2016 Lawn thread

[Dr Murdoch]

Ive got a bag of fertilizer from lawnsmith.co.uk, can I use a Scotts spreader? The spreaders on Lawnsmith a WAY over my budget, i'm reluctant to spend in excess of £30 as ive only got a small lawn.

Ive got a hand held spreader, but that jams and is pretty rubbish tbh.

[Mario149]

Cheib said:

Which one did you get ? They vary massively in pricing!

http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/sprayers/tow-behind-sprayers/showitem-W2-45-0292.aspx

[Cheib]

Mario149 said:

http://www.abbeygardensales.co.uk/sprayers/tow-beh...

That's the one I was thinking of!

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Dr Murdoch said:

Ive got a bag of fertilizer from lawnsmith.co.uk, can I use a Scotts spreader?

Yes, you can.

On the information page for each fertiliser product on the Lawnsmith site, if you scroll down you'll see a link "Spreader Settings".

Here's an example of the info page for one of their fertiliser products. This example is the "Extra-Long Fertiliser for Clay Soil"; the settings may be different on other pages.

And here is the corresponding "Spreader Settings", which opens as a PDF file.

Scroll near to the bottom of the PDF file, and there are tables for three types of Scotts spreader.

[MG-FIDO]

8-P said:

From what I read it should be ok

[Richyboy]

Any ideas how to deal with this? Started with small individual patches now their getting bigger. Makes me sick every time I look at it. Garden over fence doesn't have this problem.

[BlueHave]

Dr Murdoch said:

Ive got a bag of fertilizer from lawnsmith.co.uk, can I use a Scotts spreader? The spreaders on Lawnsmith a WAY over my budget, i'm reluctant to spend in excess of £30 as ive only got a small lawn.

Ive got a hand held spreader, but that jams and is pretty rubbish tbh.

Yes, I got a Qualcast one for £5 in November which has some settings on it and used it with everything from lawn seed to grit without any issues

[Dr Murdoch]

BlueHave said:

Yes, I got a Qualcast one for £5 in November which has some settings on it and used it with everything from lawn seed to grit without any issues

Thanks and thanks Dr Mike Oxgreen

[Dr Murdoch]

Jagnet (or anyone else equally knowledgeable)

You advised anybody over-seeding in spring to use a starter lawn fertilizer.

but how long should I leave it until I use the spring / summer granules? I used the starter fertilizer in mid march.

[Ruttager]

Richyboy said:

Any ideas how to deal with this? Started with small individual patches now their getting bigger. Makes me sick every time I look at it. Garden over fence doesn't have this problem.

Do you have a dog perchance? Might be where its going about its business and scorching the grass?

I'd just dig it out a little, dig in some decent topsoil and reseed.

[8-P]

Can you spread grass seed in a spreader or is it fertilizer only?

[Jimmyarm]

Screwfix have the well reviewed Titan scarifier on the deal of the day, down to £69.99.


Really tempted as I have a £10 off voucher to use as well !

[MG-FIDO]

8-P said:

Can you spread grass seed in a spreader or is it fertilizer only?

Yes you can.

[8-P]

MG-FIDO said:

Yes you can.

In that case Homebase have one for 15 quid, same one is twice the price in B and Q so Ill pick one up on the way home. Feels like Ill be re seeding for the second time soon

http://www.homebase.co.uk/en/homebaseuk/evergreen-...

[Richyboy]

Ruttager said:

Do you have a dog perchance? Might be where its going about its business and scorching the grass?

I'd just dig it out a little, dig in some decent topsoil and reseed.

My family has dogs but they've never gone near this garden, that's why I'm stumped.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

8-P said:

Can you spread grass seed in a spreader or is it fertilizer only?

You can, but I find my Scotts Evengreen spreader is very slow at spreading seed - even on its maximum setting it doesn't give a dense enough coverage and requires lots of passes.

Personally I find it much more effective to er, spread my seed by hand. Mind you, it's easier to judge the coverage by eye if you're seeding onto bare soil, because you can see the seed clearly.

[MG-FIDO]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

You can, but I find my Scotts Evengreen spreader is very slow at spreading seed - even on its maximum setting it doesn't give a dense enough coverage and requires lots of passes.

Personally I find it much more effective to er, spread my seed by hand. Mind you, it's easier to judge the coverage by eye if you're seeding onto bare soil, because you can see the seed clearly.

Agreed, I've found I need to walk very slowly and push back and forward as I go to get good coverage.

[haggishunter]

[quote=Jimmyarm]
Screwfix have the well reviewed Titan scarifier on the deal of the day, down to £69.99.


Really tempted as I have a £10 off voucher to use as well ![/quote

Well I've bought one so I'm hoping it's good!👍

[jagnet]

Richyboy said:

Any ideas how to deal with this? Started with small individual patches now their getting bigger. Makes me sick every time I look at it. Garden over fence doesn't have this problem.

Tbh I can't tell a lot from most of those photos. The above suggestion of animal urine could very well be the cause, if not from your own pets then from visiting foxes, etc.

There are some diseases that could cause that, although I think that's less likely but not impossible. Is there any discolouration of the grasses on the outer edge of the patches?

[jagnet]

Dr Murdoch said:

Jagnet (or anyone else equally knowledgeable)

You advised anybody over-seeding in spring to use a starter lawn fertilizer.

but how long should I leave it until I use the spring / summer granules? I used the starter fertilizer in mid march.

It's likely to last between 6 to 8 weeks, depending on soil type, rainfall etc but as it's relatively low in N then early application of more fertiliser isn't going to be too much of an issue.