2020 Lawn thread
Discussion
About 6 years ago I did a garden make over and ended up with a lawn of about 20 sq mtrs.
The turfs were laid on about 20cm of topsoil.
Everything was fine ..... until 3 years ago.
Patches of the lawn started turning brown in early spring ..... I identified the problem as being leather jackets.
Since then I have applied nematodes at double strength in both spring and autumn.
However things got worse ....... to the point that early this year I was down to about 20% grass and 80% bare earth.
Spring this year I took the lawn up - applied nematodes (at double strength), laid new turf, applied more nematodes (at double strength) and all was looking good.
To be on the safe side I applied more nematodes at double strength about 8 weeks ago.
Today I have noticed some small areas of lawn are once again turning brown ..... obviously I suspect leather jackets.
Is there anything else I should have done or could be doing
The turfs were laid on about 20cm of topsoil.
Everything was fine ..... until 3 years ago.
Patches of the lawn started turning brown in early spring ..... I identified the problem as being leather jackets.
Since then I have applied nematodes at double strength in both spring and autumn.
However things got worse ....... to the point that early this year I was down to about 20% grass and 80% bare earth.
Spring this year I took the lawn up - applied nematodes (at double strength), laid new turf, applied more nematodes (at double strength) and all was looking good.
To be on the safe side I applied more nematodes at double strength about 8 weeks ago.
Today I have noticed some small areas of lawn are once again turning brown ..... obviously I suspect leather jackets.
Is there anything else I should have done or could be doing
Squiggs said:
Snip.....Patches of the lawn started turning brown in early spring ..... I identified the problem as being leather jackets.
Since then I have applied nematodes at double strength in both spring and autumn.
However things got worse ..... Snip
Sounds like a pita.Since then I have applied nematodes at double strength in both spring and autumn.
However things got worse ..... Snip
Hammerhead said:
Nuke ‘em from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.
Which means what?I've not had leather jackets, or really heard of them other than on this thread. Some articles suggest 'just apply nematodes' bu other suggest timing is hard, success is very temperature and timing dependant etc.
I've also not read anything about how to avoid or deswade them coming, prevention is often better than cure, but maybe not in this instance?
Daniel
Squiggs said:
About 6 years ago I did a garden make over and ended up with a lawn of about 20 sq mtrs.
The turfs were laid on about 20cm of topsoil.
Everything was fine ..... until 3 years ago.
Patches of the lawn started turning brown in early spring ..... I identified the problem as being leather jackets.
Since then I have applied nematodes at double strength in both spring and autumn.
However things got worse ....... to the point that early this year I was down to about 20% grass and 80% bare earth.
Spring this year I took the lawn up - applied nematodes (at double strength), laid new turf, applied more nematodes (at double strength) and all was looking good.
To be on the safe side I applied more nematodes at double strength about 8 weeks ago.
Today I have noticed some small areas of lawn are once again turning brown ..... obviously I suspect leather jackets.
Is there anything else I should have done or could be doing
Chafer grubs? I think you need a different type of nematode for these so your letherjacket ones would not work if this is your issue...The turfs were laid on about 20cm of topsoil.
Everything was fine ..... until 3 years ago.
Patches of the lawn started turning brown in early spring ..... I identified the problem as being leather jackets.
Since then I have applied nematodes at double strength in both spring and autumn.
However things got worse ....... to the point that early this year I was down to about 20% grass and 80% bare earth.
Spring this year I took the lawn up - applied nematodes (at double strength), laid new turf, applied more nematodes (at double strength) and all was looking good.
To be on the safe side I applied more nematodes at double strength about 8 weeks ago.
Today I have noticed some small areas of lawn are once again turning brown ..... obviously I suspect leather jackets.
Is there anything else I should have done or could be doing
Harry Flashman said:
Squiggs said:
About 6 years ago I did a garden make over and ended up with a lawn of about 20 sq mtrs.
The turfs were laid on about 20cm of topsoil.
Everything was fine ..... until 3 years ago.
Patches of the lawn started turning brown in early spring ..... I identified the problem as being leather jackets.
Since then I have applied nematodes at double strength in both spring and autumn.
However things got worse ....... to the point that early this year I was down to about 20% grass and 80% bare earth.
Spring this year I took the lawn up - applied nematodes (at double strength), laid new turf, applied more nematodes (at double strength) and all was looking good.
To be on the safe side I applied more nematodes at double strength about 8 weeks ago.
Today I have noticed some small areas of lawn are once again turning brown ..... obviously I suspect leather jackets.
Is there anything else I should have done or could be doing
Chafer grubs? I think you need a different type of nematode for these so your letherjacket ones would not work if this is your issue...The turfs were laid on about 20cm of topsoil.
Everything was fine ..... until 3 years ago.
Patches of the lawn started turning brown in early spring ..... I identified the problem as being leather jackets.
Since then I have applied nematodes at double strength in both spring and autumn.
However things got worse ....... to the point that early this year I was down to about 20% grass and 80% bare earth.
Spring this year I took the lawn up - applied nematodes (at double strength), laid new turf, applied more nematodes (at double strength) and all was looking good.
To be on the safe side I applied more nematodes at double strength about 8 weeks ago.
Today I have noticed some small areas of lawn are once again turning brown ..... obviously I suspect leather jackets.
Is there anything else I should have done or could be doing
The joys of having 2 large dogs and a garden which is always soaked even in the summer!
Managed to rescue it from absolute mud to this during the summer, spent 4 weeks blocked off using beach wind breakers.
I gave it, its last cut today, what a mess again and will only get worse.
Not sure if to try and spread some seed to see if some will take before the frost sets in.
Managed to rescue it from absolute mud to this during the summer, spent 4 weeks blocked off using beach wind breakers.
I gave it, its last cut today, what a mess again and will only get worse.
Not sure if to try and spread some seed to see if some will take before the frost sets in.
the park near me had some re-seeding recently, and they grow so nicely now!
What was your original turf/lawn ? I have a very active beagle too, and we usually have her friends over, and they are literally terrorizing the turf when they play but not so bad. I usually water it down, after they pee, and re-fertilize/seed monthly every summer after cutting.
What was your original turf/lawn ? I have a very active beagle too, and we usually have her friends over, and they are literally terrorizing the turf when they play but not so bad. I usually water it down, after they pee, and re-fertilize/seed monthly every summer after cutting.
I moved to my house in June and inherited a patchy lawn thanks to previous owner's dogs. I've spent the summer re-seeding and laying turf in some areas. This obviously involved a fair amount of watering in. By the end of August I was very happy with my results.
Now though, despite me aerating it a couple of times in the in the last couple of weeks (manually with a fork), my lawn is very boggy under foot. It still looks nice enough but I obviously don't want to be walking around on it too much and I had to be very careful with the mower to not tear it up.
It needs leveling off, so in the spring it is my intention to use some sharp sand to level it but I'm hoping this will also help the boggy-ness in the long term. Short of continued aeration through the winter months, I'm not sure what else I can do. Any quick-fix advice greatly received.
Now though, despite me aerating it a couple of times in the in the last couple of weeks (manually with a fork), my lawn is very boggy under foot. It still looks nice enough but I obviously don't want to be walking around on it too much and I had to be very careful with the mower to not tear it up.
It needs leveling off, so in the spring it is my intention to use some sharp sand to level it but I'm hoping this will also help the boggy-ness in the long term. Short of continued aeration through the winter months, I'm not sure what else I can do. Any quick-fix advice greatly received.
I had a largish patch (about three metres square) of chafer infestation in my front lawn a couple of years ago. I figured most of the visible damage was being done by the birds ripping everything up to get to the bugs. I let the birds get on with it for a few weeks and hopefully thin out the bugs. I then reseeded the damaged area and netted over it to keep the birds off. That seemed to do the trick and about 8 weeks after that the mew grass had come in nicely and the net could come off.
Fast forward to this year and now I’ve got a similar sized patch around the back which has been destroyed by the birds in a new campaign. It’s around the side of the house and not really seen and it’s probably a bit late for seeding now, so I’ll let them have it over the winter and try the same trick next Spring.
In a separate disaster I’m getting nightly visits from what I think must be a hedgehog who is visiting the other side of the back lawn and ripping great chunks of it up.
Fast forward to this year and now I’ve got a similar sized patch around the back which has been destroyed by the birds in a new campaign. It’s around the side of the house and not really seen and it’s probably a bit late for seeding now, so I’ll let them have it over the winter and try the same trick next Spring.
In a separate disaster I’m getting nightly visits from what I think must be a hedgehog who is visiting the other side of the back lawn and ripping great chunks of it up.
Just had a couple of the diseased trees taken out so hopefully will help the grass recover a bit from all the shade they were casting:
Before:
During:
After (and after some rain that cleared lots of leaves) :
Applied the Lawnsmiths winter fertilizer/ moss control so will see how that goes. Might add some more iron as can't see a thing happening to the moss yet...
Before:
During:
After (and after some rain that cleared lots of leaves) :
Applied the Lawnsmiths winter fertilizer/ moss control so will see how that goes. Might add some more iron as can't see a thing happening to the moss yet...
Silverage said:
In a separate disaster I’m getting nightly visits from what I think must be a hedgehog who is visiting the other side of the back lawn and ripping great chunks of it up.
Highly unlikely it's hedgehogs, especially as they're a pretty rare sight these days. It's more likely to be squirrels.Alex L said:
Silverage said:
In a separate disaster I’m getting nightly visits from what I think must be a hedgehog who is visiting the other side of the back lawn and ripping great chunks of it up.
Highly unlikely it's hedgehogs, especially as they're a pretty rare sight these days. It's more likely to be squirrels.Silverage said:
Are squirrels nocturnal? The rip the lawn to shreds party is always overnight. They leave a load of turds behind as well that look like hedgehogs’
No idea but as far as I know hedgehogs just eat worms and slugs on the surface and aren’t known for digging. If you do have hedgehogs you should be privileged as they’re slowly dying out.Squirrels are the bane of my gardening life.
Lawn at the moment is mostly about leaf pickup. I don't have a big lawn, but leaves get everywhere. I have ordered a petrol wheeled garden vav as a Leaf blower is no use whatsoever when it is wet.
I like the vac as it properly chops up leaves and twigs for composting, and the hose gets into corners in flowerbeds etc. The mower picks up leaves, but not that well, and doesn't really chop them up properly.
The vac also has a scarifying attachment, so can be used for this as well.
Yes, I am justifying a new garden toy to myself. PH Man Maths.
Lawn at the moment is mostly about leaf pickup. I don't have a big lawn, but leaves get everywhere. I have ordered a petrol wheeled garden vav as a Leaf blower is no use whatsoever when it is wet.
I like the vac as it properly chops up leaves and twigs for composting, and the hose gets into corners in flowerbeds etc. The mower picks up leaves, but not that well, and doesn't really chop them up properly.
The vac also has a scarifying attachment, so can be used for this as well.
Yes, I am justifying a new garden toy to myself. PH Man Maths.
Harry Flashman said:
Lawn at the moment is mostly about leaf pickup. I don't have a big lawn, but leaves get everywhere. I have ordered a petrol wheeled garden vav as a Leaf blower is no use whatsoever when it is wet.
Leaves you say, bear in mind I went over the garden with the ride on at half 4 yesterday to mulch the leaves
Untitled by Alex L, on FlickrGassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff