2021 Lawn thread
Discussion
Thought I'd contribute!
Disclaimer - First lawn I have owned, moved in late last year. Made lots of mistakes I'm sure.
The lawn looked green and luscious but on closer inspection it was 50% moss and really uneven. I bought a new petrol Mountfield with a roller and was hoping for those coveted stripes, but unfortunately as the lawn was so bumpy I had to have it on the highest setting to avoid it grounding out. It also meant lots of patches were quite long where they were in channels.
I don't have a before picture but stage 1 was scarify the hell out of it. I borrowed an electric scarifier which was great but took a lot of time. I went mental on it, so had an entire garden waste bin compressed to the max and about 10 black bags of moss/grass at the end of it.
I then bought 12 bags of top soil in an attempt to somewhat level the lawn - I wish I had bought even more and rented a roller in hindsight though. Once down, I applied 6 boxes of Home Bargain's finest £3.50 a box grass seed:
I also dug down a bit where some tree roots had pushed up the grass in an attempt to level it off a bit:
Here is how it looked a couple of days after seed and soil was down, I bought a sprinkler and have used it most days for a bit if dry. Mixed opinions online but my dad did his lawn at the same time, without the sprinkler and mine has grown faster.
April:
End of April:
Pretty pleased with the progress. The moss is pretty much gone now, but I have obtained a fair amount of weeds so that will be next on the list.
In terms of level, the lawnmower can now go to level 3 comfortably (5 - Max before) and I even tried it on level 2, grounded out in a few spots still but way better.
Suggestions for May onwards maintenance appreciated! Want to keep it growing healthily.
Disclaimer - First lawn I have owned, moved in late last year. Made lots of mistakes I'm sure.
The lawn looked green and luscious but on closer inspection it was 50% moss and really uneven. I bought a new petrol Mountfield with a roller and was hoping for those coveted stripes, but unfortunately as the lawn was so bumpy I had to have it on the highest setting to avoid it grounding out. It also meant lots of patches were quite long where they were in channels.
I don't have a before picture but stage 1 was scarify the hell out of it. I borrowed an electric scarifier which was great but took a lot of time. I went mental on it, so had an entire garden waste bin compressed to the max and about 10 black bags of moss/grass at the end of it.
I then bought 12 bags of top soil in an attempt to somewhat level the lawn - I wish I had bought even more and rented a roller in hindsight though. Once down, I applied 6 boxes of Home Bargain's finest £3.50 a box grass seed:
I also dug down a bit where some tree roots had pushed up the grass in an attempt to level it off a bit:
Here is how it looked a couple of days after seed and soil was down, I bought a sprinkler and have used it most days for a bit if dry. Mixed opinions online but my dad did his lawn at the same time, without the sprinkler and mine has grown faster.
April:
End of April:
Pretty pleased with the progress. The moss is pretty much gone now, but I have obtained a fair amount of weeds so that will be next on the list.
In terms of level, the lawnmower can now go to level 3 comfortably (5 - Max before) and I even tried it on level 2, grounded out in a few spots still but way better.
Suggestions for May onwards maintenance appreciated! Want to keep it growing healthily.
r44flyer said:
Chitting works well, I've done it before and will do it again. Takes days off the process of wetting the seed in the ground, especially if the temperature is less than favourable.
Keeping it in damp soil works but putting the seed in a sack and submerging in water will also work fine. Keep it in a warm place and keep and eye on it and when it starts to germinate (tiny white sprout) put it in the ground asap. That could be 24-72 hours depending on the seed. Mix with a dry carrier of soil or sand to aid spreading without clumping. Covering with even a light spread of soil and rolling or tramping it in will aid soil contact and help keep the birds from finding it all. Keep it damp! Time it with the weather.
Perfect thanks for the info. Keeping it in damp soil works but putting the seed in a sack and submerging in water will also work fine. Keep it in a warm place and keep and eye on it and when it starts to germinate (tiny white sprout) put it in the ground asap. That could be 24-72 hours depending on the seed. Mix with a dry carrier of soil or sand to aid spreading without clumping. Covering with even a light spread of soil and rolling or tramping it in will aid soil contact and help keep the birds from finding it all. Keep it damp! Time it with the weather.
Found this one on YouTube which looks quite a decent guide on chitting lawn seed - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJUCPa-8dEw
My lawn is struggling (and so am I) and I really don't know what do do now.
It's well watered, gets plenty of sun, been scarified, aerated and fed and I keep it trimmed to a consistent level. We don't have kids so it's not overused but it's simply now growing or at least growing very slowly except in one or two patches. It looks nice and green but it really looks as if it's been well worn and not recovered.
Any suggestions?
Yeah, as above... it's not warm enough yet, South East just getting there maybe but we're weeks behind where we should be, countrywide.
Once it's warmed up and if you still think you have issues a few weeks after that, ask again. It sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing though!
Once it's warmed up and if you still think you have issues a few weeks after that, ask again. It sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing though!
joropug said:
Thought I'd contribute...
Cracking job. Great improvement! Keep cutting it to encourage it to thicken, and no harm in adding more seed if you think it needs it.Regarding the bumpiness, get a wide lute and slowly add soil to the low bits with some seed. You might only be able to do this a couple of times a year rather than burying the grass with a thick layer. Very high bits would need soil removing from under the grass, ie. dig out a turve, remove soil, replace turve. Eventually you'll be able to topdress and level the whole lawn at once and it'll be much smoother.
r44flyer said:
Yeah, as above... it's not warm enough yet, South East just getting there maybe but we're weeks behind where we should be, countrywide.
Once it's warmed up and if you still think you have issues a few weeks after that, ask again. It sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing though!
I'm up in Northern Ireland and it's been bloody freezing up until the last week or so . Lawn didn't look too bad but I sowed seed away back at the beginning of April when we had mild week over 10 degrees. Some the seed is only starting to germinate now which I can deal with.Once it's warmed up and if you still think you have issues a few weeks after that, ask again. It sounds like you're doing everything you're supposed to be doing though!
Problem with sowing seed and the temperature dropping or too much moisture is the seed can just rot as has happened in previous years.
I've decided to be very lazy with mine, and will attempt to get rid of the weeds and moss by nothing more than regular mowing and chemicals.
Already killed off most of the broad-leaf weeds with some MCPA, and thrown down a generic moss killer and lawn fertiliser. The proper way would be to scarify, reseed, etc but I can't be arsed with that and my hosepipe isn't long enough to reach to the front either. So far the strategy appears to be working, but there is a lot of moss to get rid of and a lot of black patches where the moss has started to die off. Looks like it'll take most of the year but we should get there in the end.
The back lawn, which was laid as turf at the back end of March, is looking amazing though. Now it's filled out properly and had a good feed and water it's nearly perfect.
Already killed off most of the broad-leaf weeds with some MCPA, and thrown down a generic moss killer and lawn fertiliser. The proper way would be to scarify, reseed, etc but I can't be arsed with that and my hosepipe isn't long enough to reach to the front either. So far the strategy appears to be working, but there is a lot of moss to get rid of and a lot of black patches where the moss has started to die off. Looks like it'll take most of the year but we should get there in the end.
The back lawn, which was laid as turf at the back end of March, is looking amazing though. Now it's filled out properly and had a good feed and water it's nearly perfect.
NapierDeltic said:
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.
We have lift off. Slightly warmer weather and a deluge of rain - and i've got grass coming through everywhere :-) Lawn is starting to look greatI'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.
Condi said:
When people overseed a lawn, do they then leave it for 3 or 4 weeks to let the grass bed in, as you would with a new lawn, or just mow it weekly despite the risk of damaging the young seedlings.
I do put off mowing a little longer but it's not hugely important on an already established lawn as the seedlings are protected somewhat. I might give it 7-10 days before I can bear it no longer! On sparse patches it's different, be more gentle. This is another reason I chit the seed before sowing, because it's already growing when you sow it so the rest of the grass isn't too much of a jungle when I do cut it. Likewise adding a light topdressing and rolling it, to help anchor the seed.
I have a manual cylinder mower as well so I cut with that as it has no 'vacuuming' effect. Not everyone has more than one mower obviously. With any mower don't turn it on the spot and 'scrub' the seed with the roller. It'll be well rooted in no time in perfect conditions.
Edited by r44flyer on Saturday 8th May 21:05
Please recommend me a lawn seed for overseeding.
We live in a new build, built in 2017, and the lawn is looking very sparse & grows very slowly. Not sure what type it is, as we are the second owners.
The soils is mainly clay, the lawn is mostly sunny (in fact the patches of lawn most in need of over seeding are sunny all day, there are a couple of shaded patches though) and we have 2 toddlers - so it is well trodden
Thanks
We live in a new build, built in 2017, and the lawn is looking very sparse & grows very slowly. Not sure what type it is, as we are the second owners.
The soils is mainly clay, the lawn is mostly sunny (in fact the patches of lawn most in need of over seeding are sunny all day, there are a couple of shaded patches though) and we have 2 toddlers - so it is well trodden
Thanks
Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff