2020 Lawn thread

[RichB]

dr_gn said:

RichB said:

dr_gn said:

...made a seed/compost mix and spread it under some bird netting. This morning...frost. I guess I should have waited - I guess more is on the way...

With the daytime sunshine it's tempting but look at the forecasts, very cold at night for the next week. I'd wait a fortnight before overseeing.

I wonder if I could cover it for a couple of weeks?

some horticultural fleece would certainly help.

[dr_gn]

RichB said:

dr_gn said:

RichB said:

dr_gn said:

...made a seed/compost mix and spread it under some bird netting. This morning...frost. I guess I should have waited - I guess more is on the way...

With the daytime sunshine it's tempting but look at the forecasts, very cold at night for the next week. I'd wait a fortnight before overseeing.

I wonder if I could cover it for a couple of weeks?

some horticultural fleece would certainly help.

Hmm. Shame I didn’t get some before the lockdown.

[Harry Flashman]

Lawns. Hmm. My initially (three years ago) turf is looking decidedly tired. Part of the problem is that big trees around our garden give permanent shade in some corners, and a big oak tree sucks moisture out of the soil in another significant bit of the garden. It's not a big lawn, at around 200 square metres, but it's damned useful in London these days, as we are suddenly using the garden a great deal more than we have before.

So, taken from the correct angle, it doesn't look so bad, right?

20200324_092817 by baconrashers, on Flickr



But the dark corners look like this (note the moss, dying after I applied ferrous sulphate)

20200324_092830 by baconrashers, on Flickr



And the oak tree sucks moisture out of this bit so it is permanently dry. Quote the moisture gradient in different corners!

20200324_092854 by baconrashers, on Flickr




Been aerating it (the shoe things are useless and keep falling off, but this works and is decent light exercise)

20200324_092934 by baconrashers, on Flickr

I suspect that it will need seeding soon - but when it is in permanent use by a toddler, is this even possible?

Have only done a very light topping cut so far this year. They raked it with plastic rake to get rid of leaves blown off the trees by recent storms. Then aerated and ferrous sulphated it. Hoping it strengthens up a bit before I have to next cut it...

At least being at home during the day means that I can pay a bit of attention to the garden whilst trying to amuse the child...

Edited by Harry Flashman on Tuesday 24th March 11:10

[westberks]

first cut last week on a long, just a tidy up really to remove some debris and top the lawn.

Mower being serviced and should be ready for collection later today; quick cut again tomorrow one level lower in prep for scarifying on Thursday/Friday

then plan a mix of seed and topsoil to fill in some of the gaps in a couple of weeks when its had time to recover and the temp is up slightly.

[8-P]

I wish I had acres and a tractor mower, actually acres and a small petrol mower, just to pass more time.

[DonkeyApple]

8-P said:

I wish I had acres and a tractor mower, actually acres and a small petrol mower, just to pass more time.

Have you tried a beard trimmer taped to a broom stick?

[h0b0]

Having fired the landscapers for taking the piss cost wise I went out and bought a leaf blower, a strimmer and Geoff.



Now I just need the grass and about 30 years for the investment to pay off.

[dhutch]

Harry Flashman said:

Been aerating it (the shoe things are useless and keep falling off, but this works and is decent light exercise)

20200324_092934 by baconrashers, on Flickr

I suspect that it will need seeding soon - but when it is in permanent use by a toddler, is this even possible?

We have one like that from 'The Lawnsmith' and as you say, while real physical effort, it does actually work all right.

We over seeded reasonable effectively autumn before last while still allowing the dog on it and going on ourselves lightly. Tried again in the spring but got a dry week and very little took, missed this autumn, so will try again in a week or so!

[dhutch]

Few photos of our own.

Classic dog damage from the doghound. As always the case, the area around is greener and nicer than anywhere else.
I tend to feed all but this area in the middle and don't know of anything else to do bar training him to go elsewhere.

Presumably this is just classic thatch? Wants a good rake before overseeding? And some moss, which wants the Ferrous Sulphate I bought actually applying.


And an lawn weed, which might be black medic clover? Semi hardy to lawn weed killers but will go with repeat application or mechanical removal?


Cheers

[EarlofDrift]

Has anyone had any success with those 'No Rake' moss removers. I've got a buggered disc (medical term)and it looks like spinal surgery is some way off now thanks to Covid. Noticed Miracle Gro have a No Rake moss remover and read reviews of Richard Jackson's stuff off the shopping channel which was sold out but seemed to get good reviews that uses bacteria to naturally get rid of moss.

Are they a gimmick or will they work eventually

[Humgat]

My lawn this spring. I have to work on it with a scarifier soon.



This is its 3rd spring, looks not so bad.

BTW, which fertilizer are you going to use? Has someone ever used Simple Lawn Solutions? I want to change mine because I think it's not effective enough. Just found it in one of the reviews, and now I wonder how good is it.

[Nick_MSM]

Been cutting mine for several weeks now, this is the state of play at the moment. Top lawn is a bit threadbare in places so will be aerated and overseeded in a couple of weeks. Looking forward to bringing the cut height down!

[dhutch]

EarlofDrift said:

Has anyone had any success with those 'No Rake' moss removers.

Are they a gimmick or will they work eventually

I don't know if they do anything special, obviously raking afterwards is good, we use an electric rake (Bosch ALR 900) due to the area.
But equally any moss killer (ferrous sulphate) will kill it, and strength the grasses, which even without taking is better the it being alive!

[dhutch]

Humgat said:

My lawn this spring. I have to work on it with a scarifier soon.



This is its 3rd spring, looks not so bad.

BTW, which fertilizer are you going to use? Has someone ever used Simple Lawn Solutions? I want to change mine because I think it's not effective enough. Just found it in one of the reviews, and now I wonder how good is it.

Yeah, looks like my thatchy bits. I don't know if our ALR900 get it all up. Scarification seems to mean all sorts of things to different people.

I am using the Lawnsmith's granular feed. They have a filter for soil and lawn types and needs but we're on the "Spring & Summer Natur 18-3-8" spread with a (cheap Scott's) rotary spreader we already had.

[Stedman]

Complete newbie here so trying EG Complete 4-in-1. Looking forward to some warmer temps overnight so I can actually apply it!

[illmonkey]

New turf laid 6 weeks ago, it seems to be taking well, does lift anymore. Done a high mow at the weekend to just take the tops off and have been watering it every other day.

It does seem to be shrinking though, you can see the edges in some places and it's going a bit brown.

What's the best way to look after it from now?

[nonsequitur]

dhutch said:

Humgat said:

My lawn this spring. I have to work on it with a scarifier soon.



This is its 3rd spring, looks not so bad.

.

But it looks like you have a body buried just below the surface.

[ChocolateFrog]

illmonkey said:

New turf laid 6 weeks ago, it seems to be taking well, does lift anymore. Done a high mow at the weekend to just take the tops off and have been watering it every other day.

It does seem to be shrinking though, you can see the edges in some places and it's going a bit brown.

What's the best way to look after it from now?

I am by no means an expert so hopefully someone will be along shortly but I watered mine twice a day for the first week, typically we had zero rain and once a day for the second week.

I believe if they do shrink then it won't go back and you might need to fill a few edges in.

Lawn still looks good to me though.

[ChocolateFrog]

8-P said:

I wish I had acres and a tractor mower, actually acres and a small petrol mower, just to pass more time.

I only have a small lawn but was picking the weeds and leaves out the lawn one by one with no tools, just to drag it out.

[MrChips]

Given in to some of the boredom of the lockdown... and stumbled across this guys channel: https://youtu.be/dQDcXkLjzsk

He's done a full renovation, and whilst you have to forward wind the bits where he's just mowing or seeding etc, it's oddly watchable!

I'm a little more nervous about mine now that i've see how many weeds he had come up quite quickly. I'm gonna remove the matting on Sunday (so 8 days after glyphosate) and see how things are progressing. It'll give me a chance to redo any patches i might have missed.