Garden Rollers

When you are planting new grass seed or indeed re-seeding areas of lawn that have worn with weather conditions or general wear and tear, it is essential that the seeds be bedded down firmly into the lawn to ensure they germinate and also to protect them from birds and wind conditions that might dislodge them.

To this end a garden roller is an essential item in the gardener’s tool shed.

Normally fitted with a 50cm barrel (20 inches) the garden roller is filled either with water or sand and is easily one of the best and most effortless ways of ensuring that your seed is flattened into your soil and also that your lawn is flat.

When it comes to seeding your lawn it is advisable first and foremost that you do so on a day that has light winds and no rainfall so that the whole process can be carried out quickly and efficiently with the minimum of seed loss.

Most of the rollers available on the market now also come pre-fitted with a blade along the top so that when the barrel is turning it cuts away any debris that has stuck to the barrel as it moves round. This is a good way of ensuring that debris that has been on your lawn is collected and can be easily disposed of without passing it back into the lawn again.

These rollers, although some of them look cumbersome and heavy to operate, are extremely versatile and perform their tasks admirably. Indeed for the most part their task is simply to flatten out areas of your lawn where you have added extra seed or extra soil.

The old fashioned way of firmly treading the soil down under foot of course still works well but the roller makes the job quicker and less strenuous and whereas seeds and soil can gather up under foot, the roller gives adequate coverage and ensures that the lawn is level in unison.

If you are considering buying a garden roller, although we have mentioned that they can be filled with either sand or water, it is probably best to fill with sand. In reality the amount of sand or water used will have the same weight but there advantage of using sand is that in winter, when temperatures drop, sand will not freeze and should you need to use your roller during this period it will not be – to coin a phrase – an uphill struggle.

Using water in your garden roller is easy; the barrel allows for filling with a garden hose should you wish to do so. Of course in the summer months filling the roller barrel with water is not a problem but one should consider our suggestion with regard to winter weather.

Garden rollers are relatively inexpensive and for the serious gardener; especially one with a reasonably sized garden, the roller is money well spent. A garden roller will cost you something in the region of £50-£60.

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