Lawn repair

andrewg99 · August 2020

Hi all,

I’m a newbie to gardens and have made a mess of my lawn this year.

Its quite small and south east facing in East of Scotland (Fife). Maybe 10-20 square metres. It was covered in moss after winter and so from April to July I intermittently raked it out. This has left patches that have not grown back. I’ve tried different seeds. I’ve even put iron sulphate on to kill remaining moss.

Anyone offer help on how to fix it? Thank you.

Dovefromabove · August 2020

Hi @andrewg99 and welcome to the forum

Can you post some photos of the lawn to give us a picture of what's going on and what your options are?

To upload pics click on the little landscape icon and follow the instructions. There is a

size limit so if the pics don't appear reducing the size usually gets results.

Fairygirl · August 2020

I wonder if you're sowing seed on top of unsuitable soil especially if you've used iron sulphate.
The patches would need roughing up quite a bit, and the seed is best mixed with some fresh compost when sowing. It needs good contact with the soil too. If the ground is very mossy, it's also likely that the ground is quite compacted, which makes it more difficult to get a good bed for seed.

andrewg99 · August 2020

Thanks all. Here's some shots from this evening. I've not tried to seed since using iron sulphate, which was probably about a month ago. All i've done since then is mow, gently rake out dead moss and water a little.

Was thinking about roughing up the patches as suggested and reseeding after another month (the pack of iron spate advised 8 weeks).

I'm also aware my borders need a tidy!

Thanks again!

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/3l/dbcnmtdmzsbn.jpg

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/6030279/uploads/editor/b2/0xv59eukoabw.jpg

Fairygirl · August 2020

Yeh - rake out all that dead stuff, and wait until it's really damp so that you can sow with a little compost or topsoil added. End of this month, early September is ideal for seed sowing anyway. If you aren't getting any appreciable rainfall, you'll need to use a hose and thoroughly dampen the areas, before and after sowing. Alternatively, wait until spring. Watering 'a little' is pointless. You need to thoroughly soak the areas if the ground has been dry for a long time.

You'll find the areas nearest the planting will be harder to establish too - shade, and competition for moisture, so its worth cutting the grass edge back a bit further to give a proper space there, and probably using a seed that's suited for shadier areas.
Same applies to the tree in the middle. Take a good bit of that turf away so that there's a circle of about a metre or so diameter round the tree. It's better for the tree anyway, and you can always underplant with bulbs etc. Also easier when cutting the grass as it prevents possible damage to the tree itself.

Lawn repair

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