The 2024 Lawn Thread

Author
Discussion

pacenotes

279 posts

145 months

Tuesday 16th April
quotequote all
Thanks, With the storms yesterday it's been well rained on!

I shall order the seed, But seen its to be dry for the next week so might wait till it becomes crap again.

ChocolateFrog

25,424 posts

174 months

Saturday 20th April
quotequote all
Going to attack mine today. I'm guessing soil temps could still be a little low but the grass is literally a ft high now and today is the first time that 8hrs+ of dry weather and my free time have aligned.

oyster

12,607 posts

249 months

Monday 22nd April
quotequote all
Feels like an absolute age that I scarified and overseeded and still there's almost nothing to show for it.
This is SE England.

Normally by mid-April I'd have lush stripes on the lawn by now. It's late April and it's still mud and seeds - and the forecast is for even colder the next few days!

renmure

4,248 posts

225 months

Monday 22nd April
quotequote all
Facebook tells me it's exactly a year ago today that we did 3 days of scarifying the front garden. First cut of the year with a proper mower. Don't really fancy doing that again tho.





Today...




VWW

35 posts

63 months

Wednesday 24th April
quotequote all
oyster said:
Feels like an absolute age that I scarified and overseeded and still there's almost nothing to show for it.
This is SE England.

Normally by mid-April I'd have lush stripes on the lawn by now. It's late April and it's still mud and seeds - and the forecast is for even colder the next few days!
Mine too. Put down grass seed a few weeks ago, but it's done very little.

Rebew

149 posts

93 months

I've just popped home in my lunch break to cut the lawn as we have had a couple of dry breezy days here in the southwest.

Two small lawns, the rear is about 5x10 metres and the front about 5x5 metres. The rear was fine but when I started up the Flymo on the front it went pop! Sparks and smoke from the handle so its probably dead although I will open it up later on to have a poke around.

What is everyone's thoughts on small Flymo type mowers. I don't need anything fancy due to the size of the lawn and cordless isn't a huge issue as I have sockets front and back. Are Flymo still good or is it worth looking elsewhere?

Stedman

7,225 posts

193 months

A quick question for those who are more experienced.

I timed my application of autumn and winter fertilisers so that they;d be dropping off around 4 weeks after wen I thought i'd be seeding. Here I am. now, having overseeded on the 26th of April. My lawn wont have had anything from the 3rd of March until 24th May eek

I don't want to apply something that the new seeds wont be able to cope with or will simply be outgrown by the current grass. Am I over thinking this or not? If no, where do I go form here.

ukwill

8,915 posts

208 months

Yesterday (11:42)
quotequote all
Stedman said:
A quick question for those who are more experienced.

I timed my application of autumn and winter fertilisers so that they;d be dropping off around 4 weeks after wen I thought i'd be seeding. Here I am. now, having overseeded on the 26th of April. My lawn wont have had anything from the 3rd of March until 24th May eek

I don't want to apply something that the new seeds wont be able to cope with or will simply be outgrown by the current grass. Am I over thinking this or not? If no, where do I go form here.
Last spring when I did a deep scarify + overseeding I used this:

https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/starter-lawn-feed

Worked a treat.


ukwill

8,915 posts

208 months

Yesterday (11:45)
quotequote all

Looks like this weekend is going to be the perfect time to get all those delayed lawn jobs done.

Finally!

dhutch

14,390 posts

198 months

Yesterday (13:00)
quotequote all
Stedman said:
A quick question for those who are more experienced.

I timed my application of autumn and winter fertilisers so that they;d be dropping off around 4 weeks after wen I thought i'd be seeding. Here I am. now, having overseeded on the 26th of April. My lawn wont have had anything from the 3rd of March until 24th May eek

I don't want to apply something that the new seeds wont be able to cope with or will simply be outgrown by the current grass. Am I over thinking this or not? If no, where do I go form here.
I think your overthinking it. It's quite common to put feed down at the same time as overseeding.

If you think the lawn wants some feed, add some slow release summer feed or whatever you usually use?

The Three D Mucketeer

5,861 posts

228 months

Yesterday (13:22)
quotequote all
Guaranteed way to stop it raining ....Put down lawn fertiliser .... Now I want it washed in , we just get cold dry winds frown .

brums evil twin

301 posts

237 months

Yesterday (14:12)
quotequote all
I have a couple of patches of ugly grass - there will be a proper name for it I am sure

Wanted to ideas of what to do with it - its not the end of the world and I don't fancy ripping it up


brums evil twin

301 posts

237 months

Yesterday (14:13)
quotequote all
and further out

brums evil twin

301 posts

237 months

Yesterday (14:15)
quotequote all
could not get a good photo that shows it off well.

But thick and broad leaf grass that is just very different to everything else.

The lawn as per earlier posts has had a good power rake, overseed, fertilised and we are getting some nice new growth.

But with this section - I guess rip up as an extreme or get in with the bladed scarifier to thin out???

The Three D Mucketeer

5,861 posts

228 months

Yesterday (14:56)
quotequote all
When the weather permits cut your grass lower and verti cut .... In general broad leaved grasses die if cut at less than 8-10 mm , whereas fine leaved fescues will tolerate being cut at 4-6 mm .... obviously you need to be using a decent cylinder mower to achieve those cutting heights.

98elise

26,632 posts

162 months

Yesterday (16:38)
quotequote all
I'm trying to sort out my lawn this year so bought an electric rake/scarifier.

I've had a first pass with the scarifier on the first setting where it just started cutting the the earth. That got a lot of moss and thatch out, and was scoring the earth below. Is that ok for overseeding and levelling with topsoil, or should I do it on a lower level for seeding rather than moss removal?


brums evil twin

301 posts

237 months

Yesterday (16:40)
quotequote all
not got a good cylinder mower yet - looking at the moment

my little Honda does not get down that low - I have a cheap electric rake/scarifier - that has the solid blades - so will give it a good few passes over the broadleaf then

The Three D Mucketeer

5,861 posts

228 months

Yesterday (18:34)
quotequote all
98elise said:
I'm trying to sort out my lawn this year so bought an electric rake/scarifier.

I've had a first pass with the scarifier on the first setting where it just started cutting the the earth. That got a lot of moss and thatch out, and was scoring the earth below. Is that ok for overseeding and levelling with topsoil, or should I do it on a lower level for seeding rather than moss removal?
That sounds OK to me... I think the weather is the most important thing... In the North west it's still cold and now dry , the ground is baking hard all of a sudden. I think you need warm humid days with warm nights to get a decent germination , covering with germination sheets might also help , if the area is not too large.