2016 Lawn thread

[Galsia]

After moving from a house that had a large lawn to one without a lawn I'm missing it terribly. I would like to have grass where the raised slabs are on the left. It is 14ft x 8ft so it is pretty tiny.

The problem is that the bottom 12 inches or so of the garden does not seem to get any direct sunlight. I've only been living here since November so I don't know if that will change in the summer. Its pretty shady but not really dark if that makes sense?



Would it be worth trying to plant a lawn or would I just be wasting my time?

And this is why my south-facing garden doesn't get much sun... a house is in the way.

[8-P]

Its quite grey isnt it. Id be tempted to ditch that patio even if you replace it with something a bit more interesting be it lawn, deck, stone or whatever

[GTO-3R]

After completely re doing my garden over the winter months, it was nice to finally get the turf down a couple of weeks ago! It's taken really well thanks to a good mix of sun and rain. Gave it a top dressing the other day with a mix of seed and fertiliser so hopefully it will shoot up over the coming weeks.

Pic taken just after its first cut

[jagnet]

Hammerhead said:

This is + 9 days since moss killer went down. Result is not much evidence of dead moss so assume there wasn't too much to start with, but much greener, healthier looking grass Would the learned experts still recommend a scarifying session?

That's looking pretty healthy. I'd leave it for now and scarify / overseed in the autumn if you're happy with it. It's always worth scarifying even if you don't have a moss issue as it removes dead material, lateral growth and any thatch that might be building up. Autumn is preferable to spring for major renovations so if the lawn's in pretty good shape and you can leave it until then, then I would but it would be worth aerating now.

Galsia said:

Ouch, that's an inconvenient tower of bricks.

Lawnsmith's Shadygreen or Germinal's A6 Supreme Shade will both be suitable for such shaded conditions but do heed the height of cut advice from Lawnsmith re their Shadygreen, and I would be inclined to err on the higher side of that. Germinal's A6 could be cut a touch shorter but no more than half an inch shorter.

GTO-3R said:

That should be peachy when the new seed germinates. The lawn seems to be quite enclosed so I'd be inclined to cut no lower than an inch and a half during the best growing conditions, with two and a half inches being better for summer and winter when the grass is under more stress.

Even Wisley trained gardeners can have a habit of cutting far too short. One of the lawns that I overseeded in the autumn with So Green, which was looking really lush and healthy a month ago, has now been thoroughly scalped by their gardeners and is already looking much weaker. A waste of some very good seed. This autumn I'll just make up a little "weed grasses welcome" sign for that lawn and be done with it

[bomb]

My lawn had its first cut last week, and I have started to scarify it this evening. The scarifier is on the highest setting and I have been going back and forth to strip out the moss and thatch that's underneath.

Once scarified, what's the next step to get a lush green lawn for the summer season ? Any type of feed needed ?

[Hammerhead]

Thanks for that, Jagnet. I'll get my fork out!

[jagnet]

bomb said:

Once scarified, what's the next step to get a lush green lawn for the summer season ? Any type of feed needed ?

Definitely give it a feed. For smaller quantities then Lawnsmith's fertilisers are very good. For larger quantities then Pitchcare have a huge range.

I'd avoid combined weed and feed type products as excessive weedkiller isn't good for the lawn.

Which feed depends a lot on how often you want to be fertilising, whether you're on a sandy or clay soil, and what types of grasses you have. I would suggest a granular feed for ease, and nothing too high in nitrogen unless it's very slow release.

It's also a good idea to aerate the lawn at this stage to relieve any compaction. Air is just as important in the rootzone as water and nutrients.

I would also overseed after scarifying to thicken the sward and help prevent the return of moss as well as reduce the likelihood of opportunist weeds and weed grasses moving in.

[vladcjelli]

Just picked up a Webb H18 -



With a view to getting our lawn into some kind of shape.

Gone from a small landscaped(ish) garden when we moved in several years ago, to a completely lawned square. More room in the small space we have for our two boys to charge about in. Has taken some work to get to where it is, but there is loads left to do.

The idea being that I should be able to dress any undulations without our ageing flymo blowing my hard work away.

We face east, and the cheap turf I laid down the south side is almost always in shade behind the fence, and is struggling. Again, I want to top dress (?) this and re seed with the oft recommended shady varieties. The push mower should let me get on with it without disturbing things. Similar situation in one corner, where a section of patio bricks has gone, but I obviously didn't put enough soil down or break up the sandy base enough, and the cheap turf isn't doing too well.

If I'm being honest with myself, the 18" width (I went for this one as it had a higher maximum cut height than most others, for emergencies) of the mower is overkill for our small garden, looking like I could take on a football pitch with it, but I enjoyed the first cut yesterday, much more serene than the nasty flymo we were given many moons ago.

Planning on a weed killer spree this week to thin out the dandelions, then topsoil and seed in a couple of weeks to try and level it off a bit.

[BRISTOL86]

I can still see visible granules of the fertiliser I put down on Sunday - first time doing it so don't really know if that's normal? Did I apply too much, or does it just need watering a bit?

[8-P]

BRISTOL86 said:

I can still see visible granules of the fertiliser I put down on Sunday - first time doing it so don't really know if that's normal? Did I apply too much, or does it just need watering a bit?

Mine took at least a week to fully disappear. We had some really and I mean really heavy rain that finally broke it down but without that I reckon I would have needed to water fairly well 3 or 4 times to get it gone.

[BRISTOL86]

8-P said:

Mine took at least a week to fully disappear. We had some really and I mean really heavy rain that finally broke it down but without that I reckon I would have needed to water fairly well 3 or 4 times to get it gone.

Thanks - never fed a lawn before so had no idea if that was normal or not! I'll give it a good soaking later!

[MrGRT]

Guys, need some tips to collect the dead grass and moss after scarifying.
The amount was staggering and between trying to start the scarifier, which I must have tried at least 100 times and raking by hand, my shoulder is in lots of pain.
Pics below and more to follow.

Before:


After first pass:

[8-P]

You did that by hand! Wow

[juice]

Finally seeing signs of life !

I cut out a planting area for a wisteria I want to grow over an arch and along the house walls, while I scarified, top dressed and over-seeded the rest of the lawn.. I re-seeded this are after planting about 2 weeks ago and I'm sure the recent low nightly temps have held it back, but all of a sudden we have life

[8-P]

juice said:

Finally seeing signs of life !

I cut out a planting area for a wisteria I want to grow over an arch and along the house walls, while I scarified, top dressed and over-seeded the rest of the lawn.. I re-seeded this are after planting about 2 weeks ago and I'm sure the recent low nightly temps have held it back, but all of a sudden we have life

Gives me some hope then, mine is 2 weeks old on Saturday so Im really hoping to see something similar soon. Just hoping the recent dose of warmer temps and sunshine + my watering will bring it on.

[trickywoo]

MrGRT said:

Guys, need some tips to collect the dead grass and moss after scarifying.
The amount was staggering and between trying to start the scarifier, which I must have tried at least 100 times and raking by hand, my shoulder is in lots of pain.
Pics below and more to follow.

Before:


After first pass:

Good effort. I'd say that would also benefit greatly from some leveling / rolling.

[Craikeybaby]

Picked up a scarifier from HSS at lunchtime, so hoping the weather holds out this evening.

The seed packet suggests waiting 4-5 days between scarifying and overseeding, so hoping the temperature will have picked up a bit by then.

[Jimmyarm]

Craikeybaby said:

Picked up a scarifier from HSS at lunchtime, so hoping the weather holds out this evening.

The seed packet suggests waiting 4-5 days between scarifying and overseeding, so hoping the temperature will have picked up a bit by then.

Out of curiosity, do they take a deposit for the scarifier ? I was playing around on their website and it doesn't seem to ask for one ?

[MrGRT]

8-P said:

You did that by hand! Wow

Sorry no, the scarifying was with a petrol scarifier, but all of the thatch, moss, etc that it was left behind was collected by raking it. 2 person job but both knackered and likely with permanent damage lol

[Beati Dogu]

8-P said:

juice said:

Finally seeing signs of life !

I cut out a planting area for a wisteria I want to grow over an arch and along the house walls, while I scarified, top dressed and over-seeded the rest of the lawn.. I re-seeded this are after planting about 2 weeks ago and I'm sure the recent low nightly temps have held it back, but all of a sudden we have life

Gives me some hope then, mine is 2 weeks old on Saturday so Im really hoping to see something similar soon. Just hoping the recent dose of warmer temps and sunshine + my watering will bring it on.

Don't worry. They start slowly, then they rocket away. I've had one for about 4 years now and it's only just showing signs of life again.