2023 Lawn Thread

[finlo]

I just use the mower for leaf gathering.

[SonicHedgeHog]

I shall be applying a generous dose of Mobacter in a week or two. Just want to make sure the last of the frost is gone. Due to the heavy rainfall I have quite a lot of moss so it’s going to have its work cut out.

[rfsteel]

finlo said:

I just use the mower for leaf gathering.

Tried that a couple of years ago, and found I spent more time emptying the grass collect than mowing, also the ground is still quiet soft, so my petrol mower will just sink into the mud.

Trust me, I've tried everything bar purchasing/borrowing a Billy Goat to aid the process



Looking at the neighbours lawns, maybe I should suggest a shared purchase and share it between us.

[RichB]

SonicHedgeHog said:

I shall be applying a generous dose of Mobacter in a week or two. Just want to make sure the last of the frost is gone. Due to the heavy rainfall I have quite a lot of moss so it’s going to have its work cut out.

Depending on where you are in the country there will be frosts through to April and possibly into May.
“N'er cast a clout till May is out,” and all that.

https://www.plantmaps.com/interactive-united-kingd...

[SonicHedgeHog]

Don’t worry we’re in Surrey. House prices here ensure beautifully mild weather from March onwards.

[Lonoxe]

After much research, just invested in this for lawn, orchard and paddock maintenance

Edited by Lonoxe on Monday 6th February 22:11

[ewanjp]

The top bit of my garden (about an acre) has had a kicking from some moles - it's clay so they tend to push the turf up rather than dig proper holes. Mean's it's pretty bumpy. The moles should be no more shortly. Wondering how bad an idea it is to pull a roller behind the mower and squash it all flat ish?

We leave most of it to be a wildflower meadow and cut it for hay, but it's a bit annoying to have it so bumpy (mainly when giving kids rides in the trailer attached to the mower!).

[Bonefish Blues]

SonicHedgeHog said:

I shall be applying a generous dose of Mobacter in a week or two. Just want to make sure the last of the frost is gone. Due to the heavy rainfall I have quite a lot of moss so it’s going to have its work cut out.

What do you reckon to this stuff?

[AndyC_123]

1000 m2 lawn is pure moss in places, had a good read and seems like iron sulphate is the solution?

Where is the best place to source it please? Have a knapsack sprayer to apply but best wash all the glyphosate out of it first I suppose.

Also have a petrol scarifier - how long after application should it be scarified?

Then some aerating and overseeding?

Cheers!

[dudleybloke]

Moss will start to die almost immediately when you put iron on it, wait a few days and it will come up easily.
I've been using it in lower doses as a preventative over winter and it's kept the moss at bay and helped with general lawn health.

[randlemarcus]

AndyC_123 said:

1000 m2 lawn is pure moss in places, had a good read and seems like iron sulphate is the solution?

Where is the best place to source it please? Have a knapsack sprayer to apply but best wash all the glyphosate out of it first I suppose.

Also have a petrol scarifier - how long after application should it be scarified?

Then some aerating and overseeding?

Cheers!

Amazon do a great big bag of soluble stuff for not a lot. I put about two tablespoons in a big watering can, and wander up and down watering with the rose on.

The effect is instant - you'll see the grass go deeper green, and the moss go black straightaway, but I tend to leave it a week or so before scarifying. Then aerate, topdress (to try and solve the issue of why there was moss in the first place), and overseed.

[dhutch]

Yeah, soluble iron is reasonably easy to get hold of and I think basically the same anywhere you get it from.

As per the Lawnsmiths guides, mix it up in a bucket and then pour into the sprayer leaving the last dregs behind, to avoid getting a blocked spray nozzle all the time.

Else use lawn sand, which is Iron+Sand and gooes on with a granular spreader.


If you have a petrol scarifier, then most seem to recommend scarification BEFORE applying the iron, get the bulk of it out the way, and treat what is left. Rather than treating what you are about to remove anyway. Moss doesnt have any roots, so you are not trying to get the chemical down into the roots, its literally a case of surface contact, so the more you can get out the way before spraying the better.

Its still a little early for scarifing I would say, certainly too early for overseeding which you will want to do straight after if its as bad as you suggest, so you have a few weeks to get everything together.

[Hereward]

I have a small patch of grass in a sunken lawn that I want to look its best this Summer.

Is it worth applying a Winter feed at this time of year or best to wait until April then apply a Spring feed? I applied a feed back in November, if I recall correctly.

Very heavy clay soil based in SE England. Thanks.

[McGee_22]

Not everyone's choice but I use the Evergreen 4 in 1 at this time of year for moss killing, weed killing and lawn feeding - as a once a year hit it works for the amount of weeds, moss and lawn feed I need for most of my lawn. I say this time of year as it needs to be watered in so a check of the weather forecast saw it naturally watered in last night. I gave up on the trundle along spreaders after several blockages and burn patches so now use a hand held like this...

https://www.wickes.co.uk/Wickes-Hand-Held-Lawn-Spr...

I have also used some of the Green Up Ferrous sulphate but the instructions aren't exactly clear and as others have mentioned about sprayers - they block easily.

A good neighbour has a petrol scarifier which will get up the thatch and moss in the next few weeks before the lawn growth really kicks in.

I also recently raked out two shady 10m2 areas that were carpeted by moss and I'm just waiting for March to arrive before I seed it out.

[dudleybloke]

If you do use a sprayer to apply the iron make sure you give it a good clean afterwards to stop it from gunking up the trigger mechanism.

[zb]

That appears to be the grass cutting season started in earnest. I spotted someone a few days ago in the neighbouring village doing their lawn, thought it was a bit ambitious, as it was the first dry day in ages, and the soil is still sodden and soft. Fast-forward to today, and my neighbour is out doing his. Not tempted, it'll be around another month, and a decent spell of, let's say less rain, before I consider it.

[Bonefish Blues]

Wouldn't be a problem around here - not bone dry, but getting close.

[RichB]

Cut mine 3 weeks ago, needs cutting again.

[Alpha1]

Just been out to spray some iron sulphate and I've noticed that the squirrels have had a good go at tearing as much grass up as they can. Any good deterrents?

[RichB]

Alpha1 said:

Just been out to spray some iron sulphate and I've noticed that the squirrels have had a good go at tearing as much grass up as they can. Any good deterrents?

Nope...