2020 Lawn thread
Discussion
I just hand spread fertiliser before the recent rain by weighing it and wandering around in a criss-cross pattern until it was all gone. My rotary spreader likes to do weird things like suddenly drop a lump of granules on the lawn, leading to scorching, Gave up on it.
Mowed the lawn with the petrol mower (to pick up clippings) nice and short just beforehand.
A few days later, the grass is greener, thicker and has grown a ridiculous amount. Had to take the settings quite a way up on the robotic mower to not trim too much off at once.
Mowed the lawn with the petrol mower (to pick up clippings) nice and short just beforehand.
A few days later, the grass is greener, thicker and has grown a ridiculous amount. Had to take the settings quite a way up on the robotic mower to not trim too much off at once.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
I have a Scotts EvenGreen drop spreader, and I like it.
What I don’t get about casting spreaders is how you prevent it flinging stuff into the borders? Or, worse still, into the pond!
My lawn isn’t a simple rectangular shape, so if I follow parallel to the edge I’ll end up with a bit in the middle that’s such an irregular shape that I wouldn’t be able to cover it with a casting spreader without double-dosing some areas. Indeed, there are places where the lawn is simply too narrow.
With a drop spreader it’s not a problem: it gives me much more precise control over where the product goes.
It’s definitely an art! And when it jams you need to remember to point it away from borders and the pond when cranking up the pressure to get it going again. What I don’t get about casting spreaders is how you prevent it flinging stuff into the borders? Or, worse still, into the pond!
My lawn isn’t a simple rectangular shape, so if I follow parallel to the edge I’ll end up with a bit in the middle that’s such an irregular shape that I wouldn’t be able to cover it with a casting spreader without double-dosing some areas. Indeed, there are places where the lawn is simply too narrow.
With a drop spreader it’s not a problem: it gives me much more precise control over where the product goes.
Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Friday 10th July 17:04
DonkeyApple said:
It’s definitely an art! And when it jams you need to remember to point it away from borders and the pond when cranking up the pressure to get it going again.
In other words, it’s difficult to use and prone to error. And you say when it jams, implying that it happens quite often.My drop spreader never jams, and never dumps excess product. I can stop and start the flow of product precisely, and it’s easy to follow your wheel tracks when you turn back - there’s even an arrow embossed into its body to help you line up correctly so that your next run butts up to your last without leaving a gap or overlapping. And none of the product goes where you don’t want it to.
I really don’t understand the objection to drop spreaders. To me, rotaries sound like a nightmare to use on anything other than a very large, rectangular lawn.
I can just about see the advantage on a large, open space with simple boundaries, where a drop spreader would be rather slow to use. But on small to medium lawns, especially with curved or complex boundaries and with narrow points, I can’t see how a rotary would be appropriate.
Milkbuttons said:
I managed to kill a small area of my lawn the other day, my mower decided to drop its fuel.
Any ideas on how to fix?
It may be a bit too late now, but you needed to drench the area immediately with loads and loads of water. You’d still have got bad scorching, but the grass might just have survived to regrow. If this is what you did then you might yet be lucky, in which case time and regular watering are what it needs.Any ideas on how to fix?
If you weren’t prompt with huge amounts of water then I fear that might not recover, in which case grubbing it out and reseeding might be your only option.
I occasionally forget the golden rule of never refuelling the mower when it’s on the grass, and have spilt a few dribbles and got away with it. This looks a bit more serious though. It’s a bummer that it’s right in the middle of the lawn.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
Milkbuttons said:
I managed to kill a small area of my lawn the other day, my mower decided to drop its fuel.
Any ideas on how to fix?
It may be a bit too late now, but you needed to drench the area immediately with loads and loads of water. You’d still have got bad scorching, but the grass might just have survived to regrow. If this is what you did then you might yet be lucky, in which case time and regular watering are what it needs.Any ideas on how to fix?
If you weren’t prompt with huge amounts of water then I fear that might not recover, in which case grubbing it out and reseeding might be your only option.
I occasionally forget the golden rule of never refuelling the mower when it’s on the grass, and have spilt a few dribbles and got away with it. This looks a bit more serious though. It’s a bummer that it’s right in the middle of the lawn.
I did water the area once I realized that the fuel was leaking but I fear I didn't water it enough. its a real pain only having just seeded the lawn from scratch, well you live and learn.
Milkbuttons said:
. its a real pain only having just seeded the lawn from scratch, well you live and learn.
Ah, the fact that you seeded it yourself is really good, because you’ll be able to buy exactly the same seed again and get a perfect match if you decide that reseeding is necessary.At long last I’m reasonably happy with how my lawn is looking!
I’ve made mistakes this year - in particular hollow-tine aerating in mid spring, which left the lawn more vulnerable to the punishingly hot, dry weather that continued for a good few weeks afterwards. In future I will only hollow-tine in autumn.
I have also learned the importance of spiking, and my new spikey sandals make this much easier. This has helped greatly, together with some aggressive targeted watering using the spray gun to drive moisture into patches that had got so hard and dry that they’d become a bit hydrophobic. Spiking has really helped moisture and nutrients penetrate deeper, which has also tipped the balance in favour of “proper” grass rather than ugly weed grasses.
It’s still far from perfect, but it’s miles better than it was in early spring.
I’ve made mistakes this year - in particular hollow-tine aerating in mid spring, which left the lawn more vulnerable to the punishingly hot, dry weather that continued for a good few weeks afterwards. In future I will only hollow-tine in autumn.
I have also learned the importance of spiking, and my new spikey sandals make this much easier. This has helped greatly, together with some aggressive targeted watering using the spray gun to drive moisture into patches that had got so hard and dry that they’d become a bit hydrophobic. Spiking has really helped moisture and nutrients penetrate deeper, which has also tipped the balance in favour of “proper” grass rather than ugly weed grasses.
It’s still far from perfect, but it’s miles better than it was in early spring.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
I have a Scotts EvenGreen drop spreader, and I like it.
What I don’t get about casting spreaders is how you prevent it flinging stuff into the borders? Or, worse still, into the pond!
My lawn isn’t a simple rectangular shape, so if I follow parallel to the edge I’ll end up with a bit in the middle that’s such an irregular shape that I wouldn’t be able to cover it with a casting spreader without double-dosing some areas. Indeed, there are places where the lawn is simply too narrow.
With a drop spreader it’s not a problem: it gives me much more precise control over where the product goes.
I think most people don’t like them as we (myself included) bought the cheapest one with no lever on so the start of the movement of wheels always dumps loads on the lawn which burns it. I bet the nicer ones are fine but the cheap ones are nasty and mine sits unused in my garage. I now have the earth way shoulder spreader and like that as it’s much more compact than the wheeled rotary spreaders. I also have a quare lawn which helps a lot.What I don’t get about casting spreaders is how you prevent it flinging stuff into the borders? Or, worse still, into the pond!
My lawn isn’t a simple rectangular shape, so if I follow parallel to the edge I’ll end up with a bit in the middle that’s such an irregular shape that I wouldn’t be able to cover it with a casting spreader without double-dosing some areas. Indeed, there are places where the lawn is simply too narrow.
With a drop spreader it’s not a problem: it gives me much more precise control over where the product goes.
Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Friday 10th July 17:04
morfmedia said:
I think most people don’t like them as we (myself included) bought the cheapest one with no lever on so the start of the movement of wheels always dumps loads on the lawn which burns it. I bet the nicer ones are fine but the cheap ones are nasty and mine sits unused in my garage.
Ah, now I understand! I must admit I thought all drop spreaders had the same control lever on the handle that mine does: you can squeeze/release the handle to control the flow as you go. I can well imagine that a spreader that starts dropping as soon as it moves would indeed dump too much in the first few inches, and in any case it is phenomenally useful to be able to cut the flow as you roll over part of the boundary that you’ve already done.Mine also has a calibrated adjuster (easily accessible) for changing the amount of product dropped, and several products list the appropriate calibration setting on the packet.
That said, I’m about to try switching to Maxwell Myco 1, which is a more professional product so doesn’t make reference to an amateur drop-spreader - I’ll have to find the right setting by dropping some onto a plastic tarp and measuring the weight of product dropped over a given area.
Milkbuttons said:
I managed to kill a small area of my lawn the other day, my mower decided to drop its fuel.
Any ideas on how to fix?
Gents, I have a bit of larger area on this, just appeared magicly in my lawn a few days ago. I have not dropped anything as far as I'm aware, any idea what it could be there? I mow once a week, and putting fertilizer-after cut once every 2 weeks, so the rest of my lawn is super strong and green.Any ideas on how to fix?
Do you think it is a sabotage? lol..
ooid said:
Gents, I have a bit of larger area on this, just appeared magicly in my lawn a few days ago. I have not dropped anything as far as I'm aware, any idea what it could be there? I mow once a week, and putting fertilizer-after cut once every 2 weeks, so the rest of my lawn is super strong and green.
Do you think it is a sabotage? lol..
A picture would help! Do you think it is a sabotage? lol..
It certainly looks like a spillage. A weedkiller like glyphosate would take a good few days to act, but when it does take effect it’s pretty quick. Petrol would have a similar effect very rapidly.
It’s far too big an area for it to be dog wee!
It’s such a shame, because the rest of your lawn is looking nice and healthy.
I think I’d try watering that area thoroughly once a day for a couple of weeks to see if the grass comes back. If it doesn’t then you’ll want to reseed.
It’s far too big an area for it to be dog wee!
It’s such a shame, because the rest of your lawn is looking nice and healthy.
I think I’d try watering that area thoroughly once a day for a couple of weeks to see if the grass comes back. If it doesn’t then you’ll want to reseed.
stevensdrs said:
What's on the other side of the fence from there? Looks like something that has flowed from the neighbours.
No idea really.. I’ve looked closely but can’t see anything suspicious on the other side. Another note, there seem to be loads of flies now on this yellow/brown patch area?Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff