2018 Lawn thread
Discussion
Well after a couple of light mows (higher setting) in the last couple of weeks I have just mowed on a lower setting, raked vigorously, mowed again, aerated and puta load of 4 in 1 down. It has just started to drizzle now which I believe is bloody good timing!
Is there anything else I should be doing now like rolling? Or should I leave it now for a couple of weeks?
I have a dog so it will never be perfect but just want it looking half decent.
And before anyone asks - yes that is a council sex pond on the decking!
Talking of decking; we had it installed last year and it is currently untreated, when the dryer weather appears the intention is to clean it thoroughly, let it dry out and then put a couple of coats of decking oil on it. Any recommendations for brand of decking oil?
Is there anything else I should be doing now like rolling? Or should I leave it now for a couple of weeks?
I have a dog so it will never be perfect but just want it looking half decent.
And before anyone asks - yes that is a council sex pond on the decking!
Talking of decking; we had it installed last year and it is currently untreated, when the dryer weather appears the intention is to clean it thoroughly, let it dry out and then put a couple of coats of decking oil on it. Any recommendations for brand of decking oil?
vantara said:
Well after a couple of light mows (higher setting) in the last couple of weeks I have just mowed on a lower setting, raked vigorously, mowed again, aerated and puta load of 4 in 1 down. It has just started to drizzle now which I believe is bloody good timing!
Is there anything else I should be doing now like rolling? Or should I leave it now for a couple of weeks?
I have a dog so it will never be perfect but just want it looking half decent.
And before anyone asks - yes that is a council sex pond on the decking!
Talking of decking; we had it installed last year and it is currently untreated, when the dryer weather appears the intention is to clean it thoroughly, let it dry out and then put a couple of coats of decking oil on it. Any recommendations for brand of decking oil?
I think decking is best left to weather, then treat it to smarten it up in 10ys time. Is there anything else I should be doing now like rolling? Or should I leave it now for a couple of weeks?
I have a dog so it will never be perfect but just want it looking half decent.
And before anyone asks - yes that is a council sex pond on the decking!
Talking of decking; we had it installed last year and it is currently untreated, when the dryer weather appears the intention is to clean it thoroughly, let it dry out and then put a couple of coats of decking oil on it. Any recommendations for brand of decking oil?
First cut of the year. Probably a wee bit too much off but there's a lot of it. I keep the top lawn looking nice up towards the house and am a bit more careful there. This is about 1/4 of the full amount so there's not much point being too concerned all the time. Should probably start a 2018 Field thread 
vantara said:
Well after a couple of light mows (higher setting) in the last couple of weeks I have just mowed on a lower setting, raked vigorously, mowed again, aerated and puta load of 4 in 1 down. It has just started to drizzle now which I believe is bloody good timing!
Is there anything else I should be doing now like rolling? Or should I leave it now for a couple of weeks?
I have a dog so it will never be perfect but just want it looking half decent.
That'll do nicely for now, no need for rolling on majority of garden lawns, more for bowling greens.Is there anything else I should be doing now like rolling? Or should I leave it now for a couple of weeks?
I have a dog so it will never be perfect but just want it looking half decent.
Most important point : ensure your mower blades are as sharp as possible and your cutting height isn't too low. Blunt mower blades will bruise the grass.
As we are all into cars on here, it's not difficult to work out how to sharpen most mower blades, however, my 50's cylinder mower goes to a specialist every three years to be done on a lathe. It passes the paper cut test with flying colours
renmure said:
First cut of the year. Probably a wee bit too much off but there's a lot of it. I keep the top lawn looking nice up towards the house and am a bit more careful there. This is about 1/4 of the full amount so there's not much point being too concerned all the time. Should probably start a 2018 Field thread
Which bands are booked for the music festival this year? 
Presumably you'll have enough rooms to put them all up too
That is a mighty impressive place you have there!
I think the 2018 Field thread would be more accurate, but I'm looking forward to seeing you turn that huge area into a lawn
First cut today. Only got about half a cubic meter from 800 sq yards. Didnt do the mini orchard as we have bulbs still to flower. Partly the weather up t'north holding groth back but mainly the fact the ground source underneath has leached every bit of goodness out.
I have been left with a yellow, mossy, weedy mess despite putting on a tonne of commercial nitrogen feed over the 2 years.
This is what 12 months of bad ground source did:
I have been left with a yellow, mossy, weedy mess despite putting on a tonne of commercial nitrogen feed over the 2 years.
This is what 12 months of bad ground source did:
Hi,
I'm totally clueless when it comes to gardening. We had some turf laid in the garden around september time. It's "taken" quite well however there are a lot of "weeds" or whatever they are growing in it.
What's the best solution of getting rid? Started pulling some up but not easy to get the root.
Thanks
I'm totally clueless when it comes to gardening. We had some turf laid in the garden around september time. It's "taken" quite well however there are a lot of "weeds" or whatever they are growing in it.
What's the best solution of getting rid? Started pulling some up but not easy to get the root.
Thanks
Resolva and Weedol / Verdone lawn selective weed killers are both good for dealing with weeds. These two weedkillers have different active ingredients (mecoprop-P and Dicamba in Resolva / Fluroxypyr, Clopyralid and MCPA in Weedol) so it can be a good idea to get both and whatever weeds remain after using the first, a dose with the second will invariably finish off any remaining problem weeds.
Just make sure that you get the weedkillers designed for lawns and not the general purpose glyphosate based ones which kill everything, including the grass. It can happen!
Depending on how bad the weed issue is, you can either dose the whole lawn or selectively spray just the weeds if there aren't too many. The latter is better as it uses less and minimises the risk of over dosing and killing the grass as well. Grass, being a monocot, is highly resistant to these types of weedkiller but not wholly immune so it's still possible to kill grass with them.
Treat when the weeds are actively growing and when there's no risk of rain.
These selective weedkillers work by stimulating growth in the weed that cannot be sustained. In effect, the weed grows itself to death. Depending on growing conditions they can take several weeks to work so be patient before re applying.
Just make sure that you get the weedkillers designed for lawns and not the general purpose glyphosate based ones which kill everything, including the grass. It can happen!
Depending on how bad the weed issue is, you can either dose the whole lawn or selectively spray just the weeds if there aren't too many. The latter is better as it uses less and minimises the risk of over dosing and killing the grass as well. Grass, being a monocot, is highly resistant to these types of weedkiller but not wholly immune so it's still possible to kill grass with them.
Treat when the weeds are actively growing and when there's no risk of rain.
These selective weedkillers work by stimulating growth in the weed that cannot be sustained. In effect, the weed grows itself to death. Depending on growing conditions they can take several weeks to work so be patient before re applying.
I did some spot weeding on Saturday, then gave the f
kers another dose yesterday.
I never knew they grew themselves to death....so weird that you mention that, because when I re-treated them yesterday I was convinced they'd grown more lol!
Anyway, raised the lawnmower and sharpened the blade, wife's going to cut the lawn today when it's dry.
Quite a lot of moss to rake out and some weird dense weeds in the grass where it's shaded, not sure what that's all about, may have to extend the borders and just do a bulk removal of 'the lot' to stop spreading.
kers another dose yesterday.I never knew they grew themselves to death....so weird that you mention that, because when I re-treated them yesterday I was convinced they'd grown more lol!
Anyway, raised the lawnmower and sharpened the blade, wife's going to cut the lawn today when it's dry.
Quite a lot of moss to rake out and some weird dense weeds in the grass where it's shaded, not sure what that's all about, may have to extend the borders and just do a bulk removal of 'the lot' to stop spreading.
Recently scarifed and took out around 2x 1 tonne bags of thatch/dead grass from around 250m2 of lawns... seeded, fertilised and covered the worse areas with sieved top soil. So far not seen any seed germination and if i'm honest, slightly concerned it looks an absolute mess, especially the back garden which was extremely bare in places after the scarifying.
Have i blown it already?!
Have i blown it already?!
Hello fellow lawnists. Like most other people I'm here to admit that I've got a moss problem however, last week I blasted the lawn with iron sulphate and it's going a lovely shade of black.
I haven't done the first cut of the year yet so should I cut the grass on a high setting before I start into it with a rake to get rid of the moss? I'm concerned that raking through thick grass will be painstaking work but I don't know if I should cut before or after of if it doesn't matter.
Once I've raked out the moss I intend to go over it with a fork then throw some seed down on the patches and hope it grows without too much love or attention beyond watering in.
P.S. Renmure, I think we need a picture of your lawnmower.
I haven't done the first cut of the year yet so should I cut the grass on a high setting before I start into it with a rake to get rid of the moss? I'm concerned that raking through thick grass will be painstaking work but I don't know if I should cut before or after of if it doesn't matter.
Once I've raked out the moss I intend to go over it with a fork then throw some seed down on the patches and hope it grows without too much love or attention beyond watering in.
P.S. Renmure, I think we need a picture of your lawnmower.
Johnnytheboy said:
Is anyone else in the same pickle as me?
My lawn - on very heavy clay - has until now been virtually too wet to mow, and definitely too wet to put any chemicals on.
Now we are faced with two solid weeks of sun so anything I put on will not get watered in.
Can you not water it yourself?My lawn - on very heavy clay - has until now been virtually too wet to mow, and definitely too wet to put any chemicals on.
Now we are faced with two solid weeks of sun so anything I put on will not get watered in.
hyphen said:
Johnnytheboy said:
Is anyone else in the same pickle as me?
My lawn - on very heavy clay - has until now been virtually too wet to mow, and definitely too wet to put any chemicals on.
Now we are faced with two solid weeks of sun so anything I put on will not get watered in.
Can you not water it yourself?My lawn - on very heavy clay - has until now been virtually too wet to mow, and definitely too wet to put any chemicals on.
Now we are faced with two solid weeks of sun so anything I put on will not get watered in.
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