TURF TALK
I’m King Charles’ senior gardener – how to get super green grass in three easy steps, including a £6 Home Bargains buy
Jack shared his top for preventing damage from dog urine
IF you are desperate for your garden to have vibrant green grass this summer, King Charles senior gardener has shared his top pieces of advice.
Jack Stooks, who has worked at Highgrove House for 20 years, revealed that the secret could be a £6 product from Home Bargains.
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Speaking to Fabulous in association with Alt Index, Jack revealed that you should be adding a fertiliser or plant food with nitrogen as a key ingredient to get “super green” grass.
He explained: “Adding nitrogen into the soil [is key].
“You can either get a mix, it's sort of more like a water base mix that you can pour into a watering can and at a ratio of whatever it might be on the can.
“Ideally you want to start adding that when you know it's going to rain, when it's not too dry, because otherwise that will just kill the grass off as well, it just sort of burns it.”
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Another option is to get a granular feed to put over the lawn.
Jack continued: “You can hand spread - putting on gloves - all over the lawn, but always make sure it's well watered in so that you don't get the scorching of the grass from it.
“Whichever nitrogen type fertiliser you choose to use, it will give you a rough guide as to sort of put this on and then do it again in three months or so, and then do it again in a month.”
You can currently pick up a 1kg bag of Miracle-Gro All Purpose Soluble Plant Food, which contains nitrogen for your soil, for £5.99 from Home Bargains.
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A third product people add into the soil is “plant material that they make up like a plant soup”, says Jack.
He added: “It’s high in nitrogen and that can also be added into the garden, so if you're doing it in a more organic way, you can use something like a plant based food that you add in the ground as well but again, watering it down so it doesn't scorch the grass.”
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One of the most common causes of brown patches in the lawn is from dogs, says the royal gardener, who has six dachshunds himself.
He advised to immediately pour water on any wee spots using a watering can, and this will limit any damage.
Jack recommended you also buy Dog Rocks, which is a product that sits in their water bowl and helps to limit damage caused by urine on lawns.
The royal gardener also advised that having a garden that creates a good environment for birds can help limit damage caused by larvae.
Royal gardener Jack Stook's top tips for green lawns
JACK, who has worked at King Charles' Highgrove House for 20 years, shares his top tips..
- Scarify the lawn with a rake to remove any old leaves and moss
- Add nitrogen fertiliser into the soil
- Alternatively, put granular feed over the lawn, or a 'plant soup' from plant material over the lawn
Jack previously shared the three plants you can buy for under £10 that’ll instantly transform your garden.
The royal staff member shared his number one choice, saying: “I always recommend for height you want like a clematis which are really really good.
“The Montana Clematis - they normally like either pinks or whites - and once you've got them and they go up and over a wall or a fence, they do amazingly and they just keep coming year after year after year.
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“I mean they're just so giving and they're about £8 to £10 depending on where you get them.
“In a supermarket you sometimes see them on really good deals for sort of like £6, so they are very, very reasonably priced.”
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