Ask Gerry

I'v bought some lawn feed and moss killer to improve my 18 month old lawn (it has some weeds). The directions say not to compost the cuttings for 12 months. What do I do with these cuttings? can they be composted at all, even after a period of time or do they have to be dimped aside of no use at all?

What is the best method for removing a dense covering of docks from my new lawn. I have mown regularly and leaves are remaining small and turning a pinkish colour, is this indicating that the mowing is working on its own or should I supplement this with another method ? Growth in some areas of the lawn seems to have slowed and new grass is very slightly yellow, what can I feed it with?

How long should I keep the kids off the lawn after applying a selective lawn weedkiller for weeds, daisies etc? Also is it better to cut a lawn prior to its application and is there any problem applying it in the evening time.

The area immediately in front of my house has become overgrown with rushes. They are up to waist height at the moment. I have tried some weed killers and have cut the rushes previously, but to no effect. Any advise? I have hedging and other plants nearby so need to be careful if using chemicals. John.

Small problem of thistles all over the garden to the point you cannot walk on it. how do i most cost effectively get rid of them?first time gardener with a lawn only seeded two years ago,nothing else on the lawn.

I have a small weed which is spreading rapidly through my grass lawn and is effectively taking over. Grass is not able to survive so now I just have ad odd blade of grass growing through it. It has a white/pinkish thin stem with small round green leaves. I have heard it called the "Glasnevin" weed, probably because it is growing in many gardens in the area. One representative in a Garden Centre obviously knew of the weeds existence and said it could be effectively treated by Winter Tar Oil or Winter Tar Wash BUT this product was NO longer available.

I have a large lawn (1.25 acres) with quite a lot of clover. I would like to fertillize the lawn before I spray Herbicide on it. What is the best fertillizer for this time of year, which will promote the grass, but not the clover? What is the best way to kill the clover?

Following siteworks on a new house, we laid a new lawn (1 acre) last July. Not suprisingly there are loads of weeds. Can you recommend weed and feed in granule format that will suit such a large area that is also pet friendly (I have a spreader that I can tow behind the lawnmower). Finally when is the best time to spread this?

I have got rushes growing in a lawn, what are my options for getting rid of them?

I have a problem with a certain type of weedIt grows in a mass and it is feels very rubbery It is mostly on brick and cobble lock paving but now it is spreading everywhere. I tried using ( roundup, destrol, but no use only thing to work is castic soda. is there any other weed killer on the market to clear this problem?

how do i eradicate horsetail weed?

My large lawn (aprox .6 acre) has clover, buttercups, thistle and others. Can you recommend a economical bulk weed killer or weed and feed.

I live out in the countryside, where I have built stables on concrete with the surrounding area (30 * 30) metres in cobble sone....just ordinary stone you would get from the quarry. Now that was a year ago and of course now with summer coming along. grass, weeds at starting to come up through it, however I can't give any of these with the normal roundup because it is to dangerous to use near the horses, so what can I do.(I have young kids - the garden will be mostly grass for the next few years...)176Someone said to me to use a Red Dragon Red Dragon The Original Red Dragon Torch Kit, of course can't find any way in Ireland that supplies this, only America.Is this the only option I have. is there something else or do you know where I can find these Torch Kit's. Thanks ,Gary

Could you please help me to identify this weed which keeps coming up in my lawn and flowerbeds. It is in at least 20 places at the moment. I mow the lawn and it comes up again. How can it be eradicated?

I used Resolva lawn weedkiller already made up on my lawn a few weeks ago. To my horror I now have at least twenty large dead grass patches in my lawn. I have tried to reseed but none of the seed has germinated. Can you help? For about ten days after I applied the weedkiller the patches kept getting bigger and in fact some of them have merged. I have used weed and feed every year for probably about twenty years and have never had this problem.