2021 Lawn thread
Discussion
Candellara said:
What's the chances of the seed that's already down germinating as the soil warms up - even tough it's been a good few weeks and we've had frosts etc?
I don't think it is that fussy. I imagine the seed is stored in fairly ropy conditions in warehouses and places prior to being distributed to retailers anyway. It might germinate slower or it might take longer to begin germinating, but I don't think the seed is gubbed if it can't germinate as soon as it is in the ground. I've been doing a lot of work on the lawn at the front of our house. It is the standard new build s
te, sewn into a thin cap of soil over heavy clay, so the existing grass never really put down roots to any great depth. I bought a cheap hollow-tine aerator, but had to sharpen the ends of the tines to actually get the thing to consistently cut into the soil and spit out the previous cores. I made a topdressing mix of play pit sand (I see sharp sand cited a lot online, but with a heavy emphasis on using the finer-grained stuff, and play pit sand works just as well apparently) mixed in with a generic compost. I went with two parts compost to seven parts sand to up the organic matter content slightly, and mixed my grass seed into this. Once mixed I ended up with a consistent grey topdressing with the seeds running through it.
I'm using Johnson 'tuff grass' which is a mix of Perennial Ryegrass and Strong Creeping Red Fescue. I don't think it is ever going to look that nice as the red fescue has really fine leaves, but the stuff is coming up at around the ten day mark in a lot of areas.
My issues are that the existing grass, though very patchy, is still growing quite keenly. I also want to feed everything, but I'm holding out until the four week mark after seeding. It is still getting down to low single digits at night here (central Scotland) but the ground is bone dry. I can also only water it using a watering can in short bursts, which apparently encourages shallower roots.
I did quite an aggressive cut, scarify and rake today and then applied some lawn fertiliser (18-3-8). I want to find a good weedkiller (some moss and creeping buttercup) before overseeding.
Can anyone recommend a granular roll in weedkiller that I won't have to wait an age before overseeding? How long should I wait before applying it and then how long again for overseeding? Ideally I'd want to have seed down towards the end of May.
Can anyone recommend a granular roll in weedkiller that I won't have to wait an age before overseeding? How long should I wait before applying it and then how long again for overseeding? Ideally I'd want to have seed down towards the end of May.
I have just moved into a new build with a very small lawn circa 60sqm). I was thinking with such a manageable space we could create something quite decent. Then I found we have an infestation of leatherjackets. I have ordered some Nemasys leatherjacket killer, but have heard mixed reviews about it's effectiveness.
DanGibsonRacing said:
I have just moved into a new build with a very small lawn circa 60sqm). I was thinking with such a manageable space we could create something quite decent. Then I found we have an infestation of leatherjackets. I have ordered some Nemasys leatherjacket killer, but have heard mixed reviews about it's effectiveness.
Check soil temperature. We're still getting a lot of frosts here, hail today.Remember, it's all about Ground temperature, not air temperature...
https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/lawn-diary/may-lawn-ca...
https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/lawn-diary/may-lawn-ca...
r44flyer said:
I missed an episode of Gardener's World earlier in April that had a part on lawns and lawn machinery. Not long but interesting enough. Apparently there's another one with lawn related material coming on Fri 7th May, if anyone wishes to tune in.
Oh nice. Working through them on iPlayer. r44flyer said:
I missed an episode of Gardener's World earlier in April that had a part on lawns and lawn machinery. Not long but interesting enough. Apparently there's another one with lawn related material coming on Fri 7th May, if anyone wishes to tune in.
I am surprised, Monty and the BBC are on their eco-drive, banging on about leaving your grass long so that the 
RichB said:
I am surprised, Monty and the BBC are on their eco-drive, banging on about leaving your grass long so that the weeds wild flowers grow to feed the bees. Not a week goes past on that program without someone mentioning that they've not cut their grass...
I just watched the first of said episodes and the lawn bit was immediately followed by Monty saying exactly the same thing... again. 
We get it, you're not a lawn fan! It's almost passive aggressive now.I do everything else to encourage wildlife, but I like a lawn. Not to mention we need one for football, picnics, camping...
Here's the lawn diary for May https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/lawn-diary
r44flyer said:
I just watched the first of said episodes and the lawn bit was immediately followed by Monty saying exactly the same thing... again. We get it, you're not a lawn fan! It's almost passive aggressive now.
I do everything else to encourage wildlife, but I like a lawn. Not to mention we need one for football, picnics, camping...
When we bought our house 4 years ago, the garden was in a bit of a state, mainly shrubs that had been pruned into blobs and grass that was mostly moss. It was pretty well devoid of wildlife. Since then we've worked hard to build long flower borders, allowed the shrubs to take on a more natural form so they flower, and returfed the lawns and looked after the grass. We get it, you're not a lawn fan! It's almost passive aggressive now.I do everything else to encourage wildlife, but I like a lawn. Not to mention we need one for football, picnics, camping...
Two notable things: i) there are far more, what I call, garden birds now, not just crows and pigeons and ii) when we moved in it was the first time in my life I had ever seen a tick! We would get two or three on our legs each year but slowly they have disappeared. This year we have seen, or been bitten by, none. Maybe it's the garden birds eating the ticks, maybe it's because the garden is now cared for they have disappeared, but either way I prefer that to a dose of lyme disease.
Mowing my excuse for a lawn this morning and discovering a couple of new foot square burnt patches from dog pee and it's made my mind up to astro turf my lawn next year.
It's a waste of money trying to have a nice lawn when it's only small and you have a dog and toddler.
My parents plastic paradise looks so much better and hasn't cost them anything since I put it down.
It's a waste of money trying to have a nice lawn when it's only small and you have a dog and toddler.
My parents plastic paradise looks so much better and hasn't cost them anything since I put it down.
ChocolateFrog said:
Mowing my excuse for a lawn this morning and discovering a couple of new foot square burnt patches from dog pee and it's made my mind up to astro turf my lawn next year.
It's a waste of money trying to have a nice lawn when it's only small and you have a dog and toddler.
My parents plastic paradise looks so much better and hasn't cost them anything since I put it down.
Don't do it.It's a waste of money trying to have a nice lawn when it's only small and you have a dog and toddler.
My parents plastic paradise looks so much better and hasn't cost them anything since I put it down.
Train the dog to pee on a patch of astroturf instead.
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