2020 Lawn thread

[ChocolateFrog]

Got a bit lazy and didn't cut the grass for a couple of weeks, 17/18 days at most.

It was more than a foot high in places, ridiculous growth.



Shorten the Flymo's life considerably. Hopefully it'll regreen fairly quickly.

[AJB88]

AJB88 said:

Last ditch attempt with this, the dogs have created this patch over winter. I tried to reseed it a few weeks ago but as soon as I did we had a proper down poor and it got destroyed again.

Cleared the area two days ago, pitch forked holes in it and then spread compost, seed and then compost again. Rollered it using the mower's roller and have been gently watering it.






If it fails ago it will end up slabbed over, unfortunately its right outside the patio door so gets all the foot traffic for dogs/kids combined with the sun not really hitting it.

This now looks like this... Last night shift tonight so will take the top off it tomorrow.



Got a few other patches on the lawn that need attention now as well.

[dhutch]

AJB88 said:

This now looks like this... Last night shift tonight so will take the top off it tomorrow.



Got a few other patches on the lawn that need attention now as well.

Looks promissing!

[AJB88]

I reckon its thin as hell underneath but tomorrow will tell. then will over seed it again.

[wjwren]

Re the strimmer and zip ties - I take the strimmer line casette thing out and there are 2 holes, just put a zip tie on each side. Cut the end with a knife as it wont cut itself off as a lot thicker than strimmer line. Ive been using it for a couple months now and it's great. I see no difference in the performance. i saw it on youtube. Great idea as the strimmer lines are pricey.

[RC1807]

wjwren said:

Re the strimmer and zip ties - I take the strimmer line casette thing out and there are 2 holes, just put a zip tie on each side. Cut the end with a knife as it wont cut itself off as a lot thicker than strimmer line. Ive been using it for a couple months now and it's great. I see no difference in the performance. i saw it on youtube. Great idea as the strimmer lines are pricey.

That's a good tip. I will try that.
As soon as I start my strummer the cord goes "ping" and I have to mess about to feed it out again. It's become so annoying that I don't stim the edges any more as it slimy takes too long, and it's become quicker to do it by hand!

[dhutch]

You guys must be using different cable ties (or strimmer line) to me if they are tougher than the cutter or 3mm strimmer line. It amazes me what I can go through with the autohead on! Obviously if you are doing some heavy duty strimming and want to eat 1" dia brambles and small gorse plants without anything else to hit you switch to the steel tri blade.

[biggiles]

RC1807 said:

wjwren said:

Re the strimmer and zip ties - I take the strimmer line casette thing out and there are 2 holes, just put a zip tie on each side. Cut the end with a knife as it wont cut itself off as a lot thicker than strimmer line. Ive been using it for a couple months now and it's great. I see no difference in the performance. i saw it on youtube. Great idea as the strimmer lines are pricey.

That's a good tip. I will try that.
As soon as I start my strummer the cord goes "ping" and I have to mess about to feed it out again. It's become so annoying that I don't stim the edges any more as it slimy takes too long, and it's become quicker to do it by hand!

That shouldn't happen- it shouldn't go ping, and it should feed smoothly when you bump the head. Is it old line? It gets brittle with age (some people advocate keeping the reel in water to keep it soft). What's the diameter? Too thick for the strimmer?

For my Makita cordless, 2mm line seems to be the sweet spot and it rarely breaks. For my big Echo I have >3mm line.

[dhutch]

stevensdrs said:

This was a new small lawn replaced last year and it was all green until I put Aftercut on it. What the hell has happened?. Will these areas come back or will I have to seed them?

There are a range of products under the 'Aftercut' brand, do you know which you applied? Could the effect areas perhaps have too heavier a dose?

[stevensdrs]

dhutch said:

stevensdrs said:

This was a new small lawn replaced last year and it was all green until I put Aftercut on it. What the hell has happened?. Will these areas come back or will I have to seed them?

There are a range of products under the 'Aftercut' brand, do you know which you applied? Could the effect areas perhaps have too heavier a dose?

It was the all in one triple action stuff. I have used it before and never had this result. Usually you get some browning where it has killed the moss but this time there were no moss patches to speak of. I just used the same dosage I always use and my other lawn which I did at the same time didn't have this reaction. I wonder if having a few days sunshine may have caused burning even though I watered every night. It's disappointing as I had just about got it to a good standard and now it looks like I am back to square one with it.

[wjwren]

[Cl4rkyPH]

wjwren said:

That’s class that. Thanks for the tip.

[Harry Flashman]

That is such a good idea - thanks!

[ChocolateFrog]

There's something wrong with my strimmer, it autofed a whole reel out in about half an hour cutting grass. Used some thicker line and manually adjust it but it still breaks off quickly so going to try the cable tie method.

[Cl4rkyPH]

Hi all

Before I chuck (summer) fertiliser down, can someone please confirm for me that this is grass in need of it, and something else isn’t needed?

I used a 4-in-1 fertiliser in April and the grass did initially improve, but since it’s been very hot it seems to have turned to this.

I’ve got some areas which are really strong and some areas that just won’t grow.

The bad patches literally don’t grow at all, they stay this length/colour. The mower doesn’t even touch it.

I should add I’ve recently reseeded and water regularly.

Could it be impacted soil?

Good area:



Bad area:

[langtounlad]

You might have ant activity under there which kills / affects the roots of the grass and thereby its vibrancy. Ask me how I know. If anyone has a remedy for ant nests in sandy soiled lawns, I'm all ears.

[RichB]

I have a similar issue and have assumed it was uneven application of the fertiliser back in late April. Perhaps not?

[Cl4rkyPH]

langtounlad said:

You might have ant activity under there which kills / affects the roots of the grass and thereby its vibrancy. Ask me how I know. If anyone has a remedy for ant nests in sandy soiled lawns, I'm all ears.

We’ve done a lot of digging up lately for various reasons in other areas of the garden and there’s been little to no ants.

Just to add our soil is quite rocky and a bit clay-like, but not sandy.

[Cl4rkyPH]

RichB said:

I have a similar issue and have assumed it was uneven application of the fertiliser back in late April. Perhaps not?

I thought the same thing! I was pretty confident I covered the whole garden, but yes I agree, the lines do seem to suggest that those specific rows didn’t get decent enough application.

I’m not sure and I want to be!

[dhutch]

Could it be thatch?