2017 Lawn thread

[Johnnytheboy]

I thought the idea was moss kill then scarifying when the moss goes black?

I'm fantasising about being able to cut mine, it makes a squelch noise when I walk on it, and every time it gets nearly dry it rains again.

[BoRED S2upid]

First cut today it's not looking bad for this time of the year needs a treatment in a few weeks.

[micracbr]

richatnort said:

Im planning on doing the same. Bought my £60 lidl scarifier today and managed to get my first cut done too.

How was it? Review? I was tempted but had to leave it for now as there's no space to store and have yet to start shifting a mountain of old topsoil in a 3m x 2m 'pit'.

[richatnort]

micracbr said:

richatnort said:

Im planning on doing the same. Bought my £60 lidl scarifier today and managed to get my first cut done too.

How was it? Review? I was tempted but had to leave it for now as there's no space to store and have yet to start shifting a mountain of old topsoil in a 3m x 2m 'pit'.

Sorry by first cut I meant with the lawn mower haha. I'll be using it next weekend so will let you know then.

I wasn't going to get it but then I thought it'll be used twice a year and others are £100+ so no brainer. I feel your pain about soil I've got the same job eventually.

[mikeiow]

micracbr said:

How was it? Review? I was tempted but had to leave it for now as there's no space to store and have yet to start shifting a mountain of old topsoil in a 3m x 2m 'pit'.

I tried mine out this evening with the blade attachment (not the fine moss rake one): the lawn is now covered in bits that I need to mow up (it filled the "box" about every strip, and our lawn is only about 14m long x 10m wide!!). Couldn't mow them up 'cos it was getting late.....plus I realised I had no fuel!

In summary: the device was super easy and light to use and looks like it should be very effective, well worth £60 imho

[numtumfutunch]

Oop North here

Grass starting to grow but too wet to mow yet, spent yesterday walking up and down with my spiky aerating shoes stuck to the bottom of my trainers

Boring doesn't even come close.....

[maccas99]

Down South here, ordered a petrol hollow tine aerator on hire for next weekend so going to give that a whirl. Garden is a good size (35m x 15m) and needs help so going to start with that then start treating it with some product.

I was planning on doing things in this order:

Aerate
Iron Sulphate down
Scarify
Feed with feriliser
Add Seed where required

Does that sound about right?

[richatnort]

maccas99 said:

Down South here, ordered a petrol hollow tine aerator on hire for next weekend so going to give that a whirl. Garden is a good size (35m x 15m) and needs help so going to start with that then start treating it with some product.

I was planning on doing things in this order:

Aerate
Iron Sulphate down
Scarify
Feed with feriliser
Add Seed where required

Does that sound about right?

Sounds about right from what i've read but this year i chose to miss the Aerate part until the autumn as it's pretty compact and full of moss. Probably something i should have done before.

[8-P]

R66bby said:

scarifying the lawn next week. I have alot of moss, i was planning on putting evergreen complete 4 in 1 on the lawn after wards. can anyone recommend this or an alternative?

Its tempting to scarify and I did it around about this time last year. It was ok, but the weather took a turn for the worse, so as keen as I am to scarify soon Im going to hold off until April.

[Craikeybaby]

After doing such a good job with my lawn over the last few years, I've been tasked with sorting out the lawns at my parent's new house.

Both lawns look like they have been scalped, and are mostly moss/weeds, but both are fairly small so it should be easy enough to do. The front lawn is 5m x 3m, with a flower bed/tree in the middle and faces east. The rear lawn is 3m x 3m, facing west, but with a garage along the south side & high walls on the other sides too. They don't currently have a mower, as they've lived in flats for the last few years.

My plan is:

• Buy them a mower, probably a push along cylinder one.
• Some sort of moss treatment in the next few weeks - any recommendations for one that won't stain sandstone paths?
• Rake/scarify the moss/thatch. With such a small lawn is it even worth hiring a machine?
• Fertiliser
• Overseed with a shade tolerant mix
• Leave instructions for the lawn to be watered daily.
• Weed killer once the new grass has established.

Any suggestions for improvements to that plan? I only visit every few weeks, but think I'll be able to make some improvements.

[R66bby]

8-P said:

R66bby said:

scarifying the lawn next week. I have alot of moss, i was planning on putting evergreen complete 4 in 1 on the lawn after wards. can anyone recommend this or an alternative?

Its tempting to scarify and I did it around about this time last year. It was ok, but the weather took a turn for the worse, so as keen as I am to scarify soon Im going to hold off until April.

Ah ok, so you think its abit to early to do it? iv ordered one of these.
https://www.tesco.com/direct/vonhaus-2-in-1-electr...
We have only just moved house and did our first cut saturday. The lawn has alot of moss so i was planning to use this to get rid of some of the moss that get some feed seed and weed on it.
I have ordered some temporary fencing to keep the dog off the lawn.

What would you all suggest?

maybe put some treatment down then rake the moss out then reseed? any advice would be great. im new to this.

[gtsl]

Can anyone tell me if this stuff will be any good for getting rid of the dreaded moss currently dominating my garden? https://www.hygienesuppliesdirect.com/products/pro...

Will be getting lawn sand as well as more grass seed once I have managed to get rid of the moss. looking for the best options for improving the Ground to try and stop it returning. I don't think it has been maintained other than with a lawn mower by the looks of it.

[richatnort]

gtsl said:

Can anyone tell me if this stuff will be any good for getting rid of the dreaded moss currently dominating my garden? https://www.hygienesuppliesdirect.com/products/pro...

Will be getting lawn sand as well as more grass seed once I have managed to get rid of the moss. looking for the best options for improving the Ground to try and stop it returning. I don't think it has been maintained other than with a lawn mower by the looks of it.

Yes it will work but if you go on eBay it's much much cheaper. I got some that covered my garden (14mX 12m) for £4.

Put that stuff on, wait a week then scarify when you've had a dry spell for a couple of days, then just seed and top soil.

[Accelebrate]

I picked up 1.5kg for £4 from Wilko earlier

[GTO-3R]

Gave mine it's first trim on Sat whilst it was dry and the grass was dry too. I'd left it too long before cutting but the weather was not playing ball up to now ( Manchester, what do you expect ) and it was about 8 inches long! It was soft under foot but I took my time and it wasn't too bad, the grass was a little light green / yellowy at the bottom. Gave it a good rake and already it's starting to green up nicely

[8-P]

R66bby said:

Ah ok, so you think its abit to early to do it? iv ordered one of these.
https://www.tesco.com/direct/vonhaus-2-in-1-electr...
We have only just moved house and did our first cut saturday. The lawn has alot of moss so i was planning to use this to get rid of some of the moss that get some feed seed and weed on it.
I have ordered some temporary fencing to keep the dog off the lawn.

What would you all suggest?

maybe put some treatment down then rake the moss out then reseed? any advice would be great. im new to this.

The main thing is that the grass needs to be growing strongly so that it can recover from the abuse, so somewhat weather dependant. If its warmer that average and you feel your grass is growing well it could well be ok. Personally I would wait a bit, scarify, top dress and seed, water very regularly but not too much. I turned a very neglected lawn into a dream lawn last year, but now I still have to do the same but there is way less moss, almost no weeds either so this time next year no reason why yours couldnt be pretty healthy too.

[Hard-Drive]

Right then peeps, I have the horticultural talent of Jeremy Clarkson, but I want to make sure I give my lawn the best possible chance this year. It was only laid/sown last year following our self build project. It did look like this...



...and now looks like this. The obviously green bit was turfed last July for the housewarming...



...but close up looks like this. Do I need to put down some fertiliser or similar, and if so what? I do have a Scott's spreader if that helps.



The rest of it was seeded in October, some has taken well and looks like this...



...however some of it is really thin and looks like this...



Lastly, I have this area which will soon be over-run with brambles and nettles. I gather Hysward-P is the current Daddy of selective weedkillers, when is the best time to blitz it? First signs of leaves on the brambles or give it a bit longer?



Any advice or help on what I should be doing when would be really appreciated ...I don't want to miss the opportunity to give everything a good start. Mowers wise, I have a Honda Cobra self propelled and a Countax ride on.

Thanks in advance!

[Craikeybaby]

I'd suggest waiting a few more weeks before putting any fertiliser down, my lawn is growing nicely at the moment, but I guess we're still st risk of a cold snap.

I'd also suggest overseeding, in mid to late April.

[3013buz]

Last year I purchased my first house and the lawn was a bit of a state to say the least by the time I got my hands on the keys.





A couple of weeks later it was looking like the below, then around September time last year we dug up as many weeks as I could and over seeded...



This is where I am today having given it two doses of ferrous sulphate since mid january. I have also given it a light cut this afternoon, but nothing too aggressive, I guess it is now about 2" long. I have also applied ferrous sulphate at 400g/100m2 this evening.



First off, can anyone tell me what weed these are and how best to treat them please? I have Resolva and Weedol due tomorrow from Lawnsmith. The top one is quite prevalent.



The second a bit more localised.



Finally, this has developed over winter. Any suggestions of what may have caused it? It wasn't there at all last year.



Thanks.

[jagnet]

Craikeybaby said:

* Some sort of moss treatment in the next few weeks - any recommendations for one that won't stain sandstone paths?

Normal moss treatment is based on ferrous sulphate, so it will stain. Also heavy doses of the stuff aren't great for soil organisms - there's a reason that I use it in some of my homemade paint for exterior wood.

For a non stain option you'll need to look into something like Mo Bacter. It won't have the rapid blackening of moss that ferrous sulphate does, but it will deplete it slowly.