The 2024 Lawn Thread
Discussion
Apologies if another is up and running....
On the assumption that there isn't......
For the first time ever, I mowed my lawn in January. Its been needing a slight trim since November as the grass kept on growing due to the mild Nov & Dec, but due to the incessant rain the ground felt like walking on a sponge.
Very glad I did though, as it makes such a difference to my outlook when looking outside whilst working.
When mowing I noticed quite a bit more moss than usual (due to the amount of rain/dampness), so I've ordered some winter green fertilizer to try and make the work in the spring a bit easier i.e. dealing with the moss in advance.
On the assumption that there isn't......
For the first time ever, I mowed my lawn in January. Its been needing a slight trim since November as the grass kept on growing due to the mild Nov & Dec, but due to the incessant rain the ground felt like walking on a sponge.
Very glad I did though, as it makes such a difference to my outlook when looking outside whilst working.
When mowing I noticed quite a bit more moss than usual (due to the amount of rain/dampness), so I've ordered some winter green fertilizer to try and make the work in the spring a bit easier i.e. dealing with the moss in advance.
I used to work for company that made lawncare products, and during that time attempted to make my lawn up to what one might call 'PR photo standard'.
Now I know that I have as much chance of achieving that as 'green policies' have of changing the weather, so as long as it's flat and green (be it grass, moss or weeds within reason) I'm not too bothered
Now I know that I have as much chance of achieving that as 'green policies' have of changing the weather, so as long as it's flat and green (be it grass, moss or weeds within reason) I'm not too bothered
I got the mower out at the weekend and gave the main lawn and round to the back door a trim as like yours, ours has gotten a bit wild. The warmer winter has meant it kept growing. Lots of wet areas, really boggy but not too much moss yet. I have a tow along de-thatcher and aerator so will get them out at some stage but for now, just giving it a little trim had made a world of difference. Think I'll have to go with the little and often approach though as the ground is too soft.
pacenotes said:
... looking at the grass it's mostly moss and a slight slope down the garden.
What should be my first plan of action?
I'm guessing scarify then feed/seed? Should I put down some top soil?
Not an expert, but having being doing this for five years with our own lawn. What should be my first plan of action?
I'm guessing scarify then feed/seed? Should I put down some top soil?
A major restoration might look something like:
-Scarify it good and hard to remove bulk of the moss. Ideally a petrol blade/flail type unless it's a fairly small lawn and you want to buy an electric.
-Iron to remove what remains and reduce come backs. Liquid if you have or are buying a sprayer else lawn sand in a rotary spreader works well too.
-Hollow tine it good and hard, two or three passes. I broadly prefer the Camon LA25 type machine, but the rotary Bannerman type works well to make a sort of top dressing.
-Then overseed with seed of choice (atleast half a week after the iron) and fertilise with a suitable NPK only product (not a 4in1) again, could be liquid but I use a granular in my cheap rotary spreader.
-Seed will always take better if top dressed, but if you take it well in to the exposed earth that works too. You can always rescarify with the box off to reintroduce rake lines. Or assuming compaction, hollow tining it at this point with mess it up nicely.
-If time/costs/size allows, you can then cover the seed either with polythene (including old packaging) or horticultural flease (pros and cons of both) till it geminates. Once removed, you can manually pick out any large weeds, but dont worry too much. You can also patch in an bits that have taken less well.
-Then 3-6months down the line when its well established you can hit it with a round of selective broad leaf herbicide weed killer, and everything should be perfect forever!
But it also depends on time and conditions etc, if the soil type is awful that's a different proposition to if it's broadly good.
Also if you need to focus on the house for the first couple of weeks, if it's in a bad way, you can do a lot worse than hit it with a round of diy shed spec 4in1 before all kr the above.
Then treat yourself to a robot lawnmower.....
Edited by dhutch on Tuesday 30th January 13:38
pacenotes said:
I'm moving house in a few weeks hopefully,
The sellers said they were never gardeners, By looking at the grass it's mostly moss and a slight slope down the garden.
What should be my first plan of action?
I'm guessing scarify then feed/seed? Should I put down some top soil?
It depends how bad the lawn is. I did a full reno in may/june last year (bit late as was very warm). Fortunately in the midlands we dont get hosepipe bans. The sellers said they were never gardeners, By looking at the grass it's mostly moss and a slight slope down the garden.
What should be my first plan of action?
I'm guessing scarify then feed/seed? Should I put down some top soil?
If there are a lot of weeds you might want to do the same and glyphosate the whole lawn and start again. It's not as difficult as it sounds.
These make putting the compost down very easy https://cotonmachinery.co.uk/products/pre-order-24...
https://youtu.be/uQX7zySIVQw?si=TPDTgSXh0i2MJFE7
pacenotes said:
I'm moving house in a few weeks hopefully,
The sellers said they were never gardeners, By looking at the grass it's mostly moss and a slight slope down the garden.
What should be my first plan of action?
I'm guessing scarify then feed/seed? Should I put down some top soil?
Moss is often caused by poor drainage. If you've got a good slope so you can get fall , I'd start off by putting in some herringbone drainage using 4" holed plastic drainage pipe and 3 way connectors on a bed of pea gravel (don't use limestone crusher because the dust will block the holes) . Without decent drainage you are just wasting time and money IMHO . If you can't take the water away (off your land) then dig a deep (6 foot) sump hole filled with largish rocks and pebbles to run the pipes into .The sellers said they were never gardeners, By looking at the grass it's mostly moss and a slight slope down the garden.
What should be my first plan of action?
I'm guessing scarify then feed/seed? Should I put down some top soil?
In my old house , I did this, but also installed a solid 1" pipe into the sump hole , feed to my summerhouse, where I had an electric pump. If it was really wet in winter , I pumped the water discretely into an adjoining park , but in summer dry spells I used it to water my garden (I was on a water meter then
)Edited by glow worm on Tuesday 30th January 13:26
Well my robot is now out and about set at 70mm. The major task is refurb after mole attack. We went on holiday in December knowing that we have a mole as there were half a dozen molehills.
When we came back 2 weeks later we had 87 molehills. Some were absolutely huge.
As I only had a couple of traps I decided to call in the mole man. We had 5 moles despatched despite the general consensus that they are fairly solitary blighters.
Nearly killed me flattening that lot and getting the stones out to avoid damaging the robots blades. Guess I will need to reseed when it warms up a bit.
I wonder if the constant traversing of the robot put them off as they certainly invaded when he was parked up.
When we came back 2 weeks later we had 87 molehills. Some were absolutely huge.
As I only had a couple of traps I decided to call in the mole man. We had 5 moles despatched despite the general consensus that they are fairly solitary blighters.
Nearly killed me flattening that lot and getting the stones out to avoid damaging the robots blades. Guess I will need to reseed when it warms up a bit.
I wonder if the constant traversing of the robot put them off as they certainly invaded when he was parked up.
I've found this site helpful for planning when soil temps might be getting favourable, just pop your postcode in.
https://www.farmersguide.co.uk/weather/
https://www.farmersguide.co.uk/weather/
I sadly have reached an age/dullness where I've started to take a mild interest in my lawn...
Levelled out a few dips last year, this year I'm going to aerete, scarify and try and improve the soil in the shady parts to discourage moss.
I've also been saving wood ash from the fire to try make the soil less favourable to moss.
Levelled out a few dips last year, this year I'm going to aerete, scarify and try and improve the soil in the shady parts to discourage moss.
I've also been saving wood ash from the fire to try make the soil less favourable to moss.
Use www.lawnsmith.co.uk and check their weather influenced diary.
I cut mine for the first time mid week, took the tops off and looks much better for it. Getting some winter feed down in a week, then it'll leave a 12 week gap before I go a proper spring weed & feed.
The ground is still crazy soft though, so as per lawn smith it's an opportunity to sort worm casts and remove leaves.
Mid-life, what happened to me...
I cut mine for the first time mid week, took the tops off and looks much better for it. Getting some winter feed down in a week, then it'll leave a 12 week gap before I go a proper spring weed & feed.
The ground is still crazy soft though, so as per lawn smith it's an opportunity to sort worm casts and remove leaves.
Mid-life, what happened to me...
James-gbg1e said:
Use www.lawnsmith.co.uk and check their weather influenced diary.
I cut mine for the first time mid week, took the tops off and looks much better for it. Getting some winter feed down in a week, then it'll leave a 12 week gap before I go a proper spring weed & feed.
The ground is still crazy soft though, so as per lawn smith it's an opportunity to sort worm casts and remove leaves.
Mid-life, what happened to me...
I have done the same. I used to scoff at people and their lawn's. Now I am one of them.I cut mine for the first time mid week, took the tops off and looks much better for it. Getting some winter feed down in a week, then it'll leave a 12 week gap before I go a proper spring weed & feed.
The ground is still crazy soft though, so as per lawn smith it's an opportunity to sort worm casts and remove leaves.
Mid-life, what happened to me...
I'm going to do a light winter feed, then when the ground firms up, go for a scarify and then out with the iron sulphate and some weeding in prep for spring.
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