2016 Lawn thread
Discussion
Ooofff, had a busy evening yesterday when I got back from work at 6: since the weather forecast was perfect (rain overnight, some today and warm for the next few days) the plan was to "hoover" up the moss I had ripped out using the scarifier the day before (ended up buying one as the wait to hire one was a out a month!! Amazing piece of kit though) from under the main shaded tree area of our garden which is about 250m2. Then fill in some holes our Rottie has dug, then sow the shady green seed that arrived the other day, then fertilize with the starter fertilizer I ordered with it, then roll it with the manual roller.
Slight fly in the ointment was that my other half managed to drop a table on her hand just before picking me up from the station, and by the time we got home she basically couldn't use it, so I had to look after our little 5 month old girl and somehow squeeze all of the above in at the same! Anyway after juggling baby and gardening, I managed to get it all done by about 9.30pm when we finally had some dinner!
Newbie lawn/garden person lessons learned during this experience (never done any of this before):
1) you can rake as much as you like (even with a big lawn tractor-towed one with weights on), but if you've got a lot of moss, nothing beats a scarifier. Could have saved myself a few hours work under the trees if I'd just ordered the scarifier a couple of weeks ago.
2) Using a push spreader to sow the grass seed was a complete waste of time, hardly any was coming out even on max opening and weaving roudn trees etc was a pain. Famous last words, but it seems 10x easier to walk up and down with a bucket sprinkling by hand for that 250m2 bit. Application rate is a bit hit and miss, but I went over it 3 times in various directions and it seems to be about right.
3) Ditto doing it by hand with the fertilizer
4) Rolling it in by hand is bloody hard work! I ache all over after pulling that thing back and forth, must weigh 100kg!
Anyway, here's a piccie of the area I did (the circular bit under the trees). You can see in the foreground where there was virtually bare earth as it was just a moss carpet. Fingers crossed all will go well, c'mon you Shady Green!
There's another 250m2 of lawn at the front of the house that really needs the same treatment, and probably another 500m2 on top of that out of shot in the top left of the pic where I should ideally do it if I have the time, but it's a proper mission so will have to think carefully. I think I might actually leave the front lawn as we're hoping to put an extension there in the next year or so, seems possibly a bit pointless to expend too much effort on it before we know what's going on. Might just scarify it, hoover up, fertilize and see what happens, treat it as a giant test patch to see what happens if you don't overseed.
Slight fly in the ointment was that my other half managed to drop a table on her hand just before picking me up from the station, and by the time we got home she basically couldn't use it, so I had to look after our little 5 month old girl and somehow squeeze all of the above in at the same! Anyway after juggling baby and gardening, I managed to get it all done by about 9.30pm when we finally had some dinner!
Newbie lawn/garden person lessons learned during this experience (never done any of this before):
1) you can rake as much as you like (even with a big lawn tractor-towed one with weights on), but if you've got a lot of moss, nothing beats a scarifier. Could have saved myself a few hours work under the trees if I'd just ordered the scarifier a couple of weeks ago.
2) Using a push spreader to sow the grass seed was a complete waste of time, hardly any was coming out even on max opening and weaving roudn trees etc was a pain. Famous last words, but it seems 10x easier to walk up and down with a bucket sprinkling by hand for that 250m2 bit. Application rate is a bit hit and miss, but I went over it 3 times in various directions and it seems to be about right.
3) Ditto doing it by hand with the fertilizer
4) Rolling it in by hand is bloody hard work! I ache all over after pulling that thing back and forth, must weigh 100kg!
Anyway, here's a piccie of the area I did (the circular bit under the trees). You can see in the foreground where there was virtually bare earth as it was just a moss carpet. Fingers crossed all will go well, c'mon you Shady Green!
There's another 250m2 of lawn at the front of the house that really needs the same treatment, and probably another 500m2 on top of that out of shot in the top left of the pic where I should ideally do it if I have the time, but it's a proper mission so will have to think carefully. I think I might actually leave the front lawn as we're hoping to put an extension there in the next year or so, seems possibly a bit pointless to expend too much effort on it before we know what's going on. Might just scarify it, hoover up, fertilize and see what happens, treat it as a giant test patch to see what happens if you don't overseed.
Which scarifier did you buy ? I am coming to the same conclusion mostly because it costs £50 a day to rent something that costs £500. I'll easily need one for ten days over the next two or three years.
Re spreader I bought a Spyker one which I used to spread 170kg of fertilizer a couple of weeks ago. Worked really well. More expensive than a lot but works and feels like it'll do so for a long time. Had a look at a few at Homebase etc and didn't think they felt like they were built that well.
Re spreader I bought a Spyker one which I used to spread 170kg of fertilizer a couple of weeks ago. Worked really well. More expensive than a lot but works and feels like it'll do so for a long time. Had a look at a few at Homebase etc and didn't think they felt like they were built that well.
Mario149 said:
Ooofff, had a busy evening yesterday when I got back from work at 6: since the weather forecast was perfect (rain overnight, some today and warm for the next few days) the plan was to "hoover" up the moss I had ripped out using the scarifier the day before (ended up buying one as the wait to hire one was a out a month!! Amazing piece of kit though) from under the main shaded tree area of our garden which is about 250m2. Then fill in some holes our Rottie has dug, then sow the shady green seed that arrived the other day, then fertilize with the starter fertilizer I ordered with it, then roll it with the manual roller.
Slight fly in the ointment was that my other half managed to drop a table on her hand just before picking me up from the station, and by the time we got home she basically couldn't use it, so I had to look after our little 5 month old girl and somehow squeeze all of the above in at the same! Anyway after juggling baby and gardening, I managed to get it all done by about 9.30pm when we finally had some dinner!
Newbie lawn/garden person lessons learned during this experience (never done any of this before):
1) you can rake as much as you like (even with a big lawn tractor-towed one with weights on), but if you've got a lot of moss, nothing beats a scarifier. Could have saved myself a few hours work under the trees if I'd just ordered the scarifier a couple of weeks ago.
2) Using a push spreader to sow the grass seed was a complete waste of time, hardly any was coming out even on max opening and weaving roudn trees etc was a pain. Famous last words, but it seems 10x easier to walk up and down with a bucket sprinkling by hand for that 250m2 bit. Application rate is a bit hit and miss, but I went over it 3 times in various directions and it seems to be about right.
3) Ditto doing it by hand with the fertilizer
4) Rolling it in by hand is bloody hard work! I ache all over after pulling that thing back and forth, must weigh 100kg!
Anyway, here's a piccie of the area I did (the circular bit under the trees). You can see in the foreground where there was virtually bare earth as it was just a moss carpet. Fingers crossed all will go well, c'mon you Shady Green!
There's another 250m2 of lawn at the front of the house that really needs the same treatment, and probably another 500m2 on top of that out of shot in the top left of the pic where I should ideally do it if I have the time, but it's a proper mission so will have to think carefully. I think I might actually leave the front lawn as we're hoping to put an extension there in the next year or so, seems possibly a bit pointless to expend too much effort on it before we know what's going on. Might just scarify it, hoover up, fertilize and see what happens, treat it as a giant test patch to see what happens if you don't overseed.
Good work, you just need warm weather and regular watering now. My guess being in the shade it will take longer than the magic 7 days to show signs of life.Slight fly in the ointment was that my other half managed to drop a table on her hand just before picking me up from the station, and by the time we got home she basically couldn't use it, so I had to look after our little 5 month old girl and somehow squeeze all of the above in at the same! Anyway after juggling baby and gardening, I managed to get it all done by about 9.30pm when we finally had some dinner!
Newbie lawn/garden person lessons learned during this experience (never done any of this before):
1) you can rake as much as you like (even with a big lawn tractor-towed one with weights on), but if you've got a lot of moss, nothing beats a scarifier. Could have saved myself a few hours work under the trees if I'd just ordered the scarifier a couple of weeks ago.
2) Using a push spreader to sow the grass seed was a complete waste of time, hardly any was coming out even on max opening and weaving roudn trees etc was a pain. Famous last words, but it seems 10x easier to walk up and down with a bucket sprinkling by hand for that 250m2 bit. Application rate is a bit hit and miss, but I went over it 3 times in various directions and it seems to be about right.
3) Ditto doing it by hand with the fertilizer
4) Rolling it in by hand is bloody hard work! I ache all over after pulling that thing back and forth, must weigh 100kg!
Anyway, here's a piccie of the area I did (the circular bit under the trees). You can see in the foreground where there was virtually bare earth as it was just a moss carpet. Fingers crossed all will go well, c'mon you Shady Green!
There's another 250m2 of lawn at the front of the house that really needs the same treatment, and probably another 500m2 on top of that out of shot in the top left of the pic where I should ideally do it if I have the time, but it's a proper mission so will have to think carefully. I think I might actually leave the front lawn as we're hoping to put an extension there in the next year or so, seems possibly a bit pointless to expend too much effort on it before we know what's going on. Might just scarify it, hoover up, fertilize and see what happens, treat it as a giant test patch to see what happens if you don't overseed.
Cheib said:
Which scarifier did you buy ? I am coming to the same conclusion mostly because it costs £50 a day to rent something that costs £500. I'll easily need one for ten days over the next two or three years.
Re spreader I bought a Spyker one which I used to spread 170kg of fertilizer a couple of weeks ago. Worked really well. More expensive than a lot but works and feels like it'll do so for a long time. Had a look at a few at Homebase etc and didn't think they felt like they were built that well.
I bought this one: http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/einhell-gc-sc-2240p-pet...Re spreader I bought a Spyker one which I used to spread 170kg of fertilizer a couple of weeks ago. Worked really well. More expensive than a lot but works and feels like it'll do so for a long time. Had a look at a few at Homebase etc and didn't think they felt like they were built that well.
Ref fertlizier, I'm spraying it on the other bits of the lawn which are mostly open. Bought some Lawnsmith soluble fertilizer, will give it a crack in the next few days.
Mario149 said:
I bought this one: http://www.mowdirect.co.uk/einhell-gc-sc-2240p-pet...
For reference, the collection bag on it is useless! It was full after about 15 feet 
So I just took it off and hoovered with the mower after.It's supposed to be for up to 1000m2. We're about 2.5x that at the mo, but I figured that at most it was a twice a year job, 5 hours at a time so not worth buying anything bigger/more expensive
The lawn is now recovering after scarifying/overseeding. A few of the patches where I killed the weed grasses are still abit yellow:
Lawn recovering by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
Lawn recovering by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
MG-FIDO said:
8-P said:
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
I have noticed that the weed grasses in my lawn are flowering vigorously at the moment, and this is making it very clear that they're concentrated in a band across the lawn, corresponding to the route that we take from the back door to the patio and to the greenhouse.
I'm thinking:
Is the following product any good? Does anyone have any recommendations?
http://www.diy.com/departments/handy-hollow-tine-a...
Do you think my diagnosis is correct - i.e. compaction is giving Poa annua enough of an advantage in the busiest parts of my lawn that it is squeezing out the 'proper' grass?
I think it depends on how big your lawn is / how much time youve got.I'm thinking:
- Given that I treated with a pre-emergent in early spring (about the end of February), this should not be crabgrass - but it could well be Poa annua which I believe germinates in autumn. I reseeded my whole lawn last autumn, so it would have been vulnerable to germination of Poa annua. I think this flowering time might also be consistent with Poa annua.
- I have read that Poa annua copes well with wet, compacted soil. This fits with the band of flowering across my lawn, along the path of greatest foot traffic.
Is the following product any good? Does anyone have any recommendations?
http://www.diy.com/departments/handy-hollow-tine-a...
Do you think my diagnosis is correct - i.e. compaction is giving Poa annua enough of an advantage in the busiest parts of my lawn that it is squeezing out the 'proper' grass?
Next year Im thinking of hiring a beast for the day. My lawn isnt huge but Itll be done quick smart. I may buy one similar to the one you highlight if it works out, probably do the lawn in an hour or so.
I went ahead and ordered it, and it arrived about an hour ago.
"We've had a whole morning of rain, so the soil should be reasonably soft", thought I. But could I get it into the ground? Hardly!
I tried removing two of the tines to make it easier. The supplied spanner cannot be used on two of the tines due to close proximity with the body of the hopper, but I managed to remove two of the tines. And hooray - it sort-of worked! Not very effective, but at least the tines were going in.
And then, after about 5 minutes of use, one of the springs broke.
So my recommendation is to avoid this product. It doesn't work, and it broke almost immediately.
I guess I'll have to go back to the tried-and-tested "stick a fork in and wiggle it about" method.
Craikeybaby said:
The lawn is now recovering after scarifying/overseeding. A few of the patches where I killed the weed grasses are still abit yellow:
Lawn recovering by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
Water it every night, helps loadsLawn recovering by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
Anyone had much luck with spray weed killer ie Resolva for lawns or similar?
I have a mixed bunch of weeds, Dandylions, daisys and other annoying little s
ts.
Ive dug some out by hand although in some cases Ive had to patch it, in others not so.
Im just thinking if I use it, the weed will die and need removing anyway so is it pointless, or should I just blast everything I see and let the grass invade?
I have a mixed bunch of weeds, Dandylions, daisys and other annoying little s
ts.Ive dug some out by hand although in some cases Ive had to patch it, in others not so.
Im just thinking if I use it, the weed will die and need removing anyway so is it pointless, or should I just blast everything I see and let the grass invade?
The main problem I find with any of the squirty bottles of spot weedkiller is that when the bottle gets a bit low you can't point it downwards and spray, because the end of the tube inside the bottle is no longer submerged in the liquid.
But I've just bought a larger 3 litre bottle of Resolva that solves this issue - the squirty thing is detachable and is on the end of a length of tubing. Thus you can hold the bottle horizontal whilst squirting vertically downwards onto the weed if you want to. Much better!
But I've just bought a larger 3 litre bottle of Resolva that solves this issue - the squirty thing is detachable and is on the end of a length of tubing. Thus you can hold the bottle horizontal whilst squirting vertically downwards onto the weed if you want to. Much better!
Here's the difference in mine, two weeks after seeding with Lawnsmith Shadygreen
This was one month ago
And this morning
I don't really want to mow it but think I'm going to have to as other than the corners that were otherwise completely bare, it's not going to get enough light into the smaller patches
This was one month ago
And this morning
I don't really want to mow it but think I'm going to have to as other than the corners that were otherwise completely bare, it's not going to get enough light into the smaller patches
Edited by BRISTOL86 on Thursday 19th May 08:15
Edited by BRISTOL86 on Thursday 19th May 08:16
BRISTOL86 said:
Here's the difference in mine, two weeks after seeding with Lawnsmith Shadygreen
This was one month ago
And this morning
I don't really want to mow it but think I'm going to have to as other than the corners that were otherwise completely bare, it's not going to get enough light into the smaller patches
Looking good,I had the same dilema but mowing was fine, if anything it made me realise there maybe room for more seedThis was one month ago
And this morning
I don't really want to mow it but think I'm going to have to as other than the corners that were otherwise completely bare, it's not going to get enough light into the smaller patches
Edited by BRISTOL86 on Thursday 19th May 08:15
Edited by BRISTOL86 on Thursday 19th May 08:16
8-P said:
Looking good,I had the same dilema but mowing was fine, if anything it made me realise there maybe room for more seed
It's mental how fast the existing lawn is growing. I scalped it before seeding, did the same again last Friday where it had grown again so fast and now need to do it again!Looking at my last picture, how long do you think it'll take before what's germinated 'thickens' out a bit?
I've gone for two rounds of over seeding. I did some at the start of the month, and I did another round yesterday as we've got a week or so of rain coming up here.
Keeping the established grass short for a few weeks as well to give the new stuff a look in. It's looking much better already though, so this time next month should be nice.
Keeping the established grass short for a few weeks as well to give the new stuff a look in. It's looking much better already though, so this time next month should be nice.
BRISTOL86 said:
It's mental how fast the existing lawn is growing. I scalped it before seeding, did the same again last Friday where it had grown again so fast and now need to do it again!
Looking at my last picture, how long do you think it'll take before what's germinated 'thickens' out a bit?
Hard to tell, during the recent warm patch a few weeks back the sunniest parts of my lawn almost visibly grew, literally I could see the difference every morning. The thing is every seed that geminates pops out one shoot, at some point that one shoot becomes more, but Im not sure how quick that process is - I would have thought at least as long as its been in so far if not more.Looking at my last picture, how long do you think it'll take before what's germinated 'thickens' out a bit?
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