Garden machinery deals and reviews

What's the best make of rotovator?

The freezing cold of the winter is almost a distant memory and as the soil starts to warm p. it's time to start thinking about getting vegetables plots cultivated and tidied in preparation.

Getting the right tool for the job is essential whatever task you undertake but it's especially crucial when it comes to soil preparation.

If you've heavy clay soil then you need a heavy duty machine...it's just not worth making false economies as it will leave you frustrated, tired and probably disillusioned.

Snapper ride-on mower rotary mower

It won't be long before the grass cutting season starts to mingle with leaf clearance. In fact, many of you will probably already have noticed that the horse chestnut trees have started to lose their leaves?

If you have a big garden you might already own, or be considering to buy, a dedicated leaf clearing machine. For some it can make sense but it is a bit of a luxury too. Just think, a grass cutting machine that might have cost a couple of grand and a leaf vac of the same value.

Dandelion weeder for the lawn enthusiast

If you are really keen on keeping your lawn in the best of conditions then I suspect you will have a very low weed population?

At this moment in time, keeping larg expanses of lawn free from weeds is not possible without using chemicals and most gardeners will apply herbicide at least once, if not twice a year.

In between times though, who can be bothered to mix up small amounts to deal with problem weeds that might appear in small patches of the grass?

This dandelion weeder will deal with dandelions and other longer rooted. Its 21cm long blade and 3cm width of the Sneeboer Dandelion Weeder enables long rooted weeds to be removed with ease from lawns without disturbing the surrounding area.

What is the right topsoil to use for turf or seed

With the improvement in the weather you might be eager to get started on laying your new lawn.

In my experience, gardeners and even some landscapers, will spend a lot of money on specifying the best turf available but will often overlook the most important constituent of good grass - the top soil that is needed to maintain a good root-zone.

I have been around landscaping for a lot of years and a common mistake - and I have been guilty of this too - is to buy freshly screened top soil from site clearance and demolition contractors.

Rolawn Medallion® Turf

Rolawn Medallion® turf is Britain's biggest selling and most frequently specified lawn turf, often being the first choice for professional landscapers and discerning who wish to give their lawn the best start possible.

Rolawn's ongoing trials have continued to refine the Medallion turf mix. The selected cultivars offer enhanced performance in all quality landscaping situations.

MTD VG40BM scarifier / aerator

Now is the time to start considering some light to medium invasive remedial maintenance to the lawn.

Raking out the thatch and debris that has accumulated over the winter is essential to maintain a green and healthy lawn.

Don't consider regular scarifying as a totally remedial task because frequent scarifying is required if your lawn is to remain as close to its best as possible throughout the season - little and often is the key.

Ready mix soil and seed for creating a new lawn.

As a landscape gardener, I have always levelled and raked top soil out to create a seed bed before broadcasting grass seed to create a lawn but I do realise that in certain circumstances, especially if you are a little unsure about how much the surface needs, buying a 'ready mix' soil and seed to use could be a convenient solution.

This 'Lawn in a bag' ready mix solution takes all the hassle out of growing a new lawn. Simply spread it down, keep it watered and within a few weeks you will have a lush green lawn ready to go.

It is a mix of quality screened Topsoil, compost and lawn seed.

Each tonne or one bulk bag will produce a lawn of approximately 20m² in size depending on the depth it is spread at – we recommend at least a good 2 inches.

Download this PDF with details of this lawn in a bag product.

Buy 'lawn in a bag.

Controlling moles with tunnel traps

For the squeamish I suggest looking away now but if you are serious about your lawn and you are having trouble with moles in your lawn then this advice could be really useful.

On my Landscape Juice blog I have written an advisory blog with accompanying pictures showing you how to control moles using a scissor trap.

Bear in mind that I am in France and the look of the trap in the pictures is slightly different than you would buy in the UK but the advice and setting is the same.

Buy a mole trap here.

When is the first cut of the year for a lawn

Your lawn does not completely become dormant in the winter. You will note that even when the temperature outside is below freezing or just a few degrees above, the top of the leaf blade will become fluffy and produce a new spike fairly soon after the last cut.

It is important not to let the grass get too long because the stress of removing a great deal of growth in one swoop can cause damage with moss and weeds infesting the surface that is vacated by grass that is dying away.

British lawn mower museum

Did you know that the lawn mower was invented in 1830 by Edwin Beard Budding?

Budding was working in a cotton mill and set about designing a machine that would cut cloth. Budding told people that he thought the machine could be used to cut grass and set about testing it at night. People thought Budding to be a lunatic but his revolutionary design change the course of history.

This is just one of the fascinating facts you will learn at the British Lawn Mower Museum