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Whats wrong with my lawn?

I love gardeningI love gardening Posts: 14
in Problem solving
Gutted my garden when I moved in 2 years ago and started from scratch everything is new and laid the  lawn last year looked great everything prepared correctly. This year it seemed fine until about 3 weeks ago when these patches started appearing along with lots of mushrooms. I wondered if it could be red or pink thread?  If it is I have read that I need to give it plenty of nitrogen can anyone tell me how I do that please.

Posts

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    Can't help with your lawn, but have to say you've made a great garden in only two years.  That trellis is so attractive, it almost seems a shame to cover it with plants!
  • BorderlineBorderline Posts: 4,700
    I can't see much wrong with your lawn. Mushrooms can appear, but they are unlikely to harm your lawn. Perhaps the patches need a bit of light raking over to allow more air and water into the roots. Over time, dead grass tend to accumulate and block water from getting into the soil.

    Depending on your soil underneath, you will need to spike the lawn in the autumn time to ensure good drainage. If there is no rain for long periods, avoid cutting the grass so low. Allows time for your grass to recover. Nitrogen feeds are available in many good garden centres. 
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    It's a problem associated with poor drainage so the first thing to do is scarify - use a spring-tined rake or an electric scarifier to remove all the dead brown stuff and any other thatch then, if it's bad, feed the grass with sulphate of ammonia which you can buy in good DIY's and garden centres.  Be careful to use the correct doses and not to over feed or feed too late in the season.  If it's not a huge patch it may well recover on its own once you improve aeration by scarifying.

    A long term solution is then to spike your lawn at frequent intervals with the prongs of your garden fork, pushing them in as deep as you can and wiggling back and forth to open up the holes.  Then you brush in dry, sharp sand (not builders' sand) to keep the holes open and thus improve drainage.   Raise the blades on your mower for the rest of this summer as the longer leaves will feed the roots better and make them stronger while the grass recovers.

    This is what the RHS says about symptoms and control - https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=268 
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • I love gardeningI love gardening Posts: 14
    Thank you all for the helpful advice. When the patches first appeared they had a pink/red tinge and fluffy looking bits on ends which made me wonder if it was red thread. The lawn is only a year old and the ground was almost over prepared and very well drained. It was very well spiked in November. Do I just look at what is in the lawn feed pack to find one with a good nitrogen content? I am only worried because this has only happened in the past 2 weeks and we have had plenty of rain!
  • I love gardeningI love gardening Posts: 14
    Maybe  this is a better picture of the red tinge.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    @ilovegardening ... further to your message ... I’m not a lawn expert but my instinct would be to take out all that brown grass with an electric rake and then possibly treat it with some Westland Aftercut. It’s not a product I’ve used but I have heard good things from someone who has used it. 

    @glasgowdan is very experienced with lawns ... hopefully he’ll see this query and have some suggestions. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • glasgowdanglasgowdan Posts: 632
    It's certainly red thread.  You could do worse than put down some evergreen 4in1 as a domestic product. It's around 14% nitrogen from memory which is approaching the high side, plus contains iron which pushs the cell structure in the grass to stiffen a bit and become harder against disease. I would get a spreader and apply it at 20g/m2 which is a lower than suggested dose (measure the lawn, weigh out 20grams per m2 and apply using a low setting on the spreader, going over twice or whatever is needed for even and full coverage). 

    Cut as normal after a week. A few nice low cuts would be good before raising the height again. Water well if the weather gets dry, a heavy watering every few days. 

    It'll go away over time so don't worry
  • I love gardeningI love gardening Posts: 14
    Thank you so much, now I know what to get will do exactly as you say. I really wanted to get to the bottom of what had happened to my lovely lawn.
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