Muddy lawn and stepping stones

dappledshade · February 2022

So I’ve tried to avoid them for 3 years, but enough is enough now!

The lawn looks awful, bare muddy patches galore, despite -good drainage -scarifying in autumn -top dressing and reseeding in autumn (looked pretty good for a bit) and avoiding walking of any of the bad parts.

It mostly gets some sun too.

Was freshly laid last spring…you wouldn’t think, looking at it today (sorry, phone on the blink so can’t add pic).

Has anybody here tried stepping stones with any success and if so, what did you use for a more natural effect please? Can you still mow easily around them?

Many thanks.
I have lost the battle against the squidgy, muddy lawn…

Chris-P-Bacon · February 2022

Having to reseed after in autumn after laying in spring suggests a problem. As does the requirement to scarify - which you shouldn't really have had to do. The lawn may not have established enough to recover from it (even if it did need it)
Squidgy & muddy plus muddy bare patches also suggests that you may a drainage issue - if only slight.
Test you soil for ph value - acidic soil for grass doesn't help. - especially ryegrass mixes.
I wouldn't do it just yet but stepping stones in a lawn are great idea. Wait till its warmer & drier - you can deal with drainage problems then too. Walking on it now will make matters worse.

Fairygirl · February 2022

It does sound odd that it's so bad, considering your location.
Virtually every poster on the forum who lives in London [or around it] has been saying they've had hardly any rain for ages.
I could understand it if you lived where I do - we just avoid going on the grass unless it's absolutely necessary, for several months.

Is it very shady?

dappledshade · February 2022

Wow, thanks for the brilliant response everyone!

@Fairygirl, no it isn’t particularly shady and certainly wasn’t when bald patches were appearing in September already. It is weird, isn’t it?
Whilst we have had a rather dry winter so far and not much in autumn either, the unmentionably rubbish spring and summer this year, complete with rain galore, I feel was the main problem.

The grass was laid in spring and barely had any decent sunshine in months before autumn started, really. But it had tonnes of rain!

@Chris-P-Bacon you’ve definitely got a point! I have a problem indeed. I think that the grass was trying to establish in a particular type wet, cold and sunshine free spring and summer, which made it weak too. It rained almost every week and due to the lack of sunshine, barely ever fully dried out.
The pH of the soil is about neutral really, last time I tested, and all the soil is new on the lawn, as it was laid fresh, with lawn sand underneath too.
What we noticed from late summer was how many worm casts were popping up all over it. I was under the impression that worm casts equal good drainage, as the worms are present!

Is this not the case?
When there are so many casts though, it’s hard to not tread them into the lawn when walking over it…sigh…and we have to walk over it sometimes to get to the garden room at the other end of the garden.

@Athelas thanks for the photo. My garden gets loads of sun from spring to the start of autumn (west with a southerly tilt) but this summer and spring was a very different story. I like your stepping stones. We wouldn’t want to relift all the turf if we don’t have to, as the thought is a bit soul destroying ti be honest, so we were hoping to be able to patch it up, avoid walking on it as much as possible, and then lay stones when the weather improves.

Any point re seeding?
Or trying to re scarify or rake out the bald patches (where the mud is shiny smooth)?

Argh.

Fairygirl · February 2022

In that case, I wouldn't worry. That's the kind of spring/summer we normally have here, and then we have more wet through winter.
Unless you keep getting that kind of weather, it may not be that much of a problem.

dappledshade · February 2022

Fairygirl said:

In that case, I wouldn't worry. That's the kind of spring/summer we normally have here, and then we have more wet through winter.
Unless you keep getting that kind of weather, it may not be that much of a problem.

Thanks!
Would you bother re seeding at this point, as there is still likely to be a lot of seed in there that never sprouted, or do anything else? It makes my heart sink every time I look out if the window.
Then there are our two rescue cats, who obviously walk straight through the worst bits and come inside with muddy little paws 🙄

Poly-anthus · February 2022

We have three stepping stone paths, and though the mower does pass over them, after time the grass does grow and edging them is a real pain in the neck. In fact, we're thinking of replacing some of them with a proper path which will at least only have two edges to trim!

Fairygirl · February 2022

I wouldn't seed here at this time of year - it's far too cold, and wet. I'd have to wait until at least April/May. It might be warm enough where you are, but I don't see the point if the ground is soggy. Constantly walking on it won't help. It's better to wait a month -at least.
Temps need to be around mid teens reasonably consistently, and if it's very wet as well as cold, seed tends to rot rather than germinate. You'd have to judge the conditions you have.
However, I think you need to look at whether there's any other problem with the ground and the drainage.

B3 · February 2022

@Fairygirl it depends which part of London. Our grass hasn't dried out for months.

Fairygirl · February 2022

Ah - fair enough @B3

Always hard for me to judge. It's standard fare here with grass through autumn/winter. Without good drainage, grass will always tend to be pretty manky in winter though, so it's only a problem if you're having to walk across it.
I'd agree with @Poly-anthus though - a path is much nicer, and easier, than those stepping stones. They're often at completely the wrong distance apart too

dappledshade · February 2022

That’s a fair point about the stones often being too far apart…however, as the lawn isn’t huge, I’m not sure a path would work as it would really cut the lawn in half, or thirds.

When we had our first lawn laid, 2 years ago, in the exact same spot as the current one, it thrived and flourished. Looked amazing, until the builders tramping over it throughout one winter destroyed it completely.
That said, it was also laid in spring, but in 2020, so had us watering it, plus the most amazing sunshine for months on end. It was beautiful and never had any muddy patches, in the run up to autumn 2020. Was going strong until builders feet became a problem around December of that year.

So I doubt drainage is the issue really.

I’m wondering if the turf we laid back then was a tougher variety perhaps as well, though from experience grass that is so called ‘shade tolerant’ rarely is!
Ours only gets shadier to one side, by October, and as previously mentioned that never used to pose a problem.

Sigh.

Muddy lawn and stepping stones

Posts