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Lawn looking awful. Help!

brian.o.neilbrian.o.neil Posts: 7
in Problem solving
Hi everyone, Indo not post that often but I have a question or two. Any information or advice would be much appreciated.

Recently just mowed my lawn. It's a new build home and it is clay underneath. The whole estate is  built on old farmland and alot of the residents have had problems with grubs and daddy longlegs etc. I have just recently put down some nematodes hoping that would help. Does the lawn look as if it has alot of thatch in it ? It's quite patchy in some areas too. I now it with a rotary mower but have been advised to use something heavier like a cylinder mower. Does it look dehydrated?

Kind regards, Brian. 


Posts

  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,719
    edited October 2021
    Are you in the UK?  How long has the lawn been laid?Where I live it's very dry,my grass looks like that.  Yes, yours does look like it could do with De thatching..I would say you've cut it a bit short for the time of the year, especially if you've had very dry weather as well.mostly my grass looks nice and green. I don't feed,water or weed. Never have,mostly quite big gardens. The grass bounces back even looking back a couple of years ago, when we didn't have rain for 3 months. I have 2 dogs,a couple of grandkids,so if you want a bowling green,I'm not the one!!
  • brian.o.neilbrian.o.neil Posts: 7
    edited October 2021
    Hi Nanny beach, I live in Kent in the UK. The lawn has been down for about 8 months now. I have cut a few times before but it seems to be getting worse. 
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    edited October 2021
    It doesn't look thatchy to me - you can see the soil between the brown/yellow grass blades.
    I think it's one of two possibilities:
    1. It's been cut too short and too much at once rather than being kept at the desired height by mowing little and often. That strawy effect happens when grass is left to get long and then chopped off all at once.
    2. It's a new lawn that's been allowed to dry out before it was properly established, and maybe also cut too short.
    If it's 1, it'll recover in time. Mow it a little at a time until it stops growing for the winter, and with the blades set fairly high. When spring comes, start with the blades set as high as possible then gradually reduce the height over a number of weeks, cutting little and often rather than lots at once and then letting it grow for a few weeks.
    If you're going for the fashionable "no mow" or less-frequent mowing option, then you have to accept that when you do cut it down, it'll look like a hay meadow that's just been cut for a while.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    It looks as if it’s been left too long between cuts and then cut too short. 

    If the grass gets longish then the base of the grass gets pale as it doesn’t get enough light and can’t photosynthesise properly. Then when it’s cut short the pale stuff is exposed and it goes brownish and dry. 

    I don’t think it needs scarifying  which is how you would get rid of a build up of thatch. I would scarify lightly in the spring. It’s still a young lawn. 

    For now it should be cut before it gets as long as you have been leaving it, but on a medium height setting only. 

    As long as the blade of your rotary mower is kept fairly sharp it'll be fine. 

    Hope that helps. 


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





  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    In addition to the very good advice already given, if it's a dry area you live in, don't cut it so short through the main season. It won't be able to cope with that. 
    Never take too much off at any time, but cut regularly. That'll strengthen up the root system and encourage better growth.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • brian.o.neilbrian.o.neil Posts: 7
    Thank you everyone for being so helpful. I am new to all of this so appreciate your words. 
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