2018 Lawn thread

[nadger]

So I had my new grassed area (bit of abandoned meadow behind our house we have bought up) flail mowed the other day and now it’s looking like this -

Next job is to get a ride on mower!

[SiT]

nadger said:

So I had my new grassed area (bit of abandoned meadow behind our house we have bought up) flail mowed the other day and now it’s looking like this -

Next job is to get a ride on mower!

I would suggest a tractor might be more suitable!

Si

[nadger]

SiT said:

nadger said:

So I had my new grassed area (bit of abandoned meadow behind our house we have bought up) flail mowed the other day and now it’s looking like this -

Next job is to get a ride on mower!

I would suggest a tractor might be more suitable!

Si

Ha ha, yes it would be if all of that was mine! Sadly it’s not, we just haven’t had the fences put up yet. I’ve got just under half an acre in total now.

[PositronicRay]

2 x smallish lawns not in the best condition.

The one nearest the house suffers from dog with brown patches of urine burn. Raked out the moss and dead stuff, aerated with a garden fork, first cut yesterday. I'll give it a couple of weeks, another cut, then some seed and feed.

[richatnort]

First proper chance to get out in the garden today, managed to get up all the leaves and get my first cut done. Need a bit of iron sulphate for the moss and then weed and feed. but looking good so far

[Condi]

That fence on the right needs fixing!

[richatnort]

Condi said:

That fence on the right needs fixing!

Ha yep certainly does. It's top of my list of things to do when the weather gets warmer. Thats the previous owners fancy work. Also needs painting.

[g3org3y]

Recommendations for best lawn feed chaps?

[LeadFarmer]

DoubleD said:

I wouldnt bother. Stepping stones are a pain in the arse.

I don't see how. Set them so the lawn is slightly higher than the stepping stones so you can just run the mower straight over them.

[DoubleD]

LeadFarmer said:

DoubleD said:

I wouldnt bother. Stepping stones are a pain in the arse.

I don't see how. Set them so the lawn is slightly higher than the stepping stones so you can just run the mower straight over them.

They get slippery and grass ends up growing over them.

[Condi]

There must be something wrong with my lawn. Over winter it seems to change from grass to moss and has done the same for years. Each spring I kill the moss, scarify and then aerate, and reseed again. It then looks reasonable during the summer, and over winter reverts to moss again. It must be something Im doing, or not doing, because while next doors isnt great, its nowhere near as bad as mine and they dont seem to hardly do anything to it. The only thing I can think is that by not picking up the clippings they work into the bottom of the grass and kill it over winter? Would that make sense?

[PositronicRay]

Condi said:

There must be something wrong with my lawn. Over winter it seems to change from grass to moss and has done the same for years. Each spring I kill the moss, scarify and then aerate, and reseed again. It then looks reasonable during the summer, and over winter reverts to moss again. It must be something Im doing, or not doing, because while next doors isnt great, its nowhere near as bad as mine and they dont seem to hardly do anything to it. The only thing I can think is that by not picking up the clippings they work into the bottom of the grass and kill it over winter? Would that make sense?

Does there's get more light?

[jagnet]

Condi said:

The only thing I can think is that by not picking up the clippings they work into the bottom of the grass and kill it over winter? Would that make sense?

Unlikely. Only if your clippings were thick and matted enough to smother the grass or create anaerobic conditions underneath them would there be an issue.

Moss is opportunistic, taking advantage of weak and thinning turf. Most moss issues come from cutting too short. How short is too short depends on the environment (shady v sunny, dry v damp, etc).

Likewise, the wrong grass type for the location/use can cause the lawn to thin as winter comes.

Your neighbour's lawn has likely evolved to the environment and his maintenance regime. The grasses will probably consist primarily of what would be seen as weed grasses, but they're at least green. In contrast the ones you're seeding with just don't like their situation so you need to work out why that is and either change the environment or change the grass types.

[Condi]

No difference in light between the 2 gardens, both get a good half day of sun, soil is heavy but not waterlogged. Ironically the part which has least moss is the most shaded. Grass is generally kept quite long, certainly not cut too short I dont think. I could go down the route of testing the soil and doing a ph and mineral correction but that seems a bit extreme just to have a nice garden. Will see about getting a hardy grass mix and hope that makes a difference.

[Chicken Chaser]

I have pretty much the same issue. Moss growth and thatch over winter which then gets raked out early spring and a feed and oversees applied. I too have heavy but not waterlogged clay soils. West facing with sun (if it's out) through the year.

I do like it fairly short but it's not putting green as I'm using an electric rotary not a cylinder!

Raked it out today and it's a bit of a mess. Got some treatments to do to it to pick it up. I also need to patch a couple of areas where i turned the turf where the border had lost some growth. Lawnsmith classic is my usual.

[GTO-3R]

I think I've asked this before but I did my first cut yesterday and my grass has survived pretty well over the winter! Are the next steps to:

1 - Cut again
2 - Scarify
3 - Airate
4 - Seed

All in the one day?

[Craikeybaby]

Given that it is forecast to snow over the weekend, is it worth doing the first cut one evening this week? Or waiting until after the snow?

[maccas99]

DoubleD said:

They get slippery and grass ends up growing over them.

Choosing the right type of stone will help in this situation.I'm just about to have 45 laid in my lawn so I can get to my home office and shed and I've got some with a rough abrasive surface that will help with the wet/cold.

[fastbikes76]

Need some guru advice please.

We recently bought this 6 year old ‘new build’ and we are the last house in the close, as such I’m guessing all the rubble and hardcore ended up under my ‘lawn’ . When I slap my spiked aerator shoes on all I can feel under my feet is the stones etc. The lawn also gets loads of moss over winter and patchy. Surprisingly it recovers pretty well in summer and looks relatively decent. It’s also far from even, and that’s not the sloping to the bottom I’m talking about either, it’s got indents and all sorts on it.

Latest issue is whippet puppy now doing 100 mile an hour laps round the garden making it all face the same direction when she hits the anchor

At a guess in an ideal world it would be throw down a few tons of top soil and returf ? Is there something I can do that’s a bit less hurtful on the pocket like progressively start spreading top soil over current lawn in thin layers at a time and allow grass to carry on growing through? I’m less than useless with gardens so speak slowly and in idiot speak please

If I’ve done this right the pics will be all upside down and in random order again

[505diff]

In my opinion the ground in the UK is still too cold for grass seed to grow at fast enough rate to establish and thicken out to peoples expectations, your going to leave the ground open to weeds that will grow at a good rate this time of year. My moss is staying at least another four weeks before any seed replaces it!