The 2024 Lawn Thread

[Simpo Two]

markbigears said:

You might want to put the iron on before a scarify

Ironing a lawn is a novel way to achieve perfection

I nipped out in a rare dry spell to cut my lawns a week ago. That's all they're getting for now.

[Techno9000]

A few weeks ago, my lawn was quite yellowed and the greener bits turned out to be plenty of moss. Some Gave it a high cut and later put down some Evergreen 3 in 1 in a dry spell at the start of the month, I can be certain its now watered in well!
Its now far lusher and the moss is largely knocked back, excepting a few spots where my manual application wasn't as even as I would have hoped.

Next step for me is overseeding and filling some patches where it was too shaded in the winter.
I'd hoped to do this a week or so back as temperatures were in the double digits, but time ran away and the rain has stopped play for the time being.

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

Techno9000 said:

I'd hoped to do this a week or so back as temperatures were in the double digits, but time ran away and the rain has stopped play for the time being.

Air temperature is not relevant.

Soil temperature is what governs grass seed germination, and that lags behind by several weeks. The mild weather we had a few weeks ago was nowhere near enough to warm the soil, which is still cold.

It is way too early to be putting grass seed down. Be patient, and wait another month. You’ll get much better results.

[glow worm]

Simpo Two said:

markbigears said:

You might want to put the iron on before a scarify

Ironing a lawn is a novel way to achieve perfection

I nipped out in a rare dry spell to cut my lawns a week ago. That's all they're getting for now.

I might try to borrow "the Iron" from the Golf course, become all the rage on Golf courses in the last 5 years.

Edited by glow worm on Tuesday 27th February 07:13

[James-gbg1e]

Dr Mike Oxgreen said:

Air temperature is not relevant.

Soil temperature is what governs grass seed germination, and that lags behind by several weeks. The mild weather we had a few weeks ago was nowhere near enough to warm the soil, which is still cold.

It is way too early to be putting grass seed down. Be patient, and wait another month. You’ll get much better results.

You can get seed that will germinate in lower soil tempts than the typical 12°C, so that's not strictly the case. It depends what you're seeding with.

[mattdavies]

I am looking to level 2/3rds of my lawn due to it being very uneven. I was thinking of rotavating it and levelling it.

When would be a good time to do this and is there any thing I should do prior to this ? Maybe kill some weekds or feed the grass thats there ?

[Dr Mike Oxgreen]

James-gbg1e said:

You can get seed that will germinate in lower soil tempts than the typical 12°C, so that's not strictly the case. It depends what you're seeding with.

Only a few °C colder, and that’s assuming Techno9000 is using cold-start seed.

I’ve been laying edging blocks around a new border in the last few days, and can confidently state that the soil is bleedin’ cold at the moment. I had to keep stopping to warm my hands back up after handling the soil.

And even if some seed does germinate, we could easily get a cold snap, perhaps even snow, which would kill off the seedling grass. Far better to wait in my opinion.

Edited by Dr Mike Oxgreen on Tuesday 27th February 13:50

[MDUBZ]

What Doc Mike said… you could start chitting to get a head start but you can still get frosts in late march, so wait until after then to sow.

https://turfcareblog.com/how-to-pre-germinate-gras...

Edited by MDUBZ on Tuesday 27th February 14:16

[MDUBZ]

Threw some lawn sand down today the moss is pretty bad in the areas where seed failed to germinate in October last year.. rest of it is looking pretty good, albeit n need of a cut. I noticed a few broadleaf weeds emerging so will spot treat those early in the week so I can get a cut next weekend.. it's starting to look quite mild at night next week.

That should set me up for a scalp and scarifying at the end of the month before any patch or overseeding. [Fingers crossed]

[glow worm]

I always find Lawn Sand (Iron Sulphate/Ammonium Sulphate) although effective , can be quite vicious and needs to be applied with care

[dhutch]

Lawn sand certainly doesn't scorch like 4in1, obviously a pile of it isn't going to help but it seems fine put in with a rotary to me.

I've put liquid iron on and double moss killing does before now (bad maths when tired) and had no real side effects.

[Tim Cognito]

I have quite clayey soil and there's shady parts which are quite mossy. To help it I was going to aerete with a fork and then should I fill the holes with anything? Compost? Sand?

Then is there an easy to use product which will help kill the moss and give the grass a bit of a helping hand so I'm not left with loads of dirt patches where the moss was.

[MDUBZ]

You could brush in some sand and some organic matter in to aid drainage, you basically want to help get air and nutrients to the roots and encourage microbes to do their thing.

Moss removal will leave bare patches, you can either overseed or patch repair depending on how big an area you need to cover is (I'll patch the bad bits and will overseed the rest of the lawn) good soil contact and consistent soil moisture and temp are key for germination, don't sow until after the last frost.

Products containing Ferrous/iron sulphate will kill moss ( 4in1 type treatments, lawn sand, or i have some in a liquud seawed tonic with it in, you can also buy it unmixed as granules which can be mixed in water for use with a watering can or sprayer or applied in granules with a spreader. It can also stop worm casts and is used as a grass hardener ( greens things up nicely). Dont get it on hard landscaping it will leave rust marks

You can buy a pre seed or spring summer fertiliser to put down if you want.. I'm not this year but did 2 years ago as the lawn was in quite a poor condition after moving in.

Edited by MDUBZ on Wednesday 6th March 19:51

[Tim Cognito]

Thank you, is there any reason not to use a 4 in 1 type thing over lawn sand?

[McGee_22]

Gave mine a 4-in-1 treatment during the milder but wet weather a few weeks ago and lots of Moss has already blackened with larger areas raked a little and smaller areas hand raked. I mowed about a week ago in between rainy spells but not since and I think I will borrow my neighbours scarifier this weekend to rip out thatch and more dead moss.

Will see how much or little grass is left after scarifying and then decide when to throw some seed and top soil into the thinner or bald patches.

Edit to add; Lovely sunny evening so I nabbed the machine and took out one full bin of thatch, moss and dead moss

Edited by McGee_22 on Thursday 7th March 19:46

[dhutch]

Tim Cognito said:

Thank you, is there any reason not to use a 4 in 1 type thing over lawn sand?

No, not specifically, and it can be an appropriate option for infrequent treatment of mid-low spec lawns, as its designed and intended. Which also includes a first port of call for someone wishing to turn such a lawn into a higher spec lawn.

The issues with are two fold.
- Because it includes all four elements, it is expensive and wasteful if you dont need them all. For instance if you just want to feed a lawn without weed or moss.
- Because its a powdered fast release nitrogen, its very sensitive to scorching if you over/miss-apply it, compared to a granular NKP fertiliser. You also tend not to get much choice as the ratios, although there are se autumn 4in1 products.

Like everything, if you know the limitations, you can work with them.

[zb]

1st high cut of the year, was badly needing done. 5ish days of dry weather, bar a brief light shower on Monday, ground was just about OK, with some cut in it.

Earliest I have ever had to get the mower out. Absolutely delighted, I beat the neighbour to it. Who, admittedly, has a far superior lawn to mine, well it bloody should be, as I came home at lunch one day, and he had the pros hard at it.

[dudleybloke]

Mine is looking a bit crap at the moment, think I have leatherjackets eating the roots.
Got patches of different grass popping up now too, tempted to kill it all off and restart from scratch again.

[Howard-]

Ah, here's the 2024 thread!

My lawn is looking ten times better than it did at the beginning of last year, thanks to my hard work throughout last year. I need to get a feed on it and then start assessing areas that need patching.

With the patching in mind, last year I used Lawnsmith's "Staygreen" which is supposed to be a decent hard wearing all-rounder. But I must admit I wasn't hugely impressed with the results.

Has anyone got any recommendations for a different one they like?

[The Three D Mucketeer]

Took advantage of the dry weather to give my lawns the 2nd cut of the year, followed by a good slitting with my 50 years old SISIS Autogreenman with it's slightly modified (electronic coil ... points & capacitor gone) vintage Briggs Stratton engine.