2015 Lawn thread
Discussion
With the abundance of glyphosate being sprayed on various lawns in this thread I've been inspired to go out and attacked a few areas of my own lawn today that I'm still not happy with. Is it wrong to have a moments silence for some of the fine bladed grasses that got caught in the crossfire? There's already noticeable browning of the grass after just a few hours so no going back now.
I may come to regret it, but I've decided this year to overseed with a 100% bent mix: Germinal's Level Par Velvet blend with its 50/50 mix of Avalon and Vesper velvet bentgrasses. The plan is to chit the seeds first to give them a head start as bents can be slow to germinate.
I've also got some micro clover seeds coming to use on a couple of lawns that suffer from dog urine issues. I'm going to blend them at 5% with Germinal's So-Green Abernile ryegrass mix. One of the lawns in question has really suffered from the dry weather as well, so brown spots aside (if the clover doesn't help) both should stay lovely and green much longer next summer if it's dry again.
As a starter and recovery fertiliser I'm going organic with Maxwell Myco 1 7-2-8 rather than my normal 6-9-6 from Lawnsmith. I'll then follow that with Myco 2 towards the end of the autumn.
My base mix for the topdressing is now done: sharp sand, compost, charcoal, used coffee grouts (NPK 2-0.5-0.5), volcanic rock dust, some additional fertiliser to prevent stalling and iron sulphate to bring the pH of the resultant mix down from 8 to 7. I'll keep it well aerated for the next few days and then mix that with more sand and compost to fill in after hollow tining before using a more normal top dressing for levelling.
I'm hoping that the result of all this will be soil with some really healthy levels of bacteria and fungi, improved moisture and nutrient retention, and even less reliance on additional fertiliser next year. Alternatively I'll just end up with a barren wasteland for a lawn that has an overriding aroma of burnt wood and espresso whenever it rains
I may come to regret it, but I've decided this year to overseed with a 100% bent mix: Germinal's Level Par Velvet blend with its 50/50 mix of Avalon and Vesper velvet bentgrasses. The plan is to chit the seeds first to give them a head start as bents can be slow to germinate.
I've also got some micro clover seeds coming to use on a couple of lawns that suffer from dog urine issues. I'm going to blend them at 5% with Germinal's So-Green Abernile ryegrass mix. One of the lawns in question has really suffered from the dry weather as well, so brown spots aside (if the clover doesn't help) both should stay lovely and green much longer next summer if it's dry again.
As a starter and recovery fertiliser I'm going organic with Maxwell Myco 1 7-2-8 rather than my normal 6-9-6 from Lawnsmith. I'll then follow that with Myco 2 towards the end of the autumn.
My base mix for the topdressing is now done: sharp sand, compost, charcoal, used coffee grouts (NPK 2-0.5-0.5), volcanic rock dust, some additional fertiliser to prevent stalling and iron sulphate to bring the pH of the resultant mix down from 8 to 7. I'll keep it well aerated for the next few days and then mix that with more sand and compost to fill in after hollow tining before using a more normal top dressing for levelling.
I'm hoping that the result of all this will be soil with some really healthy levels of bacteria and fungi, improved moisture and nutrient retention, and even less reliance on additional fertiliser next year. Alternatively I'll just end up with a barren wasteland for a lawn that has an overriding aroma of burnt wood and espresso whenever it rains
The 'pair of tights and a tub of water' method is the easiest way imho, aside from having to explain to the OH why her underwear is being commandeered for lawn duty
The seed goes in the tights and then gets soaked in the water for a few days in the airing cupboard. Once it shows signs of germination I'll mix it in with some fine sand and sow in the normal way then cover and water to help keep them damp. Pitchcare nicely sums up the process here.
The seed goes in the tights and then gets soaked in the water for a few days in the airing cupboard. Once it shows signs of germination I'll mix it in with some fine sand and sow in the normal way then cover and water to help keep them damp. Pitchcare nicely sums up the process here.
Awesome!
My only prior experience of chitting was when my dad sent me some seed potatoes through the post. It took me about two weeks to get around to collecting them from the post office, by which time they were perfectly chitted, with lovely shoots forming.
So, if you want nicely chitted potatoes, simply mail them to yourself and let Royal Mail do the job for you. Sorted!
My only prior experience of chitting was when my dad sent me some seed potatoes through the post. It took me about two weeks to get around to collecting them from the post office, by which time they were perfectly chitted, with lovely shoots forming.
So, if you want nicely chitted potatoes, simply mail them to yourself and let Royal Mail do the job for you. Sorted!
Finally decided to hire a scarifier to do the lawn in the coming week (given the weather and the fact my lawn doesn't seem to growing due to the thatch) - the hire company lists two different types; slit tines or flails -
Slit tines - Ideal for use on large lawns. This lawn scarifies and aerates
the ground removing dead grass, weeds and moss.
Flails - Professional petrol scarifier with flail action blades for
harsher conditions to give top performance.
My lawn is circa. 90sqm and has quite a thatch problem - would welcome some advice on which would be the most suitable?
Many thanks
Tim
Slit tines - Ideal for use on large lawns. This lawn scarifies and aerates
the ground removing dead grass, weeds and moss.
Flails - Professional petrol scarifier with flail action blades for
harsher conditions to give top performance.
My lawn is circa. 90sqm and has quite a thatch problem - would welcome some advice on which would be the most suitable?
Many thanks
Tim
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
So, if you want nicely chitted potatoes, simply mail them to yourself and let Royal Mail do the job for you. Sorted!
a tip worth remembering Mind you, given the size of the ones that we harvested out of the top of compost heap #3 today, the postage cost could be prohibitive.On a whim I decided to tackle the problem corner on the lawn today. Now that the glyphosated patches are making the whole lawn look a tad unsightly it seemed as good a time as any.
Aside from needing a little height adjustment, it's always been a struggle keeping grass healthy there, not helped by the shade. It turns out that there had likely been a path there at some point in the distant past, with a deep layer of very compacted earth sitting a couple of inches below the surface. It makes sense really as there's some old stone steps at the bottom. I'd not really noticed it when aerating, but with the dry weather that we've had it was now much more obvious and explains why that area would get a little soggy.
I may have got a little carried away...
I ended up digging a series of pits back from the steps and lined them with gravel, then a layer of cement ballast and covered that in sharp sand, then back filled with a topsoil / sharp sand / compost mix. There'll be a minimum of 12 inches of sandy topsoil above the gravel once it's done. There's still a bit more digging to do but I ran out of sand at that point, and energy. At least it drains properly now.
Gents
Just a quick update.
After deciding to try and level 2 large hollows in the back lawn (where old trees were taken out I suspect), I scarified to the point of near annihilation, followed by mowing almost down to bare earth and then giving it a light dig over.
This was then followed by wheelbarrowing just over 2 tonnes of topsoil from the drive to the back garden (which nearly killed me) then overseeding and watering.
I was having a devil of a time keeping birds off, keeping grass damp etc etc until my father in law popped round.
A quick chat followed by me ordering some hessian off amazon. It comes in rolls for upholstry...
Laid the hessian over the new dirt (about 40sqm in total) and 10 days later we had a lot of v healthy grass! Amazing and v pleased with the results. Definitely recommend this approach.
Now the rest of the lawn looks terrible in comparison...
Just a quick update.
After deciding to try and level 2 large hollows in the back lawn (where old trees were taken out I suspect), I scarified to the point of near annihilation, followed by mowing almost down to bare earth and then giving it a light dig over.
This was then followed by wheelbarrowing just over 2 tonnes of topsoil from the drive to the back garden (which nearly killed me) then overseeding and watering.
I was having a devil of a time keeping birds off, keeping grass damp etc etc until my father in law popped round.
A quick chat followed by me ordering some hessian off amazon. It comes in rolls for upholstry...
Laid the hessian over the new dirt (about 40sqm in total) and 10 days later we had a lot of v healthy grass! Amazing and v pleased with the results. Definitely recommend this approach.
Now the rest of the lawn looks terrible in comparison...
Wondering if anyone can comment on an issue I'm having with my newly seeded lawn. I sowed the seed back in June, and it's germinated well, but the grass to me seems to be quite pale in colour with individual blades showing some yellowing on the tips. Any idea what might be causing this? And what I can do to make the grass go a deeper 'green' colour?
Timmy40 said:
Wondering if anyone can comment on an issue I'm having with my newly seeded lawn. I sowed the seed back in June, and it's germinated well, but the grass to me seems to be quite pale in colour with individual blades showing some yellowing on the tips. Any idea what might be causing this? And what I can do to make the grass go a deeper 'green' colour?
It will go a deeper green over time. Mine was the same.Regarding the birds and seed I bought a bird scare device off ebay for £12. Makes this high pitched noise when birds land on grass. Since installing never had another issue.
Timmy40 said:
Wondering if anyone can comment on an issue I'm having with my newly seeded lawn. I sowed the seed back in June, and it's germinated well, but the grass to me seems to be quite pale in colour with individual blades showing some yellowing on the tips. Any idea what might be causing this? And what I can do to make the grass go a deeper 'green' colour?
Have you fed the lawn recently? Yellowing of the leaves could well be down to insufficient nitrogen, especially if the symptoms include slow growth in the grass. Other elements such as manganese and iron can also cause this if they're not available in sufficient quantity.The grass won't yet have had time to develop a full root system, so providing enough fertiliser is even more important for the first year. On a sandy soil, all the watering required to establish the lawn can easily leach out much of the nitrogen in the soil.
I assume that the grass has enough water?
jagnet said:
Timmy40 said:
Wondering if anyone can comment on an issue I'm having with my newly seeded lawn. I sowed the seed back in June, and it's germinated well, but the grass to me seems to be quite pale in colour with individual blades showing some yellowing on the tips. Any idea what might be causing this? And what I can do to make the grass go a deeper 'green' colour?
Have you fed the lawn recently? Yellowing of the leaves could well be down to insufficient nitrogen, especially if the symptoms include slow growth in the grass. Other elements such as manganese and iron can also cause this if they're not available in sufficient quantity.The grass won't yet have had time to develop a full root system, so providing enough fertiliser is even more important for the first year. On a sandy soil, all the watering required to establish the lawn can easily leach out much of the nitrogen in the soil.
I assume that the grass has enough water?
Cactussed said:
Laid the hessian over the new dirt (about 40sqm in total) and 10 days later we had a lot of v healthy grass! Amazing and v pleased with the results. Definitely recommend this approach.
Covering the seed really makes a difference. Horticultural fleece or straw are good alternatives to hessian. Do keep an eye on things under the covers though, if they stay on too long there's the risk of fungal diseases starting.Timmy40 said:
It's got plenty of water. Might need some fertiliser, is there a special blend for grass which is only a few months old?
I wouldn't worry too much so long as it has reasonable amounts of P and K and not just N. Ones designed for autumn are quite good in that way, or ones designed for sandy soil. Avoid any fertilisers combined with weedkiller and iron, so 4-in-1 type products aren't advisable. Organic fertilisers are quite good as there's usually less risk of burning the grass with over application, and with the grass still being quite young it's even easier to burn.Edit: also consider how long the fertiliser will last now that we're approaching autumn. A slow release six month summer one wouldn't be a good idea at this time, but a shorter 10 week one should be ok unless you're in the far north of Scotland.
Edited by jagnet on Monday 17th August 14:24
Timmy40 said:
Might need some fertiliser, is there a special blend for grass which is only a few months old?
I'd use Lawnsmith starter fertiliser. It's designed specifically for newly seeded and young grass; its NPK is 6-9-6, so perfect for applying at this time of year - it has a bit of nitrogen to overcome any deficiency your grass may be suffering but without prompting lots of soft, lush growth, and phosphorus is the main component which will help the grass form a strong root system in time for winter. The instructions say you can re-apply after two months, which implies it's a relatively short-range fertiliser - exactly what you want at this time of year. If you apply now it'll last until the grass starts slowing down.Failing that, jagnet's suggestion of an autumn feed-only fertiliser without weedkiller or moss killer is good. My own choice is the Scotts range, available via Amazon.
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