2016 Lawn thread
Discussion
tperry said:
So my lawn has grown much quicker than expected. It will be 4weeks on Sunday since seeding. I have 2 questions.
1. When should I do the first cut? I know to only cut the top off just not sure when's best todo it.
2. Do I leave the cuttings on the lawn after mowing or not?
Cheers chaps
I'd have done the first cut about a week ago... If you leave those cuttings on the grass will be smothered, the best bet is to cut before it looks like it needs it then the cuttings virtually disappear (especially if you have a mulching type mower). I'm cutting 2-3 times per week at present, you can almost see the grass growing it's that fast.1. When should I do the first cut? I know to only cut the top off just not sure when's best todo it.
2. Do I leave the cuttings on the lawn after mowing or not?
Cheers chaps
Edited by tperry on Wednesday 6th July 21:35
RYH64E said:
I'd have done the first cut about a week ago... If you leave those cuttings on the grass will be smothered, the best bet is to cut before it looks like it needs it then the cuttings virtually disappear (especially if you have a mulching type mower). I'm cutting 2-3 times per week at present, you can almost see the grass growing it's that fast.
You should enter formula E! Podium guaranteed at that pace 
So I've been using Westland Aftercut lawn feed & thickener with debatable success. What other products are there for adding green and thickness to the lawn? Preferably easy to obtain stuff from B&Q/Homebase so I can pick some up rather than have to mail order.
As it stands, the patches the dog has persistently pee'd on in the back are still dead, the surrounding areas are fertilised to the nines and lovely and green and growing at a hell of a rate and the rest of the lawn is much more lime green.
Round the front the lawn is mostly lime green apart from the odd patch he's pee'd on which is bushy and green. Possibly the answer is just getting him to pee in a bucket and diluting it
As it stands, the patches the dog has persistently pee'd on in the back are still dead, the surrounding areas are fertilised to the nines and lovely and green and growing at a hell of a rate and the rest of the lawn is much more lime green.
Round the front the lawn is mostly lime green apart from the odd patch he's pee'd on which is bushy and green. Possibly the answer is just getting him to pee in a bucket and diluting it
You don't really want the lawn to be as lush and green as the areas surrounding the urine spots. It may look ideal but it's way too much Nitrogen for the long term health of the lawn.
The feed and thickener is primarily fertiliser with some added grass seed, both of which can be obtained separately. Unless you thoroughly soak the burnt patches there'll be too much Nitrogen in the soil for newly germinated grass, so you need to dilute that first before trying to overseed them. You'll then need to keep the patches moist for germination to take place, just as you would when sowing a lawn from scratch.
For fast recovery of the burnt patches you will need to reseed. The surrounding grass will eventually fill the spots in but it takes time and you're likely to find weed grasses taking the opportunity to get a hold too.
You could add a light dose of ferrous sulphate to the rest of the lawn, most easily obtained from the DIY sheds as lawn sand or moss killer. That'll give the grass a darker hue without overdoing the Nitrogen. Don't over do the iron though, as that'll kill the grass too.
The best way to avoid urine burn patches (aside from not letting the dog on the lawn) is to thoroughly water the urine in asap. It'll still result in dark green areas but will usually be enough to prevent the grass dying. A full watering can on standby is very helpful in that regard.
The feed and thickener is primarily fertiliser with some added grass seed, both of which can be obtained separately. Unless you thoroughly soak the burnt patches there'll be too much Nitrogen in the soil for newly germinated grass, so you need to dilute that first before trying to overseed them. You'll then need to keep the patches moist for germination to take place, just as you would when sowing a lawn from scratch.
For fast recovery of the burnt patches you will need to reseed. The surrounding grass will eventually fill the spots in but it takes time and you're likely to find weed grasses taking the opportunity to get a hold too.
You could add a light dose of ferrous sulphate to the rest of the lawn, most easily obtained from the DIY sheds as lawn sand or moss killer. That'll give the grass a darker hue without overdoing the Nitrogen. Don't over do the iron though, as that'll kill the grass too.
The best way to avoid urine burn patches (aside from not letting the dog on the lawn) is to thoroughly water the urine in asap. It'll still result in dark green areas but will usually be enough to prevent the grass dying. A full watering can on standby is very helpful in that regard.
Jagnet any tips on sowing bent seeds?, I have tried mixing it with sharp sand I used 10kg of sharp sand with 160grams of bent seed to overseed a 30m2 area. It still didn't go well though as the sand was damp and it tends to drop out your hands in clumps. The wheeled spreader didn't work either any tips you have?.
The drier the sand the better, but if it's spread a little clumpy then moving it around with a rake or a brush works fairly well if the grass is reasonably short. If the sun's out then letting the sand dry a bit in situ first before brushing can help. At least with sand it's reasonably easy to see when it's fairly well spread against the darker soil.
S11Steve said:
Following on from my minor contribution in the 2015 thread;
The house was empty for 5 years, and the garden completely overgrown with trees, bushes and a few patches waist high grass.
We had a small budget for garden clearance, but have spent most of the last year in time and money on the inside of the house. The consensus from the 2015 thread was to dig it up and start again, but we have longer term plans for landscaping and building a garage and patio area. So leg work it was to make the best of a bad deal - a lot of chopping, shredding, skip loading..
scarifying, moss killing and more clearing of the borders...
We are now close to this point - I have a stump grinder booked for next month to remove 38 (!!!) stumps, a small electric rotavator off ebay for the borders, and a big bag of grass seed.
Still a long way to go, and most of the front and side is going to be ripped up next year for the driveway and garage, but for now it's nicer to look at and far easier to manage than when we first moved in.
After an eye watering quote to remove the stumps, I've hired a stump grinder for the week and three days in I've cleared about 30 of them with another 5 or so left. I've also crippled myself, ears are ringing even with plugs and defenders in, and my hands are numb from the vibration.The house was empty for 5 years, and the garden completely overgrown with trees, bushes and a few patches waist high grass.
We had a small budget for garden clearance, but have spent most of the last year in time and money on the inside of the house. The consensus from the 2015 thread was to dig it up and start again, but we have longer term plans for landscaping and building a garage and patio area. So leg work it was to make the best of a bad deal - a lot of chopping, shredding, skip loading..
scarifying, moss killing and more clearing of the borders...
We are now close to this point - I have a stump grinder booked for next month to remove 38 (!!!) stumps, a small electric rotavator off ebay for the borders, and a big bag of grass seed.
Still a long way to go, and most of the front and side is going to be ripped up next year for the driveway and garage, but for now it's nicer to look at and far easier to manage than when we first moved in.
Maybe the 1800 quid quote was fair...
As it's going to be relandscaped some time next year, I'm thinking of rotavating the chippings into the soil, and seed the lot so at least I have something green and relatively low maintenance. I'm also planning on putting a privet hedge along the boundary wall to where the back of the garage will end up.
Will the chippings be ok once they are turned into the soil, and how long should the privet take to establish?
S11Steve said:
Will the chippings be ok once they are turned into the soil, and how long should the privet take to establish?
That's been a lot of work but well worth it 
I'd avoid working the wood chippings into the soil imho. They'll use much of the nitrogen in the soil to decompose, depriving the grass and plants of it. Much better to clear it up and let it rot down separately in a compost heap where it'll help your green/browns balance.
S11Steve said:
After an eye watering quote to remove the stumps, I've hired a stump grinder for the week and three days in I've cleared about 30 of them with another 5 or so left. I've also crippled myself, ears are ringing even with plugs and defenders in, and my hands are numb from the vibration.
Maybe the 1800 quid quote was fair...
As it's going to be relandscaped some time next year, I'm thinking of rotavating the chippings into the soil, and seed the lot so at least I have something green and relatively low maintenance. I'm also planning on putting a privet hedge along the boundary wall to where the back of the garage will end up.
Will the chippings be ok once they are turned into the soil, and how long should the privet take to establish?
When you're stump grinding don't forget to chase out as many of the roots as you can, if not they decompose under the soil and you can get lots of different fungus growing up into your grass. After a particularly bad job done at work we had patches of 'dog vomit' fungus in the grass, it was pretty disgusting stuff, and whenever we dug down to get rid of it we came upon a decomposing root.Maybe the 1800 quid quote was fair...
As it's going to be relandscaped some time next year, I'm thinking of rotavating the chippings into the soil, and seed the lot so at least I have something green and relatively low maintenance. I'm also planning on putting a privet hedge along the boundary wall to where the back of the garage will end up.
Will the chippings be ok once they are turned into the soil, and how long should the privet take to establish?
Thanks jagnet.
It's now been a month or so since I put a stop to him peeing on the grass so (courtesy of Scottish summer) it should now be diluted out enough to have some success reseeding. The prolific growth rate of the grass around the dead patches has all be eliminated any light getting to the ground so going to have to keep on top of the trimming once reseeded.
Got some images on Friday night of the problem;
Round the back, the grass around the dead patches was probably 8-10in whilst the rest of the lawn was only 2-3in
Out front, he was never able to pee on the same patch repeatedly but there's the occasional one where he's managed to take a whizz, again, the growth rate difference is really quite something. The height difference in the picture is after 1 week
Hopefully with what you've suggested I can reduce how badly the patches stand out and get the whole thing growing more uniform.
It's now been a month or so since I put a stop to him peeing on the grass so (courtesy of Scottish summer) it should now be diluted out enough to have some success reseeding. The prolific growth rate of the grass around the dead patches has all be eliminated any light getting to the ground so going to have to keep on top of the trimming once reseeded.
Got some images on Friday night of the problem;
Round the back, the grass around the dead patches was probably 8-10in whilst the rest of the lawn was only 2-3in
Out front, he was never able to pee on the same patch repeatedly but there's the occasional one where he's managed to take a whizz, again, the growth rate difference is really quite something. The height difference in the picture is after 1 week
Hopefully with what you've suggested I can reduce how badly the patches stand out and get the whole thing growing more uniform.
Patches surrounding the spots will tend to grow ridiculously fast even with thorough watering in. There's not much you can do about that other than more frequent cutting, which will also help the health of the grass by not having to take too much off in one go. Fertilising the rest of the lawn on a little and often basis may help to get a little more colour consistancy too.
It may be worth trying the Green-UM tablets over summer. They recommend a three month break every six months iirc, so worth timing the break during winter when there's more rain to wash the urine in.
It may be worth trying the Green-UM tablets over summer. They recommend a three month break every six months iirc, so worth timing the break during winter when there's more rain to wash the urine in.
Hi everyone, I have a question for those in the know.
I have around 1/3 acre of grass at my house which is very un-level. It is basically going to all need digging up and levelling off which would involve removing all of the grass.
What is the best time of year to do this? I would presumably seed the area rather than turf as that would cost too much.
Thanks,
Andrew
I have around 1/3 acre of grass at my house which is very un-level. It is basically going to all need digging up and levelling off which would involve removing all of the grass.
What is the best time of year to do this? I would presumably seed the area rather than turf as that would cost too much.
Thanks,
Andrew
Obviously early autumn is best, whist I didn't take mine fully back to soil, here are the results of my autumn scarify and over seed a few years ago.
21st September:
Scarified Lawn by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
6th October:
Lawn Recovering by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
21st September:
Scarified Lawn by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
6th October:
Lawn Recovering by Lewis Craik, on Flickr
wrayvon said:
I decided to lay some new turf down at possibly the worst time of year... but, so far so good. Laid it on tuesday night and I've been watering it before work, after work and before bed. Fingers crossed it stays ok!
No pictures so far though - didn't think
My parent's was laid 2-3 weeks ago and it's rooted and grown really well just keep watering. No pictures so far though - didn't think
Dogbash said:
Will it grow in Autumn as its getting colder then?
Andrew
Autumn is the best time of the year for growing lawns from seed. The ground temperatures are high, there's a good chance of regular rain and it'll give the grass many months to establish before its first summer. I'd look at seeding in September (unless we're in a hot dry spell at that time).Andrew
wrayvon said:
I decided to lay some new turf down at possibly the worst time of year... but, so far so good. Laid it on tuesday night and I've been watering it before work, after work and before bed. Fingers crossed it stays ok!
No pictures so far though - didn't think
So long as it's not allowed to dry out then it'll be fine. Look to reduce the irrigation to a thorough watering just once a day after the first week (mornings will be best) to encourage the roots to grow down rather than developing near the surface. After the second week reduce the watering further. If you have heavier clay soil you can probably reduce the irrigation sooner. I would continue with a weekly watering throughout the summer if we have a dry spell of good weather.No pictures so far though - didn't think
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