2020 Lawn thread

[biggiles]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

I always cover the seed with a thin layer of cheap compost, to help keep moisture and warmth in.

I've noticed the folks across the pond (on youtube e.g. Camarata) often seem to cover new seed with straw around the area, which does a similar thing. Seems a simple enough idea, to keep in some heat and moisture. And presumably after the first mow it breaks down to give some nutrition. I'm going to try that this season as I have some mole damage patches to sort out.

[C Lee Farquar]

MrChips said:

From what I’ve been reading that does seem to be the only way of having decent success.

Can anyone recommend timings if I did want to glyphosate the whole lawn?
I have two cats who regularly eat the grass so think I’d need to put down the glyphosate... then a membrane over the whole thing for at least two weeks?

Google is a little bit unclear as to whether I could then rake and scarify a decent amount of it up and just reseed.... or do I need to hire a turf cutter to make sure the roots are all gone?

I’m trying to work out if I could do this now or better to wait!

My experience is largely agricultural. The spray will work if the grass is growing, probably rather slowly. I'd do it now and repeat when you get some regrowth.

You need to be careful you don't cut and spread the rhizomes around, they'll grow again if the spay hasn't killed them.

For cattle we keep them off for a week, no idea with cats, sorry.

I use Gallup 360 in a knapsack sprayer, but I think they are all pretty much the same active ingredients.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

I have a soil thermometer somewhere, and admittedly I haven’t used it yet. I’ll see if I can dig it out today and see what it says. I’m in Woking, so it’ll give a reasonable idea for Londoners.

I found it, put a new battery in it, and stuck it in my lawn in a couple of places.

It says 10°C.

That’s generally regarded as the minimum for grass seed germination. Personally I’d wait another week or two; in fact my plan is to do some seeding around the first week in April. But if you’re itching to get seeding, it should germinate, albeit slowly.

[morfmedia]

Cheers Mike. Will do a couple of test patches that I had killed off and see how it goes.

Gonna try covering one or two in clear plastic like cling film and see if that helps germination

[MrChips]

C Lee Farquar said:

My experience is largely agricultural. The spray will work if the grass is growing, probably rather slowly. I'd do it now and repeat when you get some regrowth.

You need to be careful you don't cut and spread the rhizomes around, they'll grow again if the spay hasn't killed them.

For cattle we keep them off for a week, no idea with cats, sorry.

I use Gallup 360 in a knapsack sprayer, but I think they are all pretty much the same active ingredients.

Cheers.. if i were to do this asap... can i cover the lawn with weed matting to prevent the cats going on it? Concerned that the glyphosate works best when things are growing, but I need to balance that with preventing the cats from eating it!

So basic plan is:
Glyphosate in the next week and cover
Uncover in 2 weeks and retreat any areas of concern, then recover
After a further 2-3 weeks... then either

A) Scarify, rake, scarify, rake etc until there's a decent amount of soil visible. Then seed and topdress
or
B) Rent a turf cutter and pull it all up, re-level then either seed or turf

I suspect option B is a whole lot more work than i have time to do, but would be the better result?

[Legend83]

We had a new lawn laid in 2018 and it did ok last year. Over this winter it has got a bit thin and muddy so I'm looking to get it back to it's former glory this summer if I can....but being no expert, anyone know what is going on here? Just bare patches that need seeding or will this need new turf work.

20200307_131652 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr

20200307_131731 by Ed Reeve, on Flickr

It is also a very lumpy lawn where it has settled over time from 3 children running amok. Would it be sufficient to top dress and brush in to even it out or would a roller be preferable?

[Dr Murdoch]

I sprayed ferrous sulphate yesterday, parts of the lawn will need scarifying (moss) and parts have been repaired using fresh lawn soil (two old tree trunks removed and the holes filled in).

So two questions.

1. The ferrous sulphate made contact with the new soil, does this effect when I should seed this areas?
2. How long should I leave it until scarifying and removing the moss in the other parts?

[C Lee Farquar]

MrChips said:

Cheers.. if i were to do this asap... can i cover the lawn with weed matting to prevent the cats going on it? Concerned that the glyphosate works best when things are growing, but I need to balance that with preventing the cats from eating it!

So basic plan is:
Glyphosate in the next week and cover
Uncover in 2 weeks and retreat any areas of concern, then recover
After a further 2-3 weeks... then either

A) Scarify, rake, scarify, rake etc until there's a decent amount of soil visible. Then seed and topdress
or
B) Rent a turf cutter and pull it all up, re-level then either seed or turf

I suspect option B is a whole lot more work than i have time to do, but would be the better result?

I can't really say, I've only dealt with big areas sat on a tractor.

[No_Idea]

Used this screwfix scarifier/raker today and I must say it works brilliantly and at a great price too.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wr6002-1500-32cm-raker-...

[mikees]

No_Idea said:

Used this screwfix scarifier/raker today and I must say it works brilliantly and at a great price too.

https://www.screwfix.com/p/wr6002-1500-32cm-raker-...

How big is the lawn? I have always rented one but this seems to get great reviews.

[8-P]

Gardeners World is back tonight. No doubt a lawn feature will be along fairly soon too. Monty isnt a big fan of classic lawns, but always does features on patching, seeding etc

This looks like hard work, mind you plenty of time on hands for the garden now

https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the...

[MrChips]

I’m gonna crack on with killing mine tomorrrow due to the couchgrass. I’ll dig up a bit first to check how deep the roots go so I can form a plan. I suspect I’ll go all in and rent a turf cutter to remove and then relay.

[dhutch]

8-P said:

Gardeners World is back tonight.

Winner

[snowman99]

Does this need fertiliser or has it had too much?
Removed turf from old lawn last year and reseeded. Some parts are a lot greener than others. I used a new grass / seed fertiliser so not sure if I over or under did it?

It’s had plenty of rain and light.

[paulrockliffe]

Looks like mine, I gave it it's first cut yesterday and most of that yellowing has gone. Looks like it'll grow out and not be a problem, but I'd like to know what it is. Lawn looks really good really considering the time of year.

[the cueball]

New to all this, but am I correct in thinking that I need to wait until the frosty mornings have stopped before scarifying and reseeding?

[dhutch]

the cueball said:

New to all this, but am I correct in thinking that I need to wait until the frosty mornings have stopped before scarifying and reseeding?

That's my understanding.

Mid-late April is about right, air temp above 13deg? So only a few weeks.

Obviously you don't want to waste the seed, so you're trying to pick a time when it will germinate and the grow well. Warm enough the cold won't get it, without being too try and typically the areas are impractical to water well.

Raking it out too early leaves an unsightly lawn and risks weeds taking hold.

Daniel

[RichB]

the cueball said:

New to all this, but am I correct in thinking that I need to wait until the frosty mornings have stopped before scarifying and reseeding?

It's the soil temp that is more important than the air temp as Dr Mike Oxgreen said earlier. Scan back a page in the thread and it is all there. That said night time air temps are forecast to be 2degC this week so blooming cold!

[the cueball]

Cheers... I’ll stand down for another week!

[8-P]

Still too cold to scarify or seed imho
.
I mowed my lawn 2 weeks ago and will do so today, so in my mind it isnt growing fast enough yet.

Still, Ill have so much time on my hands this summer I could rotavate it, level it, seed it, border it etc etc and still have time to build a patio, deck gazebo and more so no rush!