Aeration of Lawns

If the lawn has a healthy Soil Biology supporting it, it will be naturally aerated and 50% air..

The majority of current lawn management only degrades Soil Biology which leads to compacted soil, as there is no Soil Biology and the soil collapses on itself and becomes compacted.

Unless the Soil Biology is present any intervention to relieve compaction, to aerate the lawn/soil, will in a very short time fail, as the underlying issue is not solved.

Hollow and Solid Tine Aeration, Slitting, Dethatching etc address the problem, not the cause.

Ruskins can decompact using the latest air injection machines and install the Soil Biology.

The Soil Biology then associates with the roots of the grass, it aerates the soil, ensures the grass is more resilient, grows stronger, is healthier and a more natural colour.

Chemical fertilisers kill Soil Biology by unbalancing the soil. Upto 70-80% gets washed through the soil and contaminates ground water.

The cherry on the cake, is to understand the damage to your lawn that cut and collect mowing is doing. The valuable organic matter (grass cuttings) is created from nutrients from the soil. These should be returned to the soil. To remove them from the garden (week after week year after year), takes energy from the system and places it on a strict diet. Grass should be cut with a mulching mower, this returns the valuable organic matter to the soil, to become food for the Soil Biology.

Why mulch?

To very simply explain, it is what nature intended. Go for a walk in an established woodland, walk off the track and have a dig. Soil that is very high in organic matter ( to the point of starting as only organic matter and with the help of Soil Biology, being slowly turned into soil).

The health of a plant / tree is dependent on its relationship with its Soil Biology. Mycorrhizal Fungi links with the roots, and provides the roots with nutrients that would otherwise be unavailable to them.Also moisture is provided.

When a mulch is applied there will be upto around 15 times more Mycorrhizal Fungi activity than under grass.

Mulch to suppress competing weeds, retain moisture and keep strimmers and mowers away from the trunk.

Your tree will be happier, grow with greater resilience when mulched and the associated Soil Biology is present. If newly planted or transplanted the tree will establish quicker.

Root barriers

Nearly all root barriers on the market, are not sufficiently deep to stop roots. They only deflect roots, some of which will go under the root barrier and exploit nutrients and moisture the other side.

Root barriers should extend down to where the soil is so dense that roots cannot penetrate.

We acknowledge that with subsidence it is the wicking across the soil of moisture that is needed by the roots is the issue and this blog post is not addressing this. The potential liability issues are huge. Suppliers and manufactuers of most root barriers are selling root deflectors. Insurers are accepting root barriers as a remedy to the problem.

We know of only one company that appears to install them correctly (and it is not us or related to us).

Helping trees affected by the drought and heat this summer

As we have trees for a temperate climate and had a Mediterranean summer (high temperatures on the back of a 10 month drought, many trees suffered.

Some died, some will have died back, others lost leaves (as these transpire moisture). All of which will have reduced photosynthesis (energy in), that will have weakened the tree.

Hopefully next year will be benign, as the impact of hot and dry weather for another year will amplify the stress.

The first step in helping your stressed trees, is to water them.. Autumnal rains are helping. The effect of a long hot summer is the baking of the soil. This massively reduces the percolation of moisture into the soil. A light forking of the soil, will allow the moisture to enter the soil. Watering should be slow to minimise run-off.

As the health of all trees is largely dependent on their associated Soil Biology, this should be applied once the moisture has started to penetrate the soil.

The root system, should be mulched with woodchip to around 10cm deep, with the area around the trunk kept clear. As this composts down it feeds the Soil Biology with organic matter. It also helps by retaining moisture and suppressing weed growth. A mulch finish compared to a grass finish will have upto 15 times the Mycorrhizal activity.

For the health of all of your trees and shrubs, they should be mulched. As nature intended.

Nature out-foxed

In the UK we have a temperate climate. We have trees suited to this, primarily with leaves not designed for hot or dry weather.

In addition their natural response to hot weather, is to transpire more, to create a cool layer of air around themselves.

So at a time when it is hot (and dry), with water less available, trees are using more.

If the trees were in a naturally hot and dry region, their leaves would be designed to minimise moisture loss. Waxy and smaller essentially.

This is why trees in the UK drop leaves when it is hot and dry, as they are a moisture losing liability.

Nature is not fast moving enough for trees to optimally respond to global warming.

Worms and bad for Soil Biology and Carbon Storage

After a lifetime of being told and thinking that worms are an indicator of healthy soils, I was shocked to read new research out of Canada.

Essentially worms were wiped out in nearly all North America by the last ice age and with the help of introductions by European settlers and the passge of time (worms march forward very slowly from the south of the USA), there are woodlands in Canade with and without earthworms.

Worms are infact very efficient organic matter hoovers. Where they exist there is less Soil Biology as the organic matter they feed on, has been eatern by worms, so there is less Soil Biology.

In addition as there is less organic matter in the soil, less carbon is stored in the soil when worms are present.

!

Water Your Trees

It has been incredibly dry since last autumn in the midlands and south of UK. Please water all the trees you can, ignore any rain until mid-late Autumn (assuming we have much more rain then .

Why is my tree dropping leaves in summer

Dry and hot weather is stressful for trees. As Arborists we pray for cold wet summers!

Evergreen trees continually drop the leaves that are internal and shaded. These are inefficient at photosynthesis and therefore dropped.

It is when this is accelerated or when deciduous trees are dropping leaves before autumn that it is a concern.

They are dropping leaves as a result of stress. Leaves transpire valuable moisture, so with less leaves they are losing less moisture.

To help the tree, you should water it for the rest of summer.

How to help a dying or stressed tree

A stressed or dying tree is able to be helped, hopefully to a point where it recovers.

What are the symptoms, does the tree look “sad”? Is the canopy sparse? Are the leaves discoloured? If deciduous has it dropped leaves at the wrong time of year? If evergreen has the natural loss of internal leaves (as they get shaded and inefficient at photosynthesisi) increased (appears sparse).

The first question to answer is has anything changed around the tree? Has ground level changed? Has a hard surface been installed near the tree? Has drainage changed around the tree? Has the ground under the canopy been compacted?

The next is has the tree been recently (within last five years) planted or transplanted? If so it should be being monitored and receiving aftercare (primarily watering, whilst its root system grows to that of a natural tree). Can the tree be rocked / is it secure in the ground?

Then, is the planting location sub optimal? Is there poor soil around the tree ? Is the tree mulched with woodchips? Are there hard surfaces or walls (reflected heat/poor percolation of moisture, poor gaseous exchange) around the tree? Is the tree the right species for the location? Does the ground around the tree drain or is it waterlogged or sodden for long periods? Is it leaning (a new lean)?

Finally are we in a period of hot and dry weather or a long period of high rainfall?

What can you do?

1) If hot and dry, water

2) If compacted, aerate (please call us for how to undertake this)

3) Add Soil Biology (please call us for how to undertake this), the symbiotic relationship between Soil Biology and the roots is crucial to the health of a tree. In addition compaction / hard surfaces / no mulch (or a mulch of stones) / poor soil will have degraded and killed Soil Biology

4) Mulch with woodchip. As this composts down, it feeds the Soil Biology with organic matter. It will boost Mycorrhizal Fungi activity by upto 15 times over just grass. It also suppresses (competing) weed growth.

5) Photograph the tree from set locations and then every two weeks (Apr-Sep) and compare.

6) If waterlogged, check if tree species suitable for this, if not either drain the soil or lift the tree so that around 20-30% of roots are above ground (with soil benched up around) and can breathe (undertake gaseous exchange).

7) Do not fertilise with chemical fertilisers, this will kill Soil Biology

8) If the tree has dropped leaves, check the cambium (see elsewhere in this blog), to see if the branch / trunk is still alive. If it is, the leaves have dropped as a reaction to stress (as they transpire/lose water) and the leaves should either re-flush or appear the following Spring. If the tree is dying back to a size it can support, please let it, it is also withdrawing the energy held in these branches.

We are happy to discuss how you can help your tree 01277 849990

Very dry autumn, winter and spring

In the midlands and south of the country has had vey dry period. The normal replenishment of water levels has not occured over winter. All recently planted lawns, shrubs and trees should be watered and this should conrinue during the remainder of spring and summer, unless we have an extended period of very wet weather. The period of watering should continue for upto five years after planting or transplanting.

Leaf burst in spring

It is that time of year again (in the northern hemisphere) that deciduous trees at first start, to swell their buds. These increase in size until the leaves burst out of them.

This is stimulated by warmer temperatures, longer days and stronger sun rays. It triggers a chemical reaction in the tree, that causes the buds to swell and then burst.

This is not a good indicator of the health of a tree as it is chemical driven.

It is whether the tree can support these leaves, that is the best indication of the health of the tree. This assessment should be undertaken a few weeks after leaf burst.

This assessment can be affected if the young soft leaves are damaged by a late frost. As this can kill these leaves. The tree in time will create a new flush of leaves, but at great expense, due to the extra energy expended.

This is why deciduous trees lose their leaves, they cannot protect them from frost.

Checking the health of your tree

With all trees, most of the time (excluding seasonal changes), just assess whether the tree looks happy or sad.

Happy is shown by a full canopy of leaves and leaves with lustre (unless deciduous and in autumn/winter)

Sad, leaves wihout lustre, brown leaves in canopy / autumnal colours at wrong time of year, sparse canopy, and leaves on the ground at wrong time of year. With deciduous trees, leaves being lost from the branch tips or with evergreen trees foliage being lost excessively from the inside out.

When stressed, trees will drop leaves, as they transpire precious moisture, to enable them to concentrate on their roots. If the canopy contains brown dead leaves, this is more serious as the message to lose leaves has not got thru. A tree will dieback to a size it can support.

Always consider the prevailing weather, is it benign ( cool, damp) or siege like, hot and dry? Have there been any changes around the tree? Has the aftercare been amended according to the prevailing weather? If the tree was planted or transplanted within the last five years, it should still be watered to accomodate for the reduced root system.

To determine if the branch is still viable the cambium needs to be checked. This is the bright green transport layer, just beneath the bark. Lightky scrape the bark to reveal the cambium if bright green, the branch is still viable, if it is brown, the branch has died.

Helping newly planted and transplanted trees, hedges and shrubs to establish

These specimens need aftercare, during the period whilst they are extending their root systems, to a size where they can support themselves. This time is called establishing and when the specimen has a root system that requires no aftercare, this is known as established.

The length of the establishing phase is upto 5 years.

The aftercare is primarily watering, during spring and summer.

The Soil Biology should be encouraged by the re-application of mulch annually. As this composts down it feeds the Soil Food Web with organic matter.

Soil Biology can also be boosted by the drenching of the root system with a bespoke Compost Tea, that contains all of the good parts of the Soil Food Web, apart from worms and insects (which will migrate to this improved soil).

** RANT** Volume housebuilder "two waterings of trees and shrubs per year"

I was astonished to find myself discussing with a commerical director of a nation volume housebuilder aftercare of their soft landscapes and find they only paid for two waterings per year of newly planted trees and shrubs, for two years

I suggested that for this spring and summer, he only takes two drinks.

He saw no value in passing a quaility landscape onto the communuty or the managing agents responsible for the care of it. At best they are passing a poisoned chalice onto the community.

There was no attempt to being their approved landscape plans to life.

This approach will not lead to the landscape plans, approved but the Local Authoirty.

Why are Local Authorities not checking and enforcing their approved plans, with replacements for failed specimens.

Why are Local Authorities not passing landscape plans subject to BS8545? This should gurantee the approved landscape to come to fruition.

Planners have developers at their mercy when approving plans, why do that not have the ***** to ensure their appovals occur. Increase the cost to include monitoring of trees (retained and newly planted) on development sites for 5 years,

This will massively enhance the local enviroment.

.

Ecology Trees

These are large trees, translocated as large as sites allow as ecological mitigation. Deadwood habitat is a rare resource, due to the habit of clearing it.

We can locate these horizontally or vertically. The vertical ones are particularly useful for bat mitigation, providing new roosts.

There are a number of features we create on these trees to maximise ecological benefit

Clay Soils - planting and lawns

Clay soils, which also mainifest themsleves as “hard lawns” are not inherently bad, they have many nutrients locked up in them that roots can access.

They however spend nearly all the year desiccated (hard) or staturated. There is only two short periods during which is can be worked. Before it gets too desiccated or too saturated.

The structure of clay soil can be easily damaged when saturated by walking on it

The adding of grit or sand to improve it cannot be practicaly undertaken due to the quantity required.

Organic matter is the best way of improving the soil, by digging in peat free compost and/or leaf matter. This can be boosted by adding Soil Biology, through deep soil air probes that adds habitats (zeolites) for microbes, packed with Soil Biology. This method will also create fissures in the soil to aid drainage and add aeration..

In addition we can drench with Soil Biology to boost microbial activity and the plants, trees and lawns.

Soil Biology (specifically Mycorrhizal Fungi) extend in effect the root system of grass, plants and trees by upto 700 times. This makes them stronger and more resilient.

When planting in clay soils, there are plants and trees that are suited to heavier soils.

Plants and trees are grown in relatively light soils, then when planted in dense caly soils, problems can occur. Moisture in the dense clay soil wicks accross into the lighter rootball soils, filling the planting pit up like a sink and drowning most plants.

To alleviate this, do not dig a larger pit, it will just create a larger sink to fill up. Plant the specimen, slightly raised, so that some of the roots can always breathe. Then bench soil up around the exposed root system.

If you can drain the planting pit somewhere, do so with a length of land drainage pipe or french drain, from near the bottom of the planting pit.

There is little point in installing a gravel layer, unless it drains somewhere.

Add Soil Biology and mulch then top up the mulch every year. This will slowly add organic matter to the soil.

With hard lawns, we can add Soil Biology, to help. Ideally mowing is undertaken with a mulching mower (or cut twice weekly without collecting). This will feed the soil biology as it composts down. Please think of grass cuttings as valuable organic matter that should be retained within your garden.

Verticality

An American based client who looked after the internal plants in a famous casio in Las Vegas introduced us to a new word, that we have adopted.

He explained that he needed height, wanted people to look up with large pleached trees as what his casino was lacking was “verticality”.

When we use this word with clients, it is immediately understood.

Government Tree Planting Targets

Do not be mislead by these

1) The tree growing industry is already near full capacity

2) As with many trades it is dominated by soon to retire people

3) The seed collectors are also suffering the same issues

4) There are insufficient planters of trees. on a commerical basis, to plant more trees

5) It is unlikey the trees will get the aftercare to establish.

6) The supply of trees and seeds is limited by local provence (some debate whether it is wiser to collect seeds from warmer /drier areas due to global warming)

Soil Biology

Healthy lawns, shrubs and trees are dependent on their symbiotic relationship with Soil Biology (also called the Soil Food Web).

Mycorrhizal Fungi links up with roots and receives excess carbohydrates from the plant. Then within 0.2 of a second it passes nutrients to the root.

This clever fungi can expand the root systems by upto to 700 times.

Essentially the rest of the Soil Food Web exists in balance to create a healthy, fertile, well drained soil.

The lawn, shrubs and trees are healthier and more resilient.

In this association with Soil Biology the plant benefits again, because they defend the roots (in which they have so much vested) from attack.

We at Ruskins can drench your lawn, shrubs or trees with a bespoke Compost Tea that contains all of the good parts of the Soil Food Web apart from worms and insects (which will migrate to this improved soil).

You will see the benefit in a lawn within 3 weeks and with shrubs and trees a bit later.

Please call us on 01277 849990 or email us on mail@ruskins.co.uk and we can explain how we can help you.

Why do you have lawns that are hard?

Essentially it is because there is poor Soil Biology present in the soil. 50% of a healthy soil is air. Soil with poor Soil Biology are compacted and hard.

This can be rectified, as a first step we can drench with a liquid that naturally aerates the soil, we can then drench with a Compost Tea that includes all of the good parts of the Soil Food Web apart from worms and insects. Then we can introduce worms to achieve the estimated requirement of 20/m2.

One application could be sufficient, but 6 weekly applications during the growing season can be applied.

A more direct approach is to decompate using Air Probes to deliver blasts of air at depths down to 1 metre to create fissures in the soil. These are kept open by an injection of a natural material Terramol and mineral zeolites (micro porous habitats for microbes containing 9 types of Myccorhizal Fungi and 16 of the most benefical soil bacteria.

Once the Soil Biology is present, it needs to be feed, it will get some food from the roots the Myccorhizal Fungi are attached to. Ideally mulching mowers should be used that return the grass clippings to the base of the grass, where it is consumed by the Soil Biology.

When aiming to have optium Soil Biology, man made fertilisers should not be used as these degrade Soil Biology.