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Blackish grass

zakzakzakzak Posts: 178
in Problem solving
My grass at the front of the house is not great. It's been re turfed twice. Just rubbish soil full of weeds. Been treated don't know how many times but they still return. I've just cut it and scarified it.liads of bald areas why moss as been. But lots of areas that are black looks like there's been a bonfire. I'm at my wit's end of wat to do next. Can anyone help. I can't afford at the minute to return😰
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  • zakzakzakzak Posts: 178
    It's supposed to say I cannot afford to re turf.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited September 2022
    Can you show us some photos?  

    I'm concerned that it's been returfed twice ... it shouldn't have needed that if it was done properly and looked after the first time. 

    Bear in mind that most of us have lawns that are brown and scrubby at the moment ... our front lawn is horrendous, and the back lawn is atrocious.  Depending on where you are and what the weather has been like for you, it is likely to be next spring before you, and I, will see much of an improvement or be able to do anything worthwhile to our lawns.  We're all in this together  ;)

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





  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    Most people's lawns are straw coloured now but will recover in autumn wen the rains have retored the roots and new shoots form.

    If yours is black it sounds like you've done a weed treatment using more then the recommended dose per square metre.   The only thing to do is wait for rain and hope the grass that's eft that recovers then sow new seed into the bare areas.   


    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited September 2022
    A photo will certainly help  :)
    If you've just scarified it, you would tend to have bald areas, so that in itself isn't unusual. A lot of moss can mean a shady, poorly drained site though. 
    If you have weeds that aren't dying off when treated, it would help if we know what they are. If it's something like horsetail, for example, that's almost impossible to eradicate. Treatments applied in the wrong conditions can also cause problems. The ground has to be well dampened. 
    If you cut the grass too short, that also encourages weeds to take over at the expense of the grass. 
    If the conditions aren't terribly suited to grass, you may want to consider replacing it with something easier to manage.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    The fact that you had moss indicates that the conditions aren't good for grass. Possibly too damp, too shady or both. You can't do much about shade other than choosing a less-intolerant type of grass, but was the ground prepared properly before turfing? Dug over, drainage sorted, leveled and firmed, left fallow for any surface weed seeds to germinate and then hoed? Poor preparation could account for why turf hasn't been successful twice. Some contractors just put on a thin layer of topsoil and turf on top of that.
    I agree that the blackened grass is most likely from over-application or uneven application of a feed & weed product.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • zakzakzakzak Posts: 178
    My pics are too big. But I'm not sure now to resize them. I'm not computer literate sorry
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Most computer systems have a photo editor of some kind, and there are free ones you can download too. If the photos are reduced to around 1MB or so, they load more easily. If you right click on the photos, there's often an edit facility too, and a resizing option  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • zakzakzakzak Posts: 178

  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    You’ve shown me yours so I’ll show you mine 

     

    Like I said … we’re all in this together 🙄 

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





  • zakzakzakzak Posts: 178
    Gosh what a disaster (sorry). Thankyou everyone.
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