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Lawn Treatment and 'wild grass'

leighw20leighw20 Posts: 6
in Problem solving
Hi all, am new to the forum and looking for some advice.  Apologies in advance for the long post/question.    Earlier this year I felt my lawn was in need of some TLC,so I got quotes from companies to assist in trying to improve it.  Please note, I was not looking for a miracle and perfection, however fast forward 2 x 3 monthly treatments consisting of a scarification, weed and feed on the first visit, followed by a weed and feed on the second and I can't help be disappointed.  I have followed advice, cut often and watered little and often, however I cannot see much improvement.  In addition, and this is the real question, I have had lots of what I was told by the company is 'wild grass' appear in the lawn, which is something that I have not had in previous years and has only appeared since treatment started.  Is this usual post scarification and something that nature intended?  
I have been advised to pull it all out, something that I have been doing, but to ensure that I get roots and all, this is leaving lots of holes, some quite large as there have been large patches of this 'wild grass' appear.  Appreciate that all holes can be filled and seeded, however I find it strange that having never had this happen in previous years I am suddenly getting lots of it.
Has anyone experienced this, is it normal, and any advice as to what I can do, where this could include binning the company and finding someone else..... or should I stick with it and let them continue their treatments ?

Thanks a lot.

L

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I'm not sure why they've told you to water 'little and often'. Very bad advice.
    If you water [and I'm assuming you're not getting regular rainfall if you need to do this] you need to water properly. I've no idea what size your lawn is, but one which is around 50 sq metres would need around an hour to two hours in dry spells [ evening is better as it stays in the ground longer] and that would be repeated every few days, but only when newly seeded, or after a treatment which requires the ground to be reasonably damp. Watering lightly and often just encourages the roots to stay near the surface.
     
    Weed grass isn't unusual, and holes will tend to fill in as the grass spreads [regular mowing helps this by causing tillering, which just means the grass branches out due to the cutting ] but it will help if you can upload a few photos  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • PerkiPerki Posts: 2,527
    Upload a picture like fairygirl has mentioned , I believe you've possibly got mixed up with watering and mowing , It would be correct in terms of mowing little and often . 
  • leighw20leighw20 Posts: 6
    Thanks for the replies.  Lawn is approx 150 sq m and from a photo perspective, what would be best, just general photos, or specifically of the wild grass.  Apologies if that’s an obvious question, just want to make sure I post what’s been requested.

    in terms of rain, wasn’t getting a lot, but had a lot more recently, and when the rain was infrequent,  advice was to water every couple of days in the evening for about 20 mins per area covered by the sprinkler, and yes, also to mow frequently.   Thanks


  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Probably the weed grass is enough for photos, but one of the general area would be good @leighw20. The main thing is - don't worry too much.  Grass is very resilient. We had a very dry spell last summer, which is highly unusual here, and I also had builders in before that, so the grass was looking pretty dire. Some rain, and a feed this spring, and it was fine again :)
    20 mins isn't an awful lot, but if it's just to make sure lawn treatments are properly dampened that might be the reason. It's not something we really need to do here, but if your ground is very parched, and has been fed, it's necessary to keep it watered enough to get everything moving again. 

    I wondered about the little and often advice too, and if it referred to the cutting rather than the watering  @Perki :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • leighw20leighw20 Posts: 6
    Here are a couple pictures of general lawn and the wild grass I am referring to.  As I say, the thing for me is that prior to the treatment starting, I had never had any of the wild grass in the lawn, and then suddenly I start getting lots of it.  Just made me think and wonder, maybe too much.   
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