Growing (with) All Gardening and Phil Argent – Details, episodes & analysis

April is a time for tea and travelling on trains, we'll When it rains every day there is little to do in the gardens.

Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind. For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.allgardening.co.uk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningls Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls⁠⁠⁠

March we like to celebrate the end of winter and the coming of spring, but this year it's been a wet, very wet March. I talk about March and some of the good and some of the not-so-good. Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind. For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.allgardening.co.uk/⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningls Instagram ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls⁠⁠⁠

The more I stay focused on Lawn Plan and doing One Thing Well, the more I'm digging into doing things better, I mean really better, and the more I'm trying to even out the business model.

Today I concluded 2 major breakthroughs:

1. Grow Lights used on football pitches, grow grass all through winter, so why not do the same on a Lawn Plan reset.
2. Even thought its the end of the 2023 season, the 2024 season is coming, and because I can only work on a select number of lawns, to help with the business model, I can offer a 20% discount for those organised enough to pre book there Lawn Plan service set for 2024.

Building a business can be fun, but you have to be super focused on getting so much right.

And as I've said before, whilst growing grass might be simple, running a business that does it is not easy. So few do.

Join me Phil Argent as I open up my mind and share some thoughts and insights into Growing All Gardening and anything else that comes to mind.

For all the Growing All Gardening episodes head to ⁠⁠https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/allgardening⁠⁠

To learn about Lawn Plan and All Gardening

⁠⁠https://www.allgardening.co.uk/⁠⁠

Facebook

⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/AllGardeningPinner/⁠⁠

Instagram

⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/allgardeningls

Today is a scarification day.

We're just ahead of the growing season, but things are in patches starting to grow.

Which is ideal for lawn scarification, early spring is the best time of year to scarify your lawn.

The one thing about a lawn that never stops surprises me is this, your lawn can only get better or worst, it can never stay the same.

Why?

Every year, every season is different.

How it grows will be different.

How it's cut will be different.

How the weather is will be different, obviously.

How it struggles in summer will be different (depending on hosepipe bans).

How moss and weeds build up in the lawn will be different.

So some years like this year there is a bit of work to do to pull the lawns back into order.

Last year (2022) it was a hot and very dry summer season, tricky for lawns, there was a hose pipe ban very early, and therefore lots and lots of lawns would have been cut a tad too short coming out of summer in to autumn and winter.

A short cut out of a hot season is a pure 100% action that will lead to moss and thatch.

So what the lawns now have in buckets is the build up of two challenges.

Moss. Lots and lots of fluffy moss, that's grown at a super fast rate, but is easy to deal with.

Thatch. Lots and lots of stressed and tired grass would have died off, it will be sitting there at the base of the grass, just waiting to STOP water getting to the grass roots and helping the moss get a grip on the proceedings.

So, it's time to get the lawns back.

Some may see scarification as damaging, it is if we're honest, but it's needed.

What's the option? Left moss and thatch leads to weaker and weaker grass growth, it leads to greater thatch development, and greater chance of moss build up. With that said thatch and moss are also great habitats for chafer grubs and over active worms, which could lead to extensive damage.

So take haste my friends... take action now.

The good news is f you do your scarification alongside a good moss killer and a good nigh nitrogen feed - AND more importantly at the right time of year, you'll have things all back in order before anyone really notices.

Here's today's podcast

Phil

Founder of All Gardening

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The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.

Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.

Just you and me. No ads, no guests.

Get more from your garden:

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee

The small things matter

I've been working on an old Hayter 48 pro.

It's a lovely machine. Must be 20 years old at a guess.

But it had a wobbly handle.

And you know when you try and move it around the lawn, the mower doesn't quite go where you'd want it to go.

So you have to make adjustments.

Thousands of minor adjustments.

There is one bolt.

Just one.

Yes just one that matters.

It's the bolt that connects the handle to the mower deck.

When it's tight you feel in control over the machine.

You know what direction it's going.

The mower has focus. Precision.

This is mowing, this is what it gives you.

Focus.

Precision.

And that my friends is the starting point of a beautiful lawn.

Here's today's podcast

Phil

Founder of All Gardening

------------------------------

The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.

Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.

Just you and me. No ads, no guests.

Get more from your garden:

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee

So when do you cut the lawn?

You can cut it when you think it needs it.

You can cut it just as it needs it.

You can get us to cut it.

BUT

From what we know from 19 years of experience, you'll need your lawn cutting around the 15th March.

This is the (average) date when the UK lawn owners will start cutting there lawns.

The 15th March is a Wednesday.

I wonder if its going to be warm and sunny?

That would be nice.

Here's today's podcast

Phil

------------------------------

The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.

Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.

Just you and me. No ads, no guests.

Get more from your garden:

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee

Founder of All Gardening

Days off. Weekends.

Yesterday I met up with a new client, we connected on one subject, "where we live".

I said I lived outside, my outside is a huge place.

He said he lives indoors, he loves his place.

Day to day I work on lawn and in gardens.

But I see that each and every garden is connected.

One big space.

Today I'm off to walk, with Angus my son and Oban our dog.

Ingleborough is 723m high, not too high.

We're going to take a few things:

1. Some good walking boots.
2. A back pack, waterproof one.
3. A dry bag to put in the rucksack.
4. Bacon and egg sandwiches.
5. Bananas.
6. Water.
7. My nice knife.
8. Mobile phone
9. Charger for the mobile
10. Some sweets, for when we stop at the top, a celebration.

Let's see how we get on, I'll come back and tell you.

Here's today's podcast.

Phil

Founder of All Gardening

------------------------------

The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.

Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.

Just you and me. No ads, no guests.

Get more from your garden:

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee

I love asparagus, it's the start of fresh growth.

But, and here's a thought, it's the only food that I know (except for a hot curry) that comes back at ya on it's way out so to speak.

The asparagusic acid in asparagus produces many sulfurous byproducts that give your pee a rotten-like smell. The smell can be detected as early as 15 minutes after eating asparagus (OMG) and may last up to 14 hours (Hmmm..)

But I love it, asparagus that is!

It's fresh.

It's pure.

It's clean.

I love it best because I know the asparagus I cook and eat is produced local.

Very local.

Which got me thinking.....

I was watching Clarksons Farm series 2, whilst I have no real understanding why Jeremy says some of the things he does, he shouldn't, but whilst watching the series I saw something that is truly special, kinda slightly hidden in all the buffonary.

The Diddly Squat Farm BIG VIEW CAFE has all its food produce coming from local surrounds.

Very local.

If anything Jeremy is driven to optimise this strategy.

It's very good.

It's sustainable.

It's going to help local farmers.

It's going to help the local community.

Just think about that for a minute, a whole sustainable business, producing food from local farms, making food that it can with what it has.

Locally.

This might seem like a trival idea, and a "hearts and minds" strategy.

But it's something we should all look more closely at, the power of local.

Which got me thinking...

Just what will it take and where will it be, and how far do I have to go to embrace local.

Sometimes simple is best.

Sometimes local is most powerful.

Here's today's podcast.

Phil

Founder of All Gardening

------------------------------

The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.

Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.

Just you and me. No ads, no guests.

Get more from your garden:

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee

Funny how things go sometimes.

My son wanted to go to a trampoline park, (Jump Inc) with his mates.

To get there he'd need "dad's taxi", you know the one that takes and waits, but the wait time has no charge.

We had to collect Oli his best mate, his dad is called Bob.

Bob's a nice guy, and he has a load of apple trees.

Each year Bob makes cider from his apple trees.

When I drove into the drive at Bob's place, I noticed that there was a fruit press at the gate, which normally indicates it ready for scrap collection.

I asked Bob if the fruit press worked, and he said it does, "but it's too small for my needs now".

Bob's is up leveling his cider making.

So I took the fruit press.

I'm going to give it a clean.

Then I'm going to use it to make cider.

I'm starting my journey of apple juice and cider making.

If I wasn't driving "dad's taxi", I wouldn't have met Bob, and if I hadn't met Bob, the fruit press would have gone to scrap.

But the fruit press now has a new life ahead of it.

Here's today's podcast

Phil

Founder of All Gardening

------------------------------

The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.

Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.

Just you and me. No ads, no guests.

Get more from your garden:

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee

Today I stepped out onto our lawn.

Our lawn I gave a quick cut last week, it was looking a bit shabby.

But today I could now see some growth, I knew the lawn was growing, but by just how much wasn't clear.

The growth across the lawn wasn't consistent.

Which got me thinking, what makes a lawn grow.

I think in the late winter into early spring what makes the grass grow is the light levels, and the intensity of the light, which I guess comes down to photosynthesis.

Some grasses respond well to bright light, the rye grasses.

Some of that bright light is also warm, I think that helps.

Which got me thinking, what else using lights and a bit of warmth to grow grass especially rye grasses.

If you've ever wanted to know just how Premier Football Clubs like Arsenal get their playing surfaces to look so good over winter and early spring it comes down to light and how it's used, plus a bit of under pitch heating to keep roots just warm enough to keep healthy.

Which got me thinking, if you want a really nice lawn, hard wearing and looks good most of the year it needs to be dominated with rye grasses.

The rye grasses at the Arsenal ground are 2 particular cultivars - Eurodiamond and Columbine.

There seem to do a good job.

Here's today's podcast

Phil

Founder of All Gardening

------------------------------

The Growing All Gardening podcast with Phil Argent.

Short personal stories, moments, ideas discussed.

Just you and me. No ads, no guests.

Get more from your garden:

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/blogs/blogcast

https://www.allgardening.co.uk/products/growabili-tee