2015 Lawn thread

[Smartboy]

That was what I was wondering about...potential damage caused by giving an 'overdose' of weedkiller to the rest of the lawn.

Think I'll try and carefully hand-sprinkle the worst patches and see how that goes.

An excellent tip about future application though. I'll definately knock the spread-rate down by 50% next time and do 2 runs at 90 degrees to each-other to avoid missing dirty big sections like I did this time!
You live and learn!

[Trevor450]

hornetrider said:

Ah yes, now I'm on my desktop I can make out the bright blue underneath

It's dark green, but yes, it's the oil tank covered in clematis.

[Patch1875]

jagnet said:

Smartboy said:

As that product appears to be a mix of fertiliser, ferrous sulphate and weed killer I'd be inclined to avoid a repeat application across the whole lawn so soon to avoid risking damage to the grass.

You could wait another 3 weeks before reapplying (as per the manufacturer's instructions), or try to hand scatter a light application on the yellow areas.

If it were me, and assuming that you don't have a major moss or weed issue on those areas, I'd go over the lawn again with a light application of just lawn sand or a soluble ferrous sulphate product just to green it up and blend in those areas a little. Perhaps put down a little slow release granular fertiliser on those areas with a repeat application at normal strength across the whole lawn in a month.

In future to avoid this problem, split the spreading into two, running across the lawn at 90 degrees for the second application.

Whilst all in one products are useful time savers, I do prefer separating the products so that I can apply each as it's required and avoid repeat doses of weed killer on a weed free lawn or heavy amounts of iron that risks burning the grass.

Agreed seperate treatments all the way, I use moss killer In liquid form much more control with how it's applied.

If your prepared to splash out on Everris products sportsmaster 24-5-11 is superb for a first application.

[jagnet]

Otispunkmeyer said:

Part of me wants to rip it all up and lay new turf, flat.

Tbh that's probably the best way and in so doing you also get to choose what type of grass blend you want with the new turf. You can level out small or shallow dips with top dressing, but for larger ones you need to peel back the turf in order to fill it - similarly high areas. Even after doing that some areas will quite likely sink again if the ground's still settling.

Our lawn was very bumpy when we moved in, making the mower bounce over the grass. It's much much better now (the mower no longer bounces at least), but it's taken several years to get there and I've still got a way to go yet to level out some of the larger areas with top dressing. In hindsight, digging up and starting from scratch would've been preferable but having got this far stubbornness now prevents me from doing so

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

jagnet said:

In hindsight, digging up and starting from scratch would've been preferable but having got this far stubbornness now prevents me from doing so

That sounds very familiar to me!

[R8VXF]

So this is where my scorched earth approach to my lawn has got so far:


Slightly regretting my decision not to take the old lawn up before rotavating, but hey we live and learn. I think one I have raked out the worst of the grass, I will make another couple of passes with the rotavator before raking flat, rolling, fertilising and seeding. Thinking of gravelling around the edges of the new lawn to help with edge mowing and general aesthetics

[Some Gump]

Otis, i feel your pain. Whoever invented bamboo is one hell of a bd.

[popeyewhite]

Smartboy said:

Think I'll try and carefully hand-sprinkle the worst patches and see how that goes.

Good luck with that. Unless you're incredibly accurate you'll go over some parts again resulting in an even deeper green and you'll miss others resulting in some bits staying yellow. Unless you live in Abu Dhabi you've had enough rain recently and it's weeks since the first application - just go over it again it'll be fine. But out of interest post a pic to show how it goes so we can play 'spot the patch'.

[mcelliott]

Smartboy said:

That was what I was wondering about...potential damage caused by giving an 'overdose' of weedkiller to the rest of the lawn.

Think I'll try and carefully hand-sprinkle the worst patches and see how that goes.

An excellent tip about future application though. I'll definately knock the spread-rate down by 50% next time and do 2 runs at 90 degrees to each-other to avoid missing dirty big sections like I did this time!
You live and learn!

Judging by the mess your lawn's in, I'm assuming that the machine you used to apply your feed simply dropped it through the bottom, hence the dark and lighter coloured lines in your grass. The best way for feeding your lawn is to use a feeder that drops the feed onto a rotating disc - that way you get 100% even coverage and eliminates any danger of those horrible lines.

Personally I would be hesitant to re-apply using the same machine - you will end up double dosing and burning the grass.

[Salgar]

I've just thread this thread from start to finish, despite people trying to get me to do work, it's great.
We are completing on our first house this week and I'm very excited about the lawn (it's one of the things that originally attracted me to the property).

I have two questions, "The Book" has been mentioned a lot but I don't think anyone has said it's name, can someone tell me the name so I can read it furiously.

Also, I'm going to need a ride on mower, are there threads about this already? It's probably about 1-1.5 acres of square lawn with lots of little bits here and there under trees. Does anyone have any ride-on recommendations? The current owner only mulches and never collects, is that fine? Do I want one that can pull a scarifier (A word I had never heard before this thread)?

I don't know the state of the grass but last time I saw it there were quite a few dandelions in places, I'll want to fix that.

[Kapenta]

The Book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Lawn-Expert-Dr-Hessayo...

Also have a look at The Lawnsmith website.

[Salgar]

Kapenta said:

The Book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Lawn-Expert-Dr-Hessayo...

Also have a look at The Lawnsmith website.

Thanks, ordered!

Trying to choose which mower to go for, the current owners only mulch, but I'm assuming this can lead to problems with weeds?

[Rick101]

Before

Rick101 said:

Current


Been cutting it every 2 or three days this last week. Certainly a lot greener but still some bare patches.



Anything else I can do?

[Patch1875]

Possibly a bit compacted might be worth giving it a bit of forking, maybe stick some seeds down at the bare bits on the edge to help it along.

[OtherBusiness]

Looking much better!

[jagnet]

Salgar said:

Trying to choose which mower to go for, the current owners only mulch, but I'm assuming this can lead to problems with weeds?

Yes you can get more problems with weeds, particularly weed grass seeds, versus collecting the clippings. In practice however when faced with a lawn the size of yours, you're more likely to cut more frequently when mulching, plus recycle nutrients straight back into the ground, leading to a healthier thicker lawn that's more resistant to weeds.

1 to 1.5 acres of lawn can generate enormous quantities of clippings in the spring and autumn. Years ago I used to help look after my grandparents' lawns of 3/4 acre. All credit to them their lawns were immaculate but the amount of work that went into it was incredible and their compost bins were huge to cope with all the cuttings over a season. Emptying the grass box could add up to an hour to the time it took to cut the lawn, possibly more.

For practicality I would definitely favour mulching over that sort of an area.

Rick101 said:

Current


Anything else I can do?

That's a big improvement. As suggested, it'd be worth working over it with a fork to help remove any compaction and I'd be tempted to over seed it as well to help thicken it.

[popeyewhite]

Rick101 said:

Been cutting it every 2 or three days this last week. Certainly a lot greener but still some bare patches.

Anything else I can do?

Why are you cutting it so often? Looks to me like all you're doing is flattening what sparse grass there is. Feed it again and let it grow. How good is the soil and drainage?

[Rick101]

Because the general advice was cut it often and take minimal off??

Ground is fairly hard so will fork it again.

Soil very dry on one side and drains and sits on the other. Not ideal.

[popeyewhite]

Rick101 said:

Because the general advice was cut it often and take minimal off??

I advised paving it and making some nice flower beds/rockeries on either side. Another poster recommended digging a small hole in the middle and using it as a putting green. A poster did recommend cutting it high and often to 'encourage growth and thickness' (I think - apologies if I've quoted that slightly wrong Patch). But thickness and growth hasn't really happened.

My personal advice still stands - but if you really want nice grass then re-turf, but that may only stay healthy for a short time if the soil underneath doesn't drain or it's full of rubble.

I know it's not money well spent but you need a proper mower as all you're doing now is flattening it.

Rick101 said:

Ground is fairly hard so will fork it again.

Soil very dry on one side and drains and sits on the other. Not ideal.

Honestly if you really want some decent grass I'd think about new turf

[cheddar]

My patches of moss, grass and weed:


Back garden
Was then:




Is now:



Front: