2015 Lawn thread

Author
Discussion

Condi

17,085 posts

170 months

Friday 1st May 2015
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Wish I had taken a picture of mine earlier.

Finally decided to attack it, which involved fixing my mower, and buying suitable chemicals and seed. Seeded the bits where Ive taken the hedge out, and cut the rest. Going to kill the moss on Monday and then broad-leaf weedkiller next weekend once its been raked. Will be unrecognisable from how it looks now!

MrChips

3,263 posts

209 months

Friday 1st May 2015
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Cpl nobby nobbs said:
Back
Mine looks pretty much identical to this in parts. I've raked out as much miss and dead stuff as I can so in simple terms... Is it fertilise down a day before seed. Then seed scattered and top dressed?
What are people using to top dress and is there any specific technique, ie scatter the top soil then water, or scatter then trample/roller it?

I have an electric rake and deep scarifier if that helps?

Dr Murdoch

3,427 posts

134 months

Saturday 2nd May 2015
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MrChips said:
Mine looks pretty much identical to this in parts. I've raked out as much miss and dead stuff as I can so in simple terms... Is it fertilise down a day before seed. Then seed scattered and top dressed?
What are people using to top dress and is there any specific technique, ie scatter the top soil then water, or scatter then trample/roller it?

I have an electric rake and deep scarifier if that helps?
Should you cover seeds with top dressing, or sprinkle seeds on top so they remain visible?

Dr Mike Oxgreen

4,101 posts

164 months

Saturday 2nd May 2015
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The seed needs good contact with the soil, so I'd try to break up the soil surface a little bit with a metal rake so that its a slightly crumbly surface. Sow your seed, then sprinkle a light amount of topsoil over it, but don't 'bury' it. You can roll or tread it a bit if you like to press the seed in, but don't compact the surface too much.

Then it's important to keep it moist. If the seed germinates and then the emerging embryo plant dries out, it'll die and there's no way back. It doesn't need much water, just a constant moisture. So give it a light watering morning and afternoon (unless the rain does it for you).

I wouldn't use fertiliser unless the instructions say it's okay with newly seeded grass. Although you can get fertilisers specifically designed for seedling grass.

Piglet

6,250 posts

254 months

Saturday 2nd May 2015
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Right, pictures of the scene of devastation that is my lawn after the weedkiller problems....yikes







....and for posterity, he's what it looked like before we started and before the great weedkiller debacle!



We've scarified the dead patches, raked them, composted and put seed down....it'll have to do for Dad's birthday, hopefully it should look much better


Edited by Piglet on Saturday 2nd May 10:54

spikeyhead

17,222 posts

196 months

Saturday 2nd May 2015
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Piglet, I do not recommend, merely inform.

http://www.naturalgreengrasspatch.co.uk/

Piglet

6,250 posts

254 months

Saturday 2nd May 2015
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spikeyhead said:
Piglet, I do not recommend, merely inform.

http://www.naturalgreengrasspatch.co.uk/
Thanks, that looks interesting

Condi

17,085 posts

170 months

Saturday 2nd May 2015
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Piglet said:
rofl

Thats brilliant.

Robbo66

3,828 posts

232 months

Saturday 2nd May 2015
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Managed to core hollow tine and overseed before rain came in....forget the gym....picking up the cores was like doing a 20 K Erg row...still stiff.



For seaweed, Ferrous and Primo spraying, I use this...


cold thursday

341 posts

127 months

Sunday 3rd May 2015
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Anyone else here use urine as a lawn food ?
It works well for me. smile

Dr Mike Oxgreen

4,101 posts

164 months

Sunday 3rd May 2015
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I find it difficult to get even coverage. And sometimes I forget which way the wind is blowing, which doesn't end well.

cold thursday

341 posts

127 months

Sunday 3rd May 2015
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I save it in a "special" watering can, dilute it with some water, and then just water it in.

velocefica

4,636 posts

107 months

Monday 4th May 2015
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Piglet said:
Right, pictures of the scene of devastation that is my lawn after the weedkiller problems....yikes







....and for posterity, he's what it looked like before we started and before the great weedkiller debacle!



We've scarified the dead patches, raked them, composted and put seed down....it'll have to do for Dad's birthday, hopefully it should look much better


Edited by Piglet on Saturday 2nd May 10:54
You did use a Lawn Weedkiller. Didn't you

Dr Mike Oxgreen

4,101 posts

164 months

Monday 4th May 2015
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velocefica said:
You did use a Lawn Weedkiller. Didn't you
I think he did mention that his dad used a general-purpose weed killer (probably glyphosate based, which is very effective on grass).

I think there's no option but to grub out those patches and re-seed. Also, thin out the grass around the patches so that you can scatter some seed around to 'blur' the distinction between old and new grass.

Edited to add: Sounds like that's what he's done.

Piglet

6,250 posts

254 months

Monday 4th May 2015
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Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
velocefica said:
You did use a Lawn Weedkiller. Didn't you
I think he did mention that his dad used a general-purpose weed killer (probably glyphosate based, which is very effective on grass).

I think there's no option but to grub out those patches and re-seed. Also, thin out the grass around the patches so that you can scatter some seed around to 'blur' the distinction between old and new grass.
Yup I can confirm that general purpose Weedol is VERY effective on grass! It's particularly effective when sprayed from a reasonable height because the old boy can't bend very well and then walked around the lawn!

That's what we've done Mike, by the time I got home on Friday Dad had raked and put the scarifier over the patches. We probably haven't blurred the edges too well but we over seeded the whole lawn after scarifying at Easter so hopefully it will start to look less like a patchwork quilt. We ran out of time as it started to rain before I'd finished cutting and reseeding. I think we've done all we can for the moment, I'm going to leave it alone for a couple of weeks and see what it looks like.

Fingers crossed!

rich12

3,461 posts

153 months

Monday 4th May 2015
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Hopefully mine will start to look nice when I give it its first cut.
Been a long back braking adventure getting my back garden done but now it's done, i'm very happy considering how bad it was.


velocefica

4,636 posts

107 months

Monday 4th May 2015
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Piglet said:
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
velocefica said:
You did use a Lawn Weedkiller. Didn't you
I think he did mention that his dad used a general-purpose weed killer (probably glyphosate based, which is very effective on grass).

I think there's no option but to grub out those patches and re-seed. Also, thin out the grass around the patches so that you can scatter some seed around to 'blur' the distinction between old and new grass.
Yup I can confirm that general purpose Weedol is VERY effective on grass! It's particularly effective when sprayed from a reasonable height because the old boy can't bend very well and then walked around the lawn!

That's what we've done Mike, by the time I got home on Friday Dad had raked and put the scarifier over the patches. We probably haven't blurred the edges too well but we over seeded the whole lawn after scarifying at Easter so hopefully it will start to look less like a patchwork quilt. We ran out of time as it started to rain before I'd finished cutting and reseeding. I think we've done all we can for the moment, I'm going to leave it alone for a couple of weeks and see what it looks like.

Fingers crossed!
Definitely not the first . I seem to remember 16 years ago a groundsman at a well known rugby union club putting the wrong stuff on the pitch which burnt the grass.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/imported/ulster-...


mcelliott

8,626 posts

180 months

Monday 4th May 2015
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velocefica said:
Piglet said:
Right, pictures of the scene of devastation that is my lawn after the weedkiller problems....yikes







....and for posterity, he's what it looked like before we started and before the great weedkiller debacle!



We've scarified the dead patches, raked them, composted and put seed down....it'll have to do for Dad's birthday, hopefully it should look much better


Edited by Piglet on Saturday 2nd May 10:54
You did use a Lawn Weedkiller. Didn't you
That's definitely a case of using path weedkiller on a lawn - almost certainly those patches won't recover.

Dig them out and use turf to replace or reseed.

Cactussed

5,292 posts

212 months

Wednesday 6th May 2015
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Def one of my fav threads right now.
I'm about to declare war on our back garden which is literally covered in moss.
It needs deep scarify, then anti moss spray, then re-scarify, then reseed and fertilise then water and wait (at a guess).
Going to be a long road after many years of neglect, but fingers crossed. Its largish (around 1000sqm at a guess?) so going to take a while.

toohangry

416 posts

108 months

Wednesday 6th May 2015
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rich12 said:
Been a long back braking adventure getting my back garden done but now it's done,
Is that the garden finished then?