2016 Lawn thread
Discussion
I use a two pronged attack - once a year in the summer I do the whole lawn with one type of weedkiller, but I also have a spray bottle of a different type to get the other weeds. Best explained by lawnsmith.
emicen said:
Excuse me if this is a daft question, does dog pee kill grass?
There's a patch on the rear lawn where we've always let the wee man out to pee and all the spots he regularly goes on are dead, the rest of the lawn being completely fine.
Oh, yes. Dog pee will burn and kill grass in patches, typically leaving a dead patch where the 'fertiliser' was too strong surrounded by a lush ring of grass where the fertiliser is a more moderate strength and actually benefits the grass.There's a patch on the rear lawn where we've always let the wee man out to pee and all the spots he regularly goes on are dead, the rest of the lawn being completely fine.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
emicen said:
Excuse me if this is a daft question, does dog pee kill grass?
There's a patch on the rear lawn where we've always let the wee man out to pee and all the spots he regularly goes on are dead, the rest of the lawn being completely fine.
Oh, yes. Dog pee will burn and kill grass in patches, typically leaving a dead patch where the 'fertiliser' was too strong surrounded by a lush ring of grass where the fertiliser is a more moderate strength and actually benefits the grass.There's a patch on the rear lawn where we've always let the wee man out to pee and all the spots he regularly goes on are dead, the rest of the lawn being completely fine.
Evanivitch said:
Some raisins and sleeping pills...
Hadn't seen them for a while, today I put some more seed on a bare patch. They were back within half an hour! There was a mouse running about as well. Ive put a garden fleece over the area that should stop the pigeons, the mouse will get in no problem though.
Do they like sweetcorn soaked in antifreeze?
Having started the thread, I thought I would update progress on my lawn. I scarified it last year and was amazed at how much thatch was removed (I thought I had killed it!). I probably left it too late in the season as the temperatures dropped and the reseeding didn't take so I decided to leave it till this year and the weather had warmed up. I fed the lawn a few weeks ago and it really has come back well; the seeds must have taken now as I have noticed a different type of grass blade within the existing lawn. I have been watering it and cutting it frequently, and will seed a few patches which need attention in the next week.
Thanks for all the helpful advice.
Thanks for all the helpful advice.
crashley said:
We're moving to a brand new place, with brand new recently turfed front and back gardens. Total around 200-250sq m of grass (pretty much split equally). It looks lush and green and soft underfoot at the moment, and i'd like to keep it that way.
We also have a Boxer, who will likely do his best to destroy the back garden, but i want the front looking immaculate.
Any suggestions for mower and general grass maintenance? I'll need to get a new (petrol) mower for the job and any necessary tools.
Nothing? Reviews seem all over the place for mowers, and i still don't know if i need self-propelled or push along and will i need to roll it? What's this talk of scarifying etc? Will just lots of watering, raking and mowing be sufficient to keep it nice? We also have a Boxer, who will likely do his best to destroy the back garden, but i want the front looking immaculate.
Any suggestions for mower and general grass maintenance? I'll need to get a new (petrol) mower for the job and any necessary tools.
crashley said:
Nothing? Reviews seem all over the place for mowers, and i still don't know if i need self-propelled or push along and will i need to roll it? What's this talk of scarifying etc? Will just lots of watering, raking and mowing be sufficient to keep it nice?
Just re-read this thread, basically. Self propelled or push along is your choice. As is whether you want a bowling green finish (roller) or just cut with a simple rotary mower. Scarifying removes moss and thatch, do it spring or autumn and reseed afterwards. Raking may suffice but isnt as good as a proper scarify.
A lot comes down to how much effort and money you want to spend on it, and how nice you want it looking. Also what state is it in now? If its just upkeep then that can be fairly simple, if it needs major work then obviously more time and money and effort required. Watering not really required in the UK unless you have young seed or turf down in a dry spell.
Condi said:
Just re-read this thread, basically.
Self propelled or push along is your choice. As is whether you want a bowling green finish (roller) or just cut with a simple rotary mower. Scarifying removes moss and thatch, do it spring or autumn and reseed afterwards. Raking may suffice but isnt as good as a proper scarify.
A lot comes down to how much effort and money you want to spend on it, and how nice you want it looking. Also what state is it in now? If its just upkeep then that can be fairly simple, if it needs major work then obviously more time and money and effort required. Watering not really required in the UK unless you have young seed or turf down in a dry spell.
That's great, TY. It's recently turfed, so is maintenance only really, albeit i'd like to thicken it up so it was a little more bowling green like. And regarding the mower itself - reviews are all over the shop- Mountfield, Honda, Husky, Suffolk Punch (as someone mentioned etc etc?!Self propelled or push along is your choice. As is whether you want a bowling green finish (roller) or just cut with a simple rotary mower. Scarifying removes moss and thatch, do it spring or autumn and reseed afterwards. Raking may suffice but isnt as good as a proper scarify.
A lot comes down to how much effort and money you want to spend on it, and how nice you want it looking. Also what state is it in now? If its just upkeep then that can be fairly simple, if it needs major work then obviously more time and money and effort required. Watering not really required in the UK unless you have young seed or turf down in a dry spell.
Right, after blasting the moss and turning black, I've lowered my grass height over the last week or so before taking it short yesterday in preparation for this mornings scarify/rake. After several passes in both directions and bucket and bucket loads of crap coming out I've done.
Am I right in saying that my next move needs to be some pre seed fertilizer and then a nice damp/shade resistant seed in the next couple of days? I don't need to leave it before cracking on?
thanks for all the help so far.
Am I right in saying that my next move needs to be some pre seed fertilizer and then a nice damp/shade resistant seed in the next couple of days? I don't need to leave it before cracking on?
thanks for all the help so far.
Edited by Tony Angelino on Monday 30th May 14:04
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.
Right, so it's been 14 days since I put th shady green down and nothing's happened, zip, nada. No germination that I can see. Seed is just still laying there. Is it borked?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.
In other news, I've just fertilised the rest of the lawn with the lawnsmith "soluble" stuff. Sprayer was a bit of a 'mare again, the fine particles in the fertiliser that don't dissolve clog up the filter and stop it working every 20s or so
and this was after leaving it in the sun for a few hours on a hot day so the water was warm. not sure if that's par for the course but genuinely tempted to complain to Lawnsmith given that their definition of soluble is rather different from mine. Looks like I'll have to pre-mix in a bucket next time, let settle then add to the sprayed tank, so yet more faff to use something that should be a big time saver but doesn't appear to be Also, having killed most of the moss and de thatched the main lawn with the rake a few weeks ago, it appears I should have got some weed killer down ASAP afterwards along with fertiliser sooner - there's now lots of small flat leafed weeds that have sprung up
weed killer ordered, more spraying.....joy!As a final annoyance, the dry weather now means that whenever our Rottie unloads a few gallons of wee as he is wont to do, it now burns a hole in the lawn with no rain to dilute it. And the squirrels are still f*cking digging.
Not been a good couple of weeks
Joe M said:
Will slugs have any affect on my lawn? I seem to have a lot of them after watering, mostly on the overseeded areas.
Happened to me too in my last house, Im pretty sure slugs and snails will eat any young green shoots, that includes grass. Personally Id put a load of trays of ASDA value bitter down, they love it and if its near the grass itll keep them away. That or pellet the area to bits, but they take ages to go and look ugly.Mario149 said:
Right, so it's been 14 days since I put th shady green down and nothing's happened, zip, nada. No germination that I can see. Seed is just still laying there. Is it borked?
In other news, I've just fertilised the rest of the lawn with the lawnsmith "soluble" stuff. Sprayer was a bit of a 'mare again, the fine particles in the fertiliser that don't dissolve clog up the filter and stop it working every 20s or so and this was after leaving it in the sun for a few hours on a hot day so the water was warm. not sure if that's par for the course but genuinely tempted to complain to Lawnsmith given that their definition of soluble is rather different from mine. Looks like I'll have to pre-mix in a bucket next time, let settle then add to the sprayed tank, so yet more faff to use something that should be a big time saver but doesn't appear to be
Also, having killed most of the moss and de thatched the main lawn with the rake a few weeks ago, it appears I should have got some weed killer down ASAP afterwards along with fertiliser sooner - there's now lots of small flat leafed weeds that have sprung up weed killer ordered, more spraying.....joy!
As a final annoyance, the dry weather now means that whenever our Rottie unloads a few gallons of wee as he is wont to do, it now burns a hole in the lawn with no rain to dilute it. And the squirrels are still f*cking digging.
Not been a good couple of weeks
My shady green took longer than I expected too. I guess though as its shady, so less warmth from the sun and it hasnt really been that warm over the last few weeks its to be expected. You need I nice bit of 20 deg + weather and water every day to give it a kickIn other news, I've just fertilised the rest of the lawn with the lawnsmith "soluble" stuff. Sprayer was a bit of a 'mare again, the fine particles in the fertiliser that don't dissolve clog up the filter and stop it working every 20s or so
and this was after leaving it in the sun for a few hours on a hot day so the water was warm. not sure if that's par for the course but genuinely tempted to complain to Lawnsmith given that their definition of soluble is rather different from mine. Looks like I'll have to pre-mix in a bucket next time, let settle then add to the sprayed tank, so yet more faff to use something that should be a big time saver but doesn't appear to be Also, having killed most of the moss and de thatched the main lawn with the rake a few weeks ago, it appears I should have got some weed killer down ASAP afterwards along with fertiliser sooner - there's now lots of small flat leafed weeds that have sprung up
weed killer ordered, more spraying.....joy!As a final annoyance, the dry weather now means that whenever our Rottie unloads a few gallons of wee as he is wont to do, it now burns a hole in the lawn with no rain to dilute it. And the squirrels are still f*cking digging.
Not been a good couple of weeks
I've just stared to see lots of weeds losing the will to live - spot sprayed them a few weeks back and now they are yellowing up. There are quite a few, so whats the drill? Just continue to watch them die away, mow as normal and assume as they break up the grass will gradually fill their place? I guess there isnt anything else I can do?
This is my early inheritance from my parents, freshly mowed lawn on Friday, coming from a small house with a small garden this is good and bad. My old man does have a sit on mower but at this moment in time im happy with the little petrol one.
I would like to pull all the rockery out but my missus likes it, but im not sure how much maintenance it needs
I would like to pull all the rockery out but my missus likes it, but im not sure how much maintenance it needs
crashley said:
That's great, TY. It's recently turfed, so is maintenance only really, albeit i'd like to thicken it up so it was a little more bowling green like. And regarding the mower itself - reviews are all over the shop- Mountfield, Honda, Husky, Suffolk Punch (as someone mentioned etc etc?!
I got a Mountfield from Screwfix a couple of months ago, the self propelled version. It's fairly lightweight and easy to manouver, but a couple of minor criticisms:You really have to strain to get it starter, the Mrs cannot start it on her own.
The self propelled is a touch quick, kind of runs away with you.
It's not brilliant, but those 2 points above apart it does it's job once up and running. Don;t know if they do an electric start version from memory but if they do and it's not too much more epxensive I would look at that.
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