You may be one of those not lucky to have a perfect lawn yet and what you are looking at in your back garden is nothing like a thriving, lush, cool green lawn. Bare spots, weeds, moss, it all looks rather in need of care. To make things worse, your next door neighbour has a sweeping expanse of deep green perfection. But don’t despair, like most gardening, lawn care doesn’t need to be hard or complicated ? nor is it particularly time consuming or expensive. Spring is the perfect time to breathe new life into your beleaguered lawn to prepare it for the summer ahead.

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If you have a moss problem then this needs to be tackled first. Fortunately, control is easy – just use an EverGreen lawn care product that contains a mosskiller. EverGreen Complete is an ideal solution as it has a specialist 4in1 formulation that will treat moss, control weeds, provide nutrients for the grass and improve water absorption ? all with just one application.

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Having treated the moss, it’s time to give the entire lawn a gentle raking to get rid of debris. Be careful to not rake your lawn until after the moss has been killed, or you’ll just spread spores all over the place. It’s also important to consider how much wear and tear you’re your lawn will undergo. If the kids spend all summer using the lawn as a football pitch, then growing fine grass suitable for a bowling green is not a good idea, unless of course you enjoy looking at a big patch of brown dirt. It’s important that the grass mix is right for purpose. If you are unsure about what to choose, we’d recommend using EverGreen Multi-Purpose Grass Seed which contains a quality mix of seed suitable for most hard-wearing lawns.

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Now let’s get rid of those bare patches. Either cut out the bare patch, rake the soil and patch with turf, or, sow new grass seed. EverGreen Lawn Repair Kit is perfect for repairing patches, as it contains both lawn seed and feed.

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Next, let’s tackle the problem of tackle thatch. Excessive thatch (the layer of dead stems and roots) is a common problem for established lawns. A thick layer of thatch can become a barrier, stopping water and nutrients from getting to the soil. Raking with a wire garden rake, and cutting often should be enough for thatch control. Making sure the lawn has enough air is also important to improve drainage and help the grass grow healthily. To aerate, simply sink a fork into the soil about 10cm deep at spacings of 15centimeters. This will allow water and air to penetrate down to the roots and make sure the lawn can drain easily.

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Once done it will be time to dust off the faithful lawnmower and give the lawn a good cut. Set the blades high initially for a grass length of about 3cm (1.5″). If you mow any shorter at this time of year will open the door to weeds like daisies and dandelions. Then your lawn will need mowing regularly – for a utility lawn once a week should do the job, just don’t cut it too close.

A greenhouse can be the avid gardener’s best friend during the fall and winter months.  Greenhouses make it possible for us to extend the lifespan of our valuable plants, and sometimes even overwinter them so they can enjoy yet another growing season next year.  If you already own a greenhouse or are thinking of buying one, there are several important things to consider when it comes to prepping your greenhouse for winter use.

The primary consideration in winter use of any greenhouse is your local climate.  How cold does it get in your area?  If you experience harsh winters full of snow and ice, using your greenhouse all year long will be very difficult and possibly quite costly.  If your region experiences milder winters, with nighttime temperatures sometimes dipping near the freezing range, extended winter use of your greenhouse will be easier.

It’s also important to ask yourself, what types of plants will you keep in your greenhouse during the winter months?  What range of temperature do those plants require?  In general, you want to overwinter plants that can tolerate some fairly cool weather.  Warm weather tropical plants that are very sensitive to the cold will not do well in an outdoor greenhouse during cold winter months.

Once you’ve determined the type of plants you’ll be growing and the lowest possible temperatures of your local area, you’re ready to consider alternate heat sources for your greenhouse.  Remember, daytime temps in a greenhouse will usually reach 20 to 40 degrees warmer than the outside air.  At night, however, the air inside the greenhouse will fall to about the same temperature as the cool night air outside.  This is the time when you have to protect your plants from possible freezing in your greenhouse.

If the nighttime temps will only dip to the 50 or 60 degree range, and you have fairly hardy plants in your greenhouse, you may not have to provide any alternate heat source at all.  A very easy and inexpensive way to provide a little additional heat is to place several very large rocks or buckets of water inside the greenhouse.  During the day, the rocks and water will absorb the heat from the ambient air.  At night, they will then radiate that heat back out into the greenhouse.

If you’re dealing with much colder nighttime temperatures, such as into the freezing range, you’ll likely have to bring in some small electric tankless gas water heaters.  Look for a portable tankless gas water heater that is specifically designed for use in greenhouses.  Such tankless gas water heaters will usually feature thermostats and auto on-off switches that are programmable.  A greenhouse tankless gas water heater is also designed to run for quite a few hours at a time, if needed, without overheating.

Last but not least, if you do have some snow accumulation in your area, be sure you remove the snow from your greenhouse as quickly as possible.  Snow on the roof or sides of your greenhouse will reduce or completely eliminate any possible solar gain during the daytime.  Furthermore, if you get too much snow on top of a greenhouse, even one that isn’t in use in the winter, you have to worry about snow load on the roof and possible damage to the structure.  In any case, it’s always a good idea to keep snow brushed off the roof on a regular basis.

As you can see, greenhouse gardening during the colder winter months isn’t impossible, particularly if you live in a mild climate.  With a few simple steps and some pre-planning, you’ll be well on your way to raising beautiful plants the year around.

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best gardeners' friend in the autumn and winter. Greenhouse allows us to extend the life of valuable plants, and sometimes spend the winter in order to be able to enjoy even one growing season next year. If you have gas or thinking about buying one , there are some important things to consider when it comes to prepping their gas for use in winter. parent in the use of greenhouse in winter, the local climate. How does a cold in your area? In the case of a severe winter full of snow and ice, with gas per year will be very difficult and probably quite expensive. If the region experiences milder winters, with temperatures sometimes dipping into the night near the area of freezing in the winter to extend the use of its emissions will be easier. This

' s also important to ask what types of plants will be gas in the winter? What temperature range of this plant need? In general, you want to winter crops, which can result in quite cool weather. warm weather, tropical