2021 Lawn thread

[DonkeyApple]

Riff Raff said:

DonkeyApple said:

I'll often scarify mid summer and this year I shaved the lawn right the way down so it resembled a Delhi wicket and its all bounced back and is a vision in green.

I did that too. It still looks like a Delhi wicket with a few tufts....

It's been pretty dry here but it's gone from this:



To this is about 4/5 weeks, including a Sangat themed tent party on it for a week half way through:

[dhutch]

DonkeyApple said:

Riff Raff said:

DonkeyApple said:

I'll often scarify mid summer and this year I shaved the lawn right the way down so it resembled a Delhi wicket and its all bounced back and is a vision in green.

I did that too. It still looks like a Delhi wicket with a few tufts....

It's been pretty dry here but it's gone from this:

To this is about 4/5 weeks, including a Sangat themed tent party on it for a week half way through:

Yes, I remember when you did it and I was slightly amazed, I guess if it is growing well it is growing well.

3/4 of our lawn is growing well, but the 1/3 near the trees (ignoring the bit under the trees that never grows) hasnt really grown for a fortnight now.

We are on sandy loam, with sandstone bedrock 6-12inches below, so dry is very dry.


Daniel

[MrChips]

Mines being doing ok despite actually having a lot of poa in it. Certainly the Allett mower is making it look a ton better than my older Honda izy which is now resigned to winter work.



In no particular order, my next plans are scarify, overseed, nematodes for leatherjackets, and an autumn feed. I’ve also got some Tenacity selective weed killer to target the poa a bit but I suspect I’ll have to pull out a fair bit by hand as well.

[DonkeyApple]

dhutch said:

DonkeyApple said:

Riff Raff said:

DonkeyApple said:

I'll often scarify mid summer and this year I shaved the lawn right the way down so it resembled a Delhi wicket and its all bounced back and is a vision in green.

I did that too. It still looks like a Delhi wicket with a few tufts....

It's been pretty dry here but it's gone from this:

To this is about 4/5 weeks, including a Sangat themed tent party on it for a week half way through:

Yes, I remember when you did it and I was slightly amazed, I guess if it is growing well it is growing well.

3/4 of our lawn is growing well, but the 1/3 near the trees (ignoring the bit under the trees that never grows) hasnt really grown for a fortnight now.

We are on sandy loam, with sandstone bedrock 6-12inches below, so dry is very dry.


Daniel

At the top where it is under the trees it hasn't really grown all summer and the back garden is in shade much of the day and with some large trees that suck out all the moisture and that has only needed cutting once every two weeks all this summer.

[Harry Flashman]

My lawn, which due to being laid on sand by monkeys, goes horrible in winter and then doesn't do anything until late May.

So I am turning it into a flowerbed, by planting a few hundred bulbs in it this autumn. Alliums around a bit edges where I intend to let it grow a bit wild, so don't jhave to mow, and a load of daffs and crocus in drifts elsewhere.

If it is going to look balls until June, and I can't be bothered to re-lay it, I may as well use it as a substrate for nice flowers.

[dhutch]

Harry Flashman said:

My lawn, which due to being laid on sand by monkeys, goes horrible in winter and then doesn't do anything until late May.

So I am turning it into a flowerbed, by planting a few hundred bulbs in it this autumn. Alliums around a bit edges where I intend to let it grow a bit wild, so don't jhave to mow, and a load of daffs and crocus in drifts elsewhere.

If it is going to look balls until June, and I can't be bothered to re-lay it, I may as well use it as a substrate for nice flowers.

Ha. Amazing. We need to get some more daffs in too actually.

[dhutch]

phope said:

I've been following this thread for tips - we moved into a new build house late last year, and the builders threw down turf in a cold December....

....on a mixture of half bricks, cement, builders sand and clay.

Seriously. Sadly there might be bugger all soil under the bits that aren't growing well. I would dig up the worse and largest dear patch and investing a little.

Grass doesn't need much depth of good soil, but modern turf is bloody thin and it does need some soil.

Daniel

[phope]

dhutch said:

phope said:

I've been following this thread for tips - we moved into a new build house late last year, and the builders threw down turf in a cold December....

....on a mixture of half bricks, cement, builders sand and clay.

Seriously. Sadly there might be bugger all soil under the bits that aren't growing well. I would dig up the worse and largest dear patch and investing a little.

Grass doesn't need much depth of good soil, but modern turf is bloody thin and it does need some soil.

Daniel

It's not too bad actually...we'd moved in early November and it was December before the front garden was done - I'd prefer them to have waited to the spring, personally.

In between, I managed to remove most of the left over stuff like bricks and stones. The ground itself is an old farm field used for growing vegetables and the soil is rich in clay

I'll see how this turns out, and if not taking properly, will bite the bullet for a complete returf.

[Semmelweiss]

MrChips said:

Mines being doing ok despite actually having a lot of poa in it. Certainly the Allett mower is making it look a ton better than my older Honda izy which is now resigned to winter work.



In no particular order, my next plans are scarify, overseed, nematodes for leatherjackets, and an autumn feed. I’ve also got some Tenacity selective weed killer to target the poa a bit but I suspect I’ll have to pull out a fair bit by hand as well.

I'd wait until mid/end April next year for the Tenacity. You need the spring warmth not the autumn cool to stimulate the growth and suppress the photosynthesis as the day grows longer. Don't forget a wetting agent and an indigo dye.

[dhutch]

phope said:

It's not too bad actually...we'd moved in early November and it was December before the front garden was done...

In between, I managed to remove most of the left over stuff like bricks and stones. The ground itself is an old farm field used for growing vegetables and the soil is rich...

Oh nice. Fair enough then, should improve well. Maybe overseed?

[ooid]

Dal3D said:

Is there anything I can do to get rid of or at least lessen the effects of puppy pee burn marks?

remove the dead bits kindly and re seed them.. just water it more often when puppy is around.

I’ve got two hounds constantly using our lawn as their toilet but cutting it weekly and regular watering really help.

Fertilizer once a month also..

[DonkeyApple]

Or train the dog to pee in a particular place and save the endless maintenance. They're very programmable and if you genuinely don't want them peeing and pooing on the lawn. We always had a square of gravel that the dogs used. Makes life much easier.

[JonnyVTEC]

I've got 'dog rocks' which seems to have worked over the summer to keep the number of patches down, of course the dogs drink water just after refilling the bowl so they dont have time to 'treat' the water.

[ooid]

These two buggers peeing everywhere constantly

No allocated spot but watering the area regularly helps really..

[deckster]

I do miss the stripes. But since I employed George at the start of the season he's been diligently out for an hour every day and I can honestly say the grass has never been thicker or healthier. Best thing I've ever done for the lawn all things considered.

[Dal3D]

ooid said:

remove the dead bits kindly and re seed them.. just water it more often when puppy is around.

I’ve got two hounds constantly using our lawn as their toilet but cutting it weekly and regular watering really help.

Fertilizer once a month also..

Thanks. But with it being 400m2 worth it'll take a lot of watering! I've been watering the bits he prefers, but maybe it need a bit more. I have dug some of the dead out and overseaded with good success but it's a painstaking process. Fertilized which has helped a bit too.

DonkeyApple said:

Or train the dog to pee in a particular place and save the endless maintenance. They're very programmable and if you genuinely don't want them peeing and pooing on the lawn. We always had a square of gravel that the dogs used. Makes life much easier.

Our 9 year old "pup" pees where he likes and there's no after effect so trying to get the 7 month old to only pee in one spot would be tricky to say the least.

If it just rained a bit it might help. Thanks for the suggestions though.

[dhutch]

DonkeyApple said:

Or train the dog to pee in a particular place and save the endless maintenance.

We have had some, if mixed, success with getting them to wet on the compost heap. It's slightly out of the way so they can slip back into old habits.

The other thing we find that works well is taking them for a walk first thing in the morning before letting them out. Then they do their big morning wet on something else entirely!


Daniel

[ScottJB]

After a bit of advice re: Lawn Rust

Noticed the rear lawn has been yellowing up a bit recently. Put it down to the dry weather we've had but having taking a proper look today appears to be lawn "rust". As i'm getting a rust coloured dust on the mower and examining the grass blades themselves this morning they have rust spots that are almost a perfect match for the google images i'm seeing.

Background - Old ancient lawn killed (mostly moss, clover, & poa) and ground levelled. New unscreened "farm soil" introduced (13T), lots of stones removed but underlying soil still isn't the best. Lawn seeded from scratch in June. Lawnsmith Easygreen with the starter fertilizer. Established well, no patches. Cutting weekly/fortnighly) at 45mm. Although growing well grass growth has been better on the "built up" side vs the "dug down" side. Most of the yellowing/rust initially occurred on the poorer growing side too.

Initial response (3 weeks ago) - was to throw some more starter fertiliser down in the initially yellowing area and watering in.

Result - This has given me patchy lush green spots in amongst the yellow sections. Meanwhile yellowing has continued across wider lawn as "rust" spreads

Next Steps - seems there is no actual treatment exactly but that adding fertiliser seems to be the way to go. Some sites have suggested a low Nitrogen fertiliser whereas others don't make this distinction and just talk about an Autumn fertiliser. Looking at Lawnsmith now, appears that the Autumn Fertiliser is 15% Nitrogen which seems high compared to the starter stuff and maybe not what i need. Still have a kilo or two of starter fertiliser so can spread this if advisable? Also worth me top dressing with some compost/new top soil this time of year particularly on the poorer growing side?

Any advice/steer to a product would be much appreciated.

[Milkbuttons]

ScottJB said:

After a bit of advice re: Lawn Rust

Noticed the rear lawn has been yellowing up a bit recently. Put it down to the dry weather we've had but having taking a proper look today appears to be lawn "rust". As i'm getting a rust coloured dust on the mower and examining the grass blades themselves this morning they have rust spots that are almost a perfect match for the google images i'm seeing.

Background - Old ancient lawn killed (mostly moss, clover, & poa) and ground levelled. New unscreened "farm soil" introduced (13T), lots of stones removed but underlying soil still isn't the best. Lawn seeded from scratch in June. Lawnsmith Easygreen with the starter fertilizer. Established well, no patches. Cutting weekly/fortnighly) at 45mm. Although growing well grass growth has been better on the "built up" side vs the "dug down" side. Most of the yellowing/rust initially occurred on the poorer growing side too.

Initial response (3 weeks ago) - was to throw some more starter fertiliser down in the initially yellowing area and watering in.

Result - This has given me patchy lush green spots in amongst the yellow sections. Meanwhile yellowing has continued across wider lawn as "rust" spreads

Next Steps - seems there is no actual treatment exactly but that adding fertiliser seems to be the way to go. Some sites have suggested a low Nitrogen fertiliser whereas others don't make this distinction and just talk about an Autumn fertiliser. Looking at Lawnsmith now, appears that the Autumn Fertiliser is 15% Nitrogen which seems high compared to the starter stuff and maybe not what i need. Still have a kilo or two of starter fertiliser so can spread this if advisable? Also worth me top dressing with some compost/new top soil this time of year particularly on the poorer growing side?

Any advice/steer to a product would be much appreciated.

I'm not sure on the rust but I bought this 2 weeks ago and my lawn is looking great, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miracle-Gro-EverGreen-Pre...

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Milkbuttons said:

I'm not sure on the rust but I bought this 2 weeks ago and my lawn is looking great, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Miracle-Gro-EverGreen-Pre...

That’s my summer fertiliser of choice as well.

But it’s rather high on the nitrogen to be applying it now, IMHO. And the Spring/Autumn version is also rather high on nitrogen (and bizarrely doesn’t have any phosphate).