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Help needed for my front and back lawn

twiddleytwiddley Posts: 6
in Problem solving
Hi,

As you can hopefully see from the arial shots front and back of my garden, my grass has inconsistent spots of brown and patchy grass at the back and at the front, which is a horizontal patch, on the edges, it appears sparse, brown and not the best quality.

I have been looking after this grass from new as i was the first to live here. I have spend hundreds on the front and back and it still isn't fantastic. I feel like for the effort put in, it should be looking better. I want it to look as good as a football pitch if i can aha!

Some things i do already:

  1. Scarify often, at least start and end of season
  2. Feed after cutting with after cut
  3. Cut at a higher level, at least weekly
  4. I use a long term feed for spring and winter which lasts 3 months at a time
  5. I seeded it this year and have seeded it and over seeded it on various occasions
  6. Last winter i put top soil down, fed it and prepped it for winter
  7. I have an aerator, one of the crappy spike ones about an inch max
If anyone has any tips, that would be great. I think i am in need of some high quality seeds, a proper aeration machine along with a proper top dressing.

Thank you in advance!

Posts

  • AnniDAnniD Posts: 12,585
    Might just be me, but l can't see any photos @twiddley, sorry.
  • MrMowMrMow Posts: 160
    What after cut are you using ? 

    How much do you apply 

    What are the other products you apply  and again how much?

    What seed are you buying and applying?

    How big is the lawn?
    I never knew retirement would be so busy. :smile:




  • twiddleytwiddley Posts: 6

  • twiddleytwiddley Posts: 6
    @AnniD

    pics attached now, thanks 
  • twiddleytwiddley Posts: 6
    @MrMow

    What after cut are you using ? - one from Homebase, Westland all in one

    How much do you apply - i use a spreader and spread it out evenly 

    What are the other products you apply  and again how much? i use slow release spring summer and autumn winter from the grass people

    What seed are you buying and applying? i buy seeds from the grass people, i think i got their impress seed

    How big is the lawn? back about 80m2 and front not sure but pics should be attached.

    thanks ☺️ 

  • MrMowMrMow Posts: 160
    Sorry for the delay ( And I will try to keep this short) I have had a look at the products you use. Fertiliser You are using around 105kg of Nitrogen per Hectare per year, that is if you are only using 1 application at 35 grams per square meter of each product. In farming or sports turf people use a formula to work out Kilograms per Hectare no matter what product you use or application rate. Fertilisers can contain a lot of salt that does the soil no good, some grasses rely on a good soil fauna to thrive. long term overuse of salt laden ferts destroy the Soil Food Webb. Once you get into high Nutrition you will drive growth ( not good) it will require more water and produce a lot more thatch over seeding If you are using weedkiller in you Aftercut, you should allow at least 8 weeks before seeding and the same again after using before re seeding , thats a huge chunk of the growing season if you only use it once? You say you use impress I assume this is the Clay version ? If so, the two main varieties are Fescue and Rye, these are two species that require two different maintenance regimes for example Fescue that is very fine leaf requires very little feed and Rye a lot more, Fescue does not also like a lot of playing with ( raking /brushing / scarifying. A good read is The Disturbance theory. Fine grasses require help from the soil, using salt laden feeds will not help. So in brief how you maintain a surface of grass is what you get, and you can control within reason. All grasses have different habits and growth patterns and textures, it is good to have a mixed sward, they do not always grow in uniform but can make smallish clumps dinner plate size it's normal. Your original post If anyone has any tips, that would be great. I think i am in need of some high quality seeds, a proper aeration machine along with a proper top dressing In reply to that part A garden fawk is all you need to aerate, I have been here 18 months and I have not spiked once. It is a lot about the seed and quality, but how you grow it in afterwards it can take months to get seedlings established, look at using Seaweed, you will not see much from a visual point but your Fungi in the soil will love it. If you wish to post a close up photo of the patches you are talking about I will take a look, but I suspect it is AMG. Hope that is of some use to you and others. ask away any question .
    I never knew retirement would be so busy. :smile:




  • MrMowMrMow Posts: 160
    This is Fescue growing on some rock.

    No fertiliser, no aeration etc etc.

    Still looks happy. fairly green even after weeks of a big dry spell.
    I never knew retirement would be so busy. :smile:




  • twiddleytwiddley Posts: 6
    Hi @MrMow - sorry for just replying now, been a tough summer with a few family deaths!

    What seed would you recommend and what top dressing? Also, a good aerator?

    Thanks
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I ahve just read anther thread on the same subject.

    Seeing your pics and your info on present regime, I would say:
    Just relax, do less, spend less, your lawn is OK.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited September 2022
    see: "will my grass recover ..."  thread.

    My lawn maintenance regime is there. It's not a recommendation, just what I do.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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