2015 Lawn thread
Discussion
Miocene said:
I'd recommend blueberry bushes... in the right conditions you can get over 2kg per bush per year. Clearly they all come in one go, but they're pretty good. Ours were excellent until the mil mistook them for something else and trimmed them from about 4ft to 18inches tall...
Will have a look at some blueberry bushes, I'm a rather keen blueberry fan.Currently have some Strwaberries, Gooseberrys, Long Berries, Rhubarb, Blackcurrents and Raspberries in a little area I needed to box off, all doing well apart from 4/6 raspberrie canes that haven't produced a leaf of any sorts yet. Will give them until this time next year.
Right then..
Moved in last year, lawn in a s
t state. Small amount of moss, and about 30% rosette weeds. Treated with evergreen autumn job in September, and then evergreen complete 4 in 1 3 weeks ago. Aerated the boggy bit with a garden fork.
A lot of the weeds have died, but not the devils own dandelions. They just mock me. I've just put patch magic over all the ex moss / bad bits just now (cunning plan that the week of rain will water it for me).. But, when can i have at those bloody dandelions with the liquid weedkiller? Can i do it late may, or do i have to wait longer?
Moved in last year, lawn in a s
t state. Small amount of moss, and about 30% rosette weeds. Treated with evergreen autumn job in September, and then evergreen complete 4 in 1 3 weeks ago. Aerated the boggy bit with a garden fork.A lot of the weeds have died, but not the devils own dandelions. They just mock me. I've just put patch magic over all the ex moss / bad bits just now (cunning plan that the week of rain will water it for me).. But, when can i have at those bloody dandelions with the liquid weedkiller? Can i do it late may, or do i have to wait longer?
Some Gump said:
But, when can i have at those bloody dandelions with the liquid weedkiller? Can i do it late may, or do i have to wait longer?
Whenever you like.Best thing though is to get your lawn as deep and thick as possible, which will prevent them from growing, so plenty of weed n' feed. If you've only got a handful you can try to dig them out but sometimes the root goes 2 ft deep so it can get messy.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
popeyewhite said:
Hollow tine aerators do not penetrate as deep as a fork, and you don't work the soil as loose with them.
A hollow tine aerator will penetrate nearly as deeply, and don't forget that using a fork actually causes compaction because the solid tines squeeze the soil out of the way instead of removing it.I don't have a significant weed problem, and it doesn't look like the OP does either. Far easier to smash up the cores, and even if you do end up with weeds they're easily treatable.
Five hours' work to aerate that lawn? Do me a favour - life's too short!
As has been noted by others it did the lawn quite quickly, say about 30 minutes. It's quite unwieldy, you need to slow it down over any small declines and over slightly concave areas the depth of the tine penetration is severely decreased. However it does the job quite well, and removes lots of plugs of soil allowing for air ingress and better drainage/grass root growth. The one drawback is - despite what people and the manual says - it rarely removed soil plugs greater than 1.5-2" in length. Compared to forking the lawn properly to a depth of 5-6", and levering the soil for far greater aeration. I don't give the argument that the tines compress the soil during forking much creedence given how thin they are and the greater depth and volume of soil they'll lift over the machine. If I had a lawn bigger than 30x30m I think I'd recommend the machine, it's actually quite effective. For the average lawn one should man the fork up and do it manually for best results - IMO.
I spot-treat dandelions and other rosette-shaped weeds by manually sprinkling some granules of weed-and-feed into the rosette. Works well if you've only got a few to treat, and causes less collateral damage - I tend to find that overspray from a liquid weed killer makes the surrounding grass go a bit yellow.
Can I have a bit of advice chaps?
My parents lawn is a complete mess, I offered to sort it out last year, but each time I go round I realise I'm pissing in the wind!
I scarified it in October, then left it over winter, on my return and looking at it more closely, I would say 50% of the green is a mixture of moss/weeds/yorkshire fogg and dandylions. The levels are atrocious, lots of diverts and is generally is all over the place level wise.
The lawn is approx 50m2.
Do I persevere, weed / moss killer + feed then seed?
or
cover the lot in topsoil, about 3 tons provides a depth of about 2cmm, then turf? Cost? about £300 - £400 and a lot of sweat and blisters? At least this way by mid to late may it would be looking pretty good!
Thoughts?
My parents lawn is a complete mess, I offered to sort it out last year, but each time I go round I realise I'm pissing in the wind!
I scarified it in October, then left it over winter, on my return and looking at it more closely, I would say 50% of the green is a mixture of moss/weeds/yorkshire fogg and dandylions. The levels are atrocious, lots of diverts and is generally is all over the place level wise.
The lawn is approx 50m2.
Do I persevere, weed / moss killer + feed then seed?
or
cover the lot in topsoil, about 3 tons provides a depth of about 2cmm, then turf? Cost? about £300 - £400 and a lot of sweat and blisters? At least this way by mid to late may it would be looking pretty good!
Thoughts?
I inherited a neglected lawn when we moved in five years ago. It was mostly coarse grass, with LOTS of Yorkshire Fog.
In hindsight I should have nuked it all with glyphosate and either seeded or re-turfed it. But instead I've been taking the long-and-slow approach of feeding, very regular mowing, and annual scarifying and overseeding in autumn. It is looking okay these days, and I've successfully introduced a decent amount of fine grass, but there is still the odd bit of Yorkshire Fog in places.
It depends if you want a quick result, or if like me you were willing to make it a longer-term project. If you want a quick result I'd nuke it, add topsoil to level it and re-turf.
Incidentally, Yorkshire Fog in smaller amounts can gradually be eradicated by slashing with a Stanley knife. It is also weakened by raking or scarifying. It doesn't like being mowed closely, either.
In hindsight I should have nuked it all with glyphosate and either seeded or re-turfed it. But instead I've been taking the long-and-slow approach of feeding, very regular mowing, and annual scarifying and overseeding in autumn. It is looking okay these days, and I've successfully introduced a decent amount of fine grass, but there is still the odd bit of Yorkshire Fog in places.
It depends if you want a quick result, or if like me you were willing to make it a longer-term project. If you want a quick result I'd nuke it, add topsoil to level it and re-turf.
Incidentally, Yorkshire Fog in smaller amounts can gradually be eradicated by slashing with a Stanley knife. It is also weakened by raking or scarifying. It doesn't like being mowed closely, either.
Moss Killer. Get some ferrous sulphate and follow the instructions. After it goes black in about ten days, rake it out vigorously (I have used a scarifier in May before and the lawn recovered in three weeks, since I didn't want to wait until autumn). Weed and feed and keep it watered and remove any of the undead. A weeding tool helps. Overseed and keep it watered.
Buy "The Book". It's a fine manual.
Buy "The Book". It's a fine manual.
Dr Murdoch said:
Can I have a bit of advice chaps?
The lawn is approx 50m2.
Do I persevere, weed / moss killer + feed then seed?
or
cover the lot in topsoil, about 3 tons provides a depth of about 2cmm, then turf? Cost? about £300 - £400 and a lot of sweat and blisters? At least this way by mid to late may it would be looking pretty good!
Thoughts?
Quite a small lawn. Is it excessively damp/shaded? If neither I'd be tempted to give it a harsh scarify/aerate/weed + moss killer n' feed [water thoroughly] then scarify again two weeks later followed by feed and overseed. By the end of June it should be completely sorted notwithstanding any mitigating factors.The lawn is approx 50m2.
Do I persevere, weed / moss killer + feed then seed?
or
cover the lot in topsoil, about 3 tons provides a depth of about 2cmm, then turf? Cost? about £300 - £400 and a lot of sweat and blisters? At least this way by mid to late may it would be looking pretty good!
Thoughts?
Turfing will do the job but I'd be surprised if it looks as good as a refurb'ed lawn should by the end of June. Still be sweat and blisters involved though
Ferrous sulphate application early April followed by scarifying and over seeding. I just keep the mower height one click below maximum height when mowing. A weed kill treatment and then a couple of extra ferrous sulphate applications over the season combined with fertiliser. Scarification again at end of season.
Being fairly new to wanting my lawn not to look like a heap... What's the idiots guide to lawn care? I've put down a 4 in 1 product a week ago, so I presume I give it another week for the moss to die and then scarify / rake. Then aerate and overseed? Is there a general order things should be done in, or can I aerate whilst waiting for the moss to die off for example?
Edited by Miocene on Saturday 25th April 23:50
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