The maya used to mix broken pottery (brick) into the infamously fertile man made black soil “Terra Preta” they created to sustain their civilisation in the otherwise poor soils of the jungle. They did this because it holds moisture brilliantly as it is porous and acts kind of like a wick in a candle. Good work, subscription earned. Top uk lawn channel now in my opinion.
Great video thanks 👍 First video I've seen explaining rootzone and it's really helpful, just wish now I ordered that rather than the renovation mix. Maybe for the next reno 🙂
Recently done a garden renovation, landscaped a 100m2 area for grass, had it turfed 4-5 weeks ago. But honestly was the worse turf, when it was laid it was yellow, company are useless and have not offered to fix it, spent the past few weeks trying to improve the quality. 1st I put down a starter fertiliser(1 week after laid), and that in combination with a strict watering brought the colour back and helped root growth, but there was a lot of dead in the crown layer which I believe was contributing to more dead areas, so I raked it out with a spring tine rake (I don’t own a scarifier, May look at getting one), in the past week I have re-seeded and top dressed with a ‘topsoil’ but actually looked more like compost. Just keeping up with watering at the moment, but is there anything else I could do to pick up some growth and encourage a thicker lawn to grow. You have said in a few videos that you would like more subscribers this kind of thing could be a good topic for advice for a lot of home owners that want a better lawn. I’m considering a seaweed application but unsure if that will help. Also I see you walking on newly seeded lawns, isn’t this bad? I’m just curious.
No not at all, seeds pretty resilient, obviously if it was brand new seed bad like from scratch you gotta be careful but theres no other option, you should see football stadiums after renovation they look like ploughed fields with ridges but the first few mows flatten it out, and they have to be walked on to spray things, if the preps done right then the ground should be nice and firm Trouble is if it rubbish turf to start then chances of reviving it to a high standard is unlikely as you cant turn water into wine, but as your adding new plants with seed youll improve it that way, best advice is just take your time and dont try and rush things, as the more feed you put on the worse it will be as your forcing things, if you keep feeding the roots wont need to go anywhere as your doing it all for it, so stress it out abit ease back on the feed and water and let the roots do some work, and when using feeds, look not just at the N but what sort of N try a feed with N but not ammonia as this is utilisable straight away look for meth urea which needs to be broken down by the bacteria in the soil so the plant can take it up so is of slower uptake meaning not as much growth
Noticed most of the lawns you’ve posted with rootzone have a timber border? Are these just 1/2” fencing planks? Lucky at £30 per tonne, have only found Dandy’s that deliver to East Yorkshire something similar but neatly x3 the price. Great videos 👍🏼
On new jobs i always put the tanalised timber edges to stop the edge collapsing especiall on seed jobs, its decking joists from b&q, 3x2 or 4x2 or 8x2 depending on size of edges required but generally 3x2 does the job, its about 9 quid per 2.4mtr length of 3x2 and about 13 quid for the deeper 2.4mtr ones ,
Hi Dan! Absolutely loving your content. Recently moved into a new property and will be embarking on a Reno journey in September. There are a number of areas out of level and will be adding new wooden edging. Would you advise; A) cut short, scarify, level low spots with root zone B) kill off existing lawn first and then follow the above? Or any other? Appreciate your content and will be buying your products to help create my perfect new lawn.
Its upto you and your budget but if you just scarify any weed grasses you have will just come back so bear that in mind but if you go for the new lawn the old turf will need to be removed as seeds etc will still be there to return as weedkiller wont kill these
Watching this video and you reference there is no need to use if there is poor drainage. My lawn does; however, it is my intention to Auger bit holes all over the lawn, remove the clay and backfill with something. Will rootzone be suitable?
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert Rootzone. Your video mentions there is no point using Rootzone if there is poor drainage. My question is if many auger holes were drilled into the lawn and backfilled with Rootzone, would this help improve drainage?
Looks great pal ! Looking forward to the next bit of how to level using the timber edges and it’s pretty much as I imagined ! Originally I was thinking how does Daniel get it do flat but now I’ve seen the root zone I understand it a bit more ! 👍
Hopefully tomorrow!! At some point, its been ridiculous here rain wise with yesterday and today being no exception, did you see the video from this week with the damage caused by the rain at this job?
Hi Dan would you advise top dressing with rootzone or stick with your old mate Jacks Magic . I’m starting to plan my autumn renovation When will you have your autumn fertiliser in stock Great videos Dan teaching us amateurs
Hi Daniel hope you are well. We tend to scarify, aerate, seed,Topdress with rootzone, level, then put down a pre-seeding fertiliser and water in. Do you do it differently? It looks as if you level with rootzone. Seed. Cover with jacks manic. Then fertilise? Is that right?
Yes you cant be accurate with pre seed fert as you rake it all about after and you end up with loads of uneven growth, theres enough going on with coated seeds and in the jacks magic to warrent not putting pre seed down,
Hi Daniel, I've got an established, bumpy clay lawn that I'm looking to get sorted during my week off. I've got access to a lot of screened topsoil and sharp sand on a job I'm on at the moment. I'm wondering if a 50/50 mix would help with the ankle breaker low spots in my lawn?
Great channel , can I ask one question I’m looking back on all the videos trying to find if you have answered this…. If you have a lawn that is fairly uneven with some dips here and there is it best to use sand or soil to bring the levels up? I have tried top soil dressing in the past and made sure I racked it out the best I can but I felt the re-seed struggled to break through. Thanks
Hello Daniel would you suggest using this type mix as a level mix also this upcoming 2023 season for me & my Tahoma31 bermuda in desperate need of leveling would this be a good mixture instead of just sand ? Thanks
Thanks for explaining this, even though you were in some pain! I can't believe you need a permit as it won't be left there overnight, probably just some jobsworth. I bet this stuff never compacts, is easy draining and being sandy shouldn't be hollow tine aerated? Do you find the Lawns require a bit more nutrition and water using this?
Yeah ive never aerated these lawns with this rootzone, it wont do any harm but like i say if you wanna spend all day with a fork poking it in the lawn, who am i to stop you, yes definately re fertiliser and water but id rather have option of adding water than the inability to remove it, we arnt arsenal with suction under the pitch and is fertiliser that dear that one or two extra applications a year it cant be done? Only thing rootzone does need ideally is a wetting agent at least once a year
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert yeah an extra 1 or 2 applications I'd have thought would hardly break the bank. Fertiliser is not all that expensive really and as you say you can add water but not remove it easily unless a pricey drainage system is used 👍
Do you think a 70/30 rootzone mix would be ok for leveling areas (which are to be overseeded) on a clay soil lawn? or would you go, 60/40 or even 50/50? From what I've read, I thought sand or anything sand like was a no no for clay soil. Just wondered what you thought, please Dan?
Just whatever you can get hold of, 50/50 better for nutrient retention but wont be as good drainage as 70/30 but not that you would notice the difference
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert I'm so confused! When you'd use 50/50, 80/20 vs 70/30 etc! Just creating a new lawn and want to buy the right thing. Probably massively overthinking this lol
Will fescues, bents etc also get on well with that root zone or would you just recommend it for rye? Good vid mate, appreciate all the extra content recently. Wish I'd seen this one last year before renovating! 🙄😃
On that its getting on for 5-6 inches in places can go as deep as you like, its sand and little stones, not sure whats in it, its all very hush hush from the supplier, theres no soil in it i dont think
Not sure its just classed as a rootzone, not much info available on it from my supplier as they very secretive about it, theres no soil in it i dont think so its not really got a ratio
Hi Chris, you can use the 50/50 as a top dressing but as its got moisture in it it wont fill in little undulations it will just sit on the existing grass, where as 70/30 is kiln dried so alot better if really wanting to hone the levels, if you do use 50/50 make sure you leave the finished product raked not screeded as it dries like a bed of concrete and the new seed cant push through, that do you?
I presume you mean 70/30 kiln dried top dressing in bags? Not sure you can but 70/30 rootzone in a bag but deffo kiln dried in a bag yes or 40x25kg bags but you will get less in a tn bag only 850kg so weigh up the cost per tn bag or an actual tonne in smaller bags
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpertbought a property with an ornamental lawn thats not been looked after over the past five years. Had some serious mole damage and heavy machinery traffic over it too causing undulations. Solid tined it, and cross scarified and was going to throw a blind of 70/30 over it to lift up the dropped areas. so ill stick to the original plan. Thanks for the speedy reply squire
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert thanks buddy. Thought I'd let you know too that growing solutions are now willing to sell 1lr bottles of their ferts. May want to mention it on your channel if you still use it.
This is by far the best lawn channel on RUclips.love it.
The maya used to mix broken pottery (brick) into the infamously fertile man made black soil “Terra Preta” they created to sustain their civilisation in the otherwise poor soils of the jungle.
They did this because it holds moisture brilliantly as it is porous and acts kind of like a wick in a candle.
Good work, subscription earned.
Top uk lawn channel now in my opinion.
Brilliant .. you are absolutely spot on! Use a power barrow next time for moving soil , I do and it makes one hellof a difference
Nar im a manual labourer forever!! Thats cheating using a power barrow, i love graft
Love all your videos Dan top class info
Cheerz
Great video thanks 👍 First video I've seen explaining rootzone and it's really helpful, just wish now I ordered that rather than the renovation mix. Maybe for the next reno 🙂
Could you do a video on the type of grass seeds use please Daniel?
Funny you should say as one coming in next week
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert great look forward to it 👍
Recently done a garden renovation, landscaped a 100m2 area for grass, had it turfed 4-5 weeks ago. But honestly was the worse turf, when it was laid it was yellow, company are useless and have not offered to fix it, spent the past few weeks trying to improve the quality. 1st I put down a starter fertiliser(1 week after laid), and that in combination with a strict watering brought the colour back and helped root growth, but there was a lot of dead in the crown layer which I believe was contributing to more dead areas, so I raked it out with a spring tine rake (I don’t own a scarifier, May look at getting one), in the past week I have re-seeded and top dressed with a ‘topsoil’ but actually looked more like compost. Just keeping up with watering at the moment, but is there anything else I could do to pick up some growth and encourage a thicker lawn to grow.
You have said in a few videos that you would like more subscribers this kind of thing could be a good topic for advice for a lot of home owners that want a better lawn.
I’m considering a seaweed application but unsure if that will help.
Also I see you walking on newly seeded lawns, isn’t this bad? I’m just curious.
No not at all, seeds pretty resilient, obviously if it was brand new seed bad like from scratch you gotta be careful but theres no other option, you should see football stadiums after renovation they look like ploughed fields with ridges but the first few mows flatten it out, and they have to be walked on to spray things, if the preps done right then the ground should be nice and firm
Trouble is if it rubbish turf to start then chances of reviving it to a high standard is unlikely as you cant turn water into wine, but as your adding new plants with seed youll improve it that way, best advice is just take your time and dont try and rush things, as the more feed you put on the worse it will be as your forcing things, if you keep feeding the roots wont need to go anywhere as your doing it all for it, so stress it out abit ease back on the feed and water and let the roots do some work, and when using feeds, look not just at the N but what sort of N try a feed with N but not ammonia as this is utilisable straight away look for meth urea which needs to be broken down by the bacteria in the soil so the plant can take it up so is of slower uptake meaning not as much growth
Noticed most of the lawns you’ve posted with rootzone have a timber border? Are these just 1/2” fencing planks? Lucky at £30 per tonne, have only found Dandy’s that deliver to East Yorkshire something similar but neatly x3 the price. Great videos 👍🏼
On new jobs i always put the tanalised timber edges to stop the edge collapsing especiall on seed jobs, its decking joists from b&q, 3x2 or 4x2 or 8x2 depending on size of edges required but generally 3x2 does the job, its about 9 quid per 2.4mtr length of 3x2 and about 13 quid for the deeper 2.4mtr ones ,
Hi Dan! Absolutely loving your content. Recently moved into a new property and will be embarking on a Reno journey in September. There are a number of areas out of level and will be adding new wooden edging. Would you advise;
A) cut short, scarify, level low spots with root zone
B) kill off existing lawn first and then follow the above?
Or any other?
Appreciate your content and will be buying your products to help create my perfect new lawn.
Its upto you and your budget but if you just scarify any weed grasses you have will just come back so bear that in mind but if you go for the new lawn the old turf will need to be removed as seeds etc will still be there to return as weedkiller wont kill these
Thanks Dan! Appreciate it
Easy lawn in Bolton do a clean root Zone will this do the job Dan
Watching this video and you reference there is no need to use if there is poor drainage. My lawn does; however, it is my intention to Auger bit holes all over the lawn, remove the clay and backfill with something. Will rootzone be suitable?
No need to use what? It was 3 years ago refresh my mind
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert Rootzone. Your video mentions there is no point using Rootzone if there is poor drainage. My question is if many auger holes were drilled into the lawn and backfilled with Rootzone, would this help improve drainage?
@@davidbradley2042 yes this would help
Could you use this stuff as a top dressing and over seeding? another great video.
I have done yes but you cant spread it with the spirit level as it drys like rock hard, gotta spread with a rake and finish with the rake
Looks great pal !
Looking forward to the next bit of how to level using the timber edges and it’s pretty much as I imagined ! Originally I was thinking how does Daniel get it do flat but now I’ve seen the root zone I understand it a bit more ! 👍
Will get this job even leveller yet so tune in , just very wet here at the moment so being held up
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert
Will do ! Look forward to it.
Looking forward to seeing how you set those wooden side rails up and level off pal !
Hopefully tomorrow!! At some point, its been ridiculous here rain wise with yesterday and today being no exception, did you see the video from this week with the damage caused by the rain at this job?
So glad i hadnt seeded
Hi Dan would you advise top dressing with rootzone or stick with your old mate Jacks Magic . I’m starting to plan my autumn renovation
When will you have your autumn fertiliser in stock
Great videos Dan teaching us amateurs
Jacks will be fine bit if your looking to smooth out undulations and things then youll need rootzone
Thanks a lot Dan
Hi Daniel hope you are well. We tend to scarify, aerate, seed,Topdress with rootzone, level, then put down a pre-seeding fertiliser and water in. Do you do it differently? It looks as if you level with rootzone. Seed. Cover with jacks manic. Then fertilise? Is that right?
Yes you cant be accurate with pre seed fert as you rake it all about after and you end up with loads of uneven growth, theres enough going on with coated seeds and in the jacks magic to warrent not putting pre seed down,
Hi Daniel, I've got an established, bumpy clay lawn that I'm looking to get sorted during my week off. I've got access to a lot of screened topsoil and sharp sand on a job I'm on at the moment. I'm wondering if a 50/50 mix would help with the ankle breaker low spots in my lawn?
Yeah any wet medium wouldbl be good kiln dried top dressing wouldnt compact at all
Looking forward to find out what timber you used for the levelling
B n q smooth planed tanalised for the edging
Great channel , can I ask one question I’m looking back on all the videos trying to find if you have answered this…. If you have a lawn that is fairly uneven with some dips here and there is it best to use sand or soil to bring the levels up? I have tried top soil dressing in the past and made sure I racked it out the best I can but I felt the re-seed struggled to break through. Thanks
Just gotta roll with it like on my paddys job just some dips n bumps have to be endured
This video is really helpful. Is rootzone the same as 50/50 silica sand with loam top dressing?
This rootzone isnt but the ones you get online maybe are more soily but this has no soil in it
Thanks for the reply.
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert
Hello Daniel would you suggest using this type mix as a level mix also this upcoming 2023 season for me & my Tahoma31 bermuda in desperate need of leveling would this be a good mixture instead of just sand ? Thanks
Possibly but this is in uk so this wont be available in guessing the states?
Thanks for explaining this, even though you were in some pain! I can't believe you need a permit as it won't be left there overnight, probably just some jobsworth. I bet this stuff never compacts, is easy draining and being sandy shouldn't be hollow tine aerated? Do you find the Lawns require a bit more nutrition and water using this?
Yeah ive never aerated these lawns with this rootzone, it wont do any harm but like i say if you wanna spend all day with a fork poking it in the lawn, who am i to stop you, yes definately re fertiliser and water but id rather have option of adding water than the inability to remove it, we arnt arsenal with suction under the pitch and is fertiliser that dear that one or two extra applications a year it cant be done? Only thing rootzone does need ideally is a wetting agent at least once a year
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert yeah an extra 1 or 2 applications I'd have thought would hardly break the bank. Fertiliser is not all that expensive really and as you say you can add water but not remove it easily unless a pricey drainage system is used 👍
Do you think a 70/30 rootzone mix would be ok for leveling areas (which are to be overseeded) on a clay soil lawn? or would you go, 60/40 or even 50/50? From what I've read, I thought sand or anything sand like was a no no for clay soil. Just wondered what you thought, please Dan?
Just whatever you can get hold of, 50/50 better for nutrient retention but wont be as good drainage as 70/30 but not that you would notice the difference
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert I'm so confused! When you'd use 50/50, 80/20 vs 70/30 etc! Just creating a new lawn and want to buy the right thing. Probably massively overthinking this lol
@@bluedan7425 50/50 in domestic if you can get it
How deep do you make your layer of top zone. Sorry, if you said it in your video
Differs all no maximum no minimum
Will fescues, bents etc also get on well with that root zone or would you just recommend it for rye? Good vid mate, appreciate all the extra content recently. Wish I'd seen this one last year before renovating! 🙄😃
Dont really deal with bents at all but fescues seem to like it to yes
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert thanks mate. Hope the back improves today. 👍
Nice vid 👌. How deep do you go with the rootzone and is like a 50 50? Cheers in advance 👍
On that its getting on for 5-6 inches in places can go as deep as you like, its sand and little stones, not sure whats in it, its all very hush hush from the supplier, theres no soil in it i dont think
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert is it compost and sand or topsoil and sand? Sorry I'm such a newbie
@@clement6574 its just sand and grit
I added jacks magic to
It on steves job
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert oh ok. Was the soil with already a fair amount of organic matter of you only add sand and grit?
Evening Daniel where do you buy your fleece from? Cheers
J mahers ltd in bolton they have a website its on a roll but i did buy some sheets off amazon too
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert cheers Daniel. If your ever up in Glasgow give me a shout!
Do pilates for your back, i watch the girl with the pilates mat on RUclips.👌👍
Daniel great channel and very informative ….would rootzone work as a top dressing lawn leveller
Yes
Can I use root one on a cricket square?
Not that one, you need like a mendip or kettering loam which is clay
Do you sow seed directly into that root zone?
Well on top then rake it in ive added jacks magic to a few jobs and mixed it in with good results
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert honestly mate best lawn channel in the UK. Keep going but don't refer to Anfield missing patches last season haha
Hi Daniel what mix is this eg 70/30 or something?
Not sure its just classed as a rootzone, not much info available on it from my supplier as they very secretive about it, theres no soil in it i dont think so its not really got a ratio
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert cheers thanks 😊
Start wearing a back belt especially as your doing heavy work in your line of work , constant wear and tear it will get worse .
Think i will start once better
Would you use this 50/50 root zone as a standard top dressing and leveller on established lawns or would you go up to a 70/30 mix? Loving the videos!
Hi Chris, you can use the 50/50 as a top dressing but as its got moisture in it it wont fill in little undulations it will just sit on the existing grass, where as 70/30 is kiln dried so alot better if really wanting to hone the levels, if you do use 50/50 make sure you leave the finished product raked not screeded as it dries like a bed of concrete and the new seed cant push through, that do you?
I presume you mean 70/30 kiln dried top dressing in bags? Not sure you can but 70/30 rootzone in a bag but deffo kiln dried in a bag yes or 40x25kg bags but you will get less in a tn bag only 850kg so weigh up the cost per tn bag or an actual tonne in smaller bags
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpertbought a property with an ornamental lawn thats not been looked after over the past five years. Had some serious mole damage and heavy machinery traffic over it too causing undulations. Solid tined it, and cross scarified and was going to throw a blind of 70/30 over it to lift up the dropped areas. so ill stick to the original plan. Thanks for the speedy reply squire
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert PS: what seed rate do you tend to go with ?
@@MANDOWN-o4l just on an over seeding job its 35g m2
Hi mate, can you recommend a pgr that isn't in a 5 litre bottle and doesn't cost £200?
Theres only one mate and its Primo maxx but you need the relevant licences to buy and use
Less feed is the way forward
@@DanielHibbertLawnExpert thanks buddy.
Thought I'd let you know too that growing solutions are now willing to sell 1lr bottles of their ferts. May want to mention it on your channel if you still use it.
Root zone
Bloody permit! What a joker!
We’ll need a permit to breath soon the way things are going, ridiculous.
Ive had 100s of tonnes dropped on road never had a problem but today it was!
Because people can't make a decision correctly because A they miss read the article and B are dumb proud and broken. Jealousy and envy.
🍺time! Happy days.... that’s why you’re in pain! A permit? Never heard of that in my life
Me neither mate. Ruined my day