2022 Lawn Thread

[r44flyer]

I've trimmed the lawn a couple of times now which has made it obvious how many patches of unwanted grass I have growing in what I want to be a largely uniform sward. I'm teetering on the edge of glyphosating the entire thing (100sqm) and starting again.

I cannot strip or rotavate it again, so my plan is to kill it off once and possibly twice, scalp it to remove the dead grass, level the minor imperfections with topdressing and seed.

Anyone got any tips on achieving success? How long might I be looking at before I have a usable lawn again? A month, in good conditions?

[darreni]

Drew106 said:

Any tips on tackling a neglected and overgrown lawn for a novice?

I've bought myself a Mountfield Elite (the one with the Honda engine), hoping it's a decent middle of the road mower. Still in the box currently.

The garden is on a bit of a hill, uneven and overgrown.

My plan is to just whack the cut level on the highest setting and hope for the best. Sound good?

Planning to buy a strimmer too. Possibly this weekend.

I’ve just bought the sp53h( Honda engine) after doing the first cut of the year last week with the old mower. It was out of its depth & it convinced me to get something bigger & more powerful.

Quick question the grass is still pretty long, am I better to collect the clippings or mulch them at the mo?

[r44flyer]

I would collect until shorter and drier.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

r44flyer said:

I'm teetering on the edge of glyphosating the entire thing (100sqm) and starting again.

I hate to be negative, but I did that about 5 or 6 years ago, and it didn't work. Within six months I had just as much weed grass as I had before. If you've got a large amount of weed grass, then there'll be a huge seed bank in the soil that can germinate for years afterwards. Especially Poa annua.

[dhutch]

Drew106 said:

Any tips on tackling a neglected and overgrown lawn for a novice?

I've bought myself a Mountfield Elite (the one with the Honda engine), hoping it's a decent middle of the road mower. Still in the box currently.

The garden is on a bit of a hill, uneven and overgrown.

My plan is to just whack the cut level on the highest setting and hope for the best. Sound good?

Planning to buy a strimmer too. Possibly this weekend.

Looks fairly good to me.

But yeah, as said, max height cut and bring it down to the desired height from there. Avoiding aiming to cut it super short.

The unevenness may in part be the long grass, give it a cut or two and see how it feels in a fortnight. Depending on intended use it might well be fine.

[dhutch]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

I hate to be negative, but I did that about 5 or 6 years ago, and it didn't work. Within six months I had just as much weed grass as I had before. If you've got a large amount of weed grass, then there'll be a huge seed bank in the soil that can germinate for years afterwards.

Yeah, I am not an expert. But it comes over the hedges and fences too obvious. Better to work with improving what you have, which will all translate into keeping in nice going fwd.

[r44flyer]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

I hate to be negative, but I did that about 5 or 6 years ago, and it didn't work. Within six months I had just as much weed grass as I had before. If you've got a large amount of weed grass, then there'll be a huge seed bank in the soil that can germinate for years afterwards. Especially Poa annua.

I feared that might be the case. I had a couple of small wins last year slashing the poa and overseeding to try and crowd it out, but it's hard work.

Going for a 100% high density dwarf perennial ryegrass seed this year, aiming for something capable of being lush at short cutting heights but also hard wearing with quick recovery (kids + football + paddling pool!).

[dhutch]

At very least, just glyposate the patches of grass you don't like. 😂

[Drew106]

darreni said:

I’ve just bought the sp53h( Honda engine) after doing the first cut of the year last week with the old mower. It was out of its depth & it convinced me to get something bigger & more powerful.

It's the SP46 that I've bought. Wasn't sure what to buy initially but spent a little time reading up and the Mountfield seemed like a good option, as the cheapest Izy was around £100 more.

[-BFG-]

I’ve just cut the lawn on a high setting and give it a bloody good rake though and spread some lawn feed and weed on it.


I’m planning on overdressing with some topsoil (wickes bags) and over seeding with grass seed.

When is best to do to this April, mid April ?

With regards to seeding- just chuck it on, rake in and roll over or mix in with the topsoil ?


I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I find it extremely satisfying just sitting outside with a beer, radio on low nd just enjoying my own company.

[dhutch]

-BFG- said:

I’m planning on overdressing with some topsoil (wickes bags) and over seeding with grass seed.

When is best to do to this April, mid April ?

With regards to seeding- just chuck it on, rake in and roll over or mix in with the topsoil ?

Depends on the temperature really. North South etc.

For technique, have a watch of the Lawnsmiths guides.

[-BFG-]

Lincolnshire way.

Next week lows of 5 in the early hours 11+ during the day .

[RichB]

-BFG- said:

Lincolnshire way. Next week lows of 5 in the early hours 11+ during the day .

Still too cold, it will take ages to germinate so you may as well wait a couple more weeks, it geminate quicker so the birds will eat less and you'll get a better result.

[Thebaggers]

Mine has taken a big if a hammering this week. Perhaps needs a weed and feed.

[ToastMan76]

Been having some drainage issues on the lawn since the landscaper didnt put in enough drainage to counter the heavy compacted clay of the new build. First DIY attempt at putting in a French drain to hopefully cure the waterlogging, or at least allow the lawn to drain quicker. Probably get hate for this but Ive gone fabric-less, and instead backfilled with extra gravel. Taken the time to pull out all the stones larger than a palm, and found a boulder under there which took a lot of shifting. Also re-used the dug out clay as topsoil, but mixed it with sharp sand and compost to try to improve it and make it drain a bit better. Also created a makeshift soakaway at the end which is basically a pit filled with some of the dug up rocks and gravel.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

-BFG- said:

Next week lows of 5 in the early hours 11+ during the day .

It’s not the air temperature that counts when we’re talking about seed germination - it’s the soil temperature that matters.

And remember that soil temperature always lags behind the air temperature, so a few warm days doesn’t mean you’ve got the 10°C soil temperature you need for germination.

It’s still too early for seeding, even in the south of the country IMHO. Wait a few more weeks.

[V1nce Fox]

Thanks for posting this. Was planning on seeding mine this weekend (south coast) but i’ll hang off a bit.

Also, i have a bit of lawn which always dies back. It’s under a wall grown winter jasmine but not obscuring the sunlight. The jasmine vertically overhangs the lawn by half a foot, about 2 feet above it and the lawn dies off here no matter what i plant there.

Any tips?

[DonkeyApple]

V1nce Fox said:

Thanks for posting this. Was planning on seeding mine this weekend (south coast) but i’ll hang off a bit.

Also, i have a bit of lawn which always dies back. It’s under a wall grown winter jasmine but not obscuring the sunlight. The jasmine vertically overhangs the lawn by half a foot, about 2 feet above it and the lawn dies off here no matter what i plant there.

Any tips?

Mark out the area where the grass doesn't grow and plant something that does? I use woodland geranium as they're tough as old boots, tend to keep their foliage through most winters and give a good burst of flowers.

[Evanivitch]

Cracked out the scarifier today.

Just making sure it still works, didn't use it in anger!

[-BFG-]

Good shout Richb- woke up this morning with a small bit of frost on the cars.