Forum home› The potting shed
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Lawn problem - Isolated tufts of rich green grass

rogerstrachanrogerstrachan Posts: 2
in The potting shed
I would welcome an opinion regarding the cause of the recent appearance of my back lawn. This was returfed over 18 months ago, and was looking pretty good last summer, despite the drought. Normal attention, spring and autumn feed/weed/moss control, and monthly feeding over the summer with a liquid lawn food using the recommended feeder attached to the hose (Miraclegro Lawn Food). Spiking/Scarifiying occasional as recommended. In the last month, parts of the lawn have developed tufts of lush green healthy grass with sparse brown areas between them (photo attached). What's causing this appearance and is there any fix for it?

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    It looks as if those patches are getting some extra nutrition or moisture or both. Was your feed applied evenly? Was any organic matter or added to the soil before turfing mixed in evenly? Do you have a dog that uses the lawn?
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • rossdriscoll13rossdriscoll13 Posts: 234
    @rogerstrachan incorrect feeding could be the main cause of the patchiness.  All in one type feeds tend to be poor quality and often high in nitrogen.  This is because they offer “quick results” greening the lawn in 4-7 days. The only way they can achieve these claims is to make them very strong.  Just a small amount of overfeeding can cause major problems for your lawn.  They are also difficult to use without the right equipment.  It looks like the patches of growth are due to larger amounts of feed being used in those areas.  I wouldn’t worry about it. It will reduce in time.  Keeping the lawn well watered will help even out the growth by washing the excess nutrients through to the subsoil.  In future I would recommend using a better quality lawn feed and avoiding all in one lawn feeds.
      Liquid feeds also need to be applied correctly ideally using a watering can.  You need to know how big your lawn is in square metres so that you apply the correct amount of feed to your whole lawn. 
      
  • rogerstrachanrogerstrachan Posts: 2
    Thanks for those comments. It does look like small patches of over-feeding, but I never had the problem last year, 9 months after the turfing, and the sachets of liquid feed come as one/100 square metres (the lawn is 150 square metres) and are applied using a liquid feeder by the same manufacturer as a spray. And this problem has appeared a month after the feeding. But that doesn't mean that isn't the problem, so I'll do things differently in future. No organic matter was added to the soil prior to the turfing - and no dogs here! Thanks for your responses, much appreciated.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    There was a discussion on here a while ago about those hose-end feed dilutor thingies being rubbish at giving an even dilution. I can't find it now though (the search on here isn't very good). Maybe try a watering can next time, see if it makes any difference.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
Sign In or Register to comment.