deter the return of moss. The mix incorporates Green Lawn technology for a lush, green sward any gardener will covet.

5) Lawn Thickener Lawn Seed with SeedBooster

Developed for professional turf care, each seed is wrapped in a parcel of fast and slow-release fertiliser. The result? Seeds germinate sooner and establish faster! The clever coating also harmlessly deters hungry birds from feasting on newly-sown grass seed.

6) Shady Place Lawn Seed

Offering excellent drought-resistance for one of the most challenging situations in which to nurture a lush lawn, Shady Place is ideal for semi and relatively shaded areas under trees, or next to high walls and hedges. It thrives in damp or dry shade, resulting in lawns with a fine appearance.

 Find out more

To find out more about Johnsons Lawn Seed products please visit http://www.johnsonslawnseed.com/product-range.aspx

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Editors notes

Established in 1820 Johnsons Lawn Seed is the oldest lawn seed brand in the UK with a long and prestigious record of product innovation and grass breeding.