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Lawn Crisis
katdaniel24
Posts: 3
With spring approaching I really need some lawn advice. Our lawn was laid on builders rubble some 3 years ago (we had no say in this), it’s never really thrived and over the last 6 months has turned to what appears to be 99.9% moss. what is the most cost effective way to resurrect the lawn or are we looking and taking it up and starting all over again- which I would like to avoid if at all possible.
We can only use organic/pet friendly products due to our ‘free range‘ rabbit. He does graze on the lawn which may also be a factor in its growth but this hasn’t been an issue in previous years and up until late last summer the lawn did need mowing as you would expect.
Any advice or pointers in the right direction would be gatefully received
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If the lawn is on builders rubble like you said it highly unlikely you will ever have a good lawn without redoing it all again , they should be about 6inch of top soil below the turf for good root growth.
Your lawn is probably very compacted if its a new build, stabbing a fork in at least 4 inch + all over the lawn and brushing in sharp sand will help with drainage and allow air / water / feed to access the roots better.
Moss is a sign of poor drainage, you can rake it out or use a high iron feed that will kill the top layers of moss, but either way it will need raking over. I would top dress the the lawn after and over seed as well.
You can use organic feeds like fish blood and bone on the lawn but be careful it may scorch it if its way overdosed. May be better to go for a liquid seaweed feed if you want to green the lawn up.
Try not to cut the lawn to short either unless it done very often and kept in good condition with feeds etc, it will help keep the grass stronger so it wouldn't get pushed out as easy by weeds / moss. It better for the grass to cut little but often.
Last edited: 11 February 2018 21:20:49
I had the same problem as you.
Did everything from weeding,feeding,spiking,top dressing,re-seeding etc.etc.My lawn never thrived so after 10 years I decided to have the whole thing taken up,rubble removed,rotovated,new topsoil and then re-turfed by professionals,didn't cost as much as I had imagined.Just wish I had done it earlier as it would have saved me a lot of (eventually pointless) hard work!!
I am now working on making it into a meadow lawn so am adding many of the 'weeds' that I previously tried to get rid of.A meadow lawn would also be rabbit friendly!
Also one corner of the lawn was always muddy so in the end I had paving put in that small section.
Sometimes you have to know when to stop trying to 'improve' something and start from scratch or just get rid of it!!
Thanks all. Yes, I feel I may need to start from scratch judging by the comments, but was hoping for a miracle cure.
When is the best time of year to start this little project?
Katdaniel, Spring as the weather starts to get warmer and dries out excess moisture plus everything starts to grow.
Builders cause a lot of heartbreak they take off and sell most of the topsoil then run tractors and fork lifts all over compacting the ground lay a bit of rubble for drainage , hard luck if you at the bottom of a hill you get all the run off, if you are flat it pools.They put on if you are lucky six inches of soil then lay general purpose lawn rolls, if it is not watered in daily it will never set down roots.
It will need to be redone, one slightly quicker way is to cut and lift the existing grass turves and turn them over then lay them back. Have a mix of washed sand and compost added on top of this then lay new grass rolls of better quality although still a general purpose type hard wearing is best. This will have lifted the grass level at least six inches higher and you do need drainage under any lawn. If you have the time and the money you could dig into the bottom layer a few short trenches filled with gravel for drainage but find out where the water would go first. I have done this on my Daughters new builds and know it works, if you start digging everything out it has to be got rid off then you have to bring in more topsoil plus a sand and compost topping under the rolls. Once it is down keep off it and water daily if it does not rain, When it needs cutting leave the blades high for a couple of cuts and always leave it at least one inch in length. With a rabbit you cannot feed and weed so it will be hand weeding but healthy grass will keep weeds to a minimum anyway. Hope this helps.
Frank.
Good advice from all re: restoring a lawn; but just to be a bit controversial why not just go with the moss? Much less maintenance no mowing can look really good in the right setting. It's just a thought
Lain R, My Fathers walled Garden had a shady patch which he let go to moss adding woodland herbs such as wild garlic, the hens allowed to roam free would always be found in there if we lost them. I suppose growing up with it I just took it for granted although now wish I had one, not possible in a mainly South and West facing garden.
Frank.
I must say in a certain light the moss does look attractive but just not for the whole garden!
Thank you Frank @Palaisglide sound advice there, much appreciated.
I should point out that the picture is not my garden it's at Capel Manor in the Japanese garden. I did plant the moss though, it came from in front of the tool barn on my allotment site, the plots were happy to be rid of it win win