Need help with lawn

Posts

• Rubytoo Posts: 1,630

  27 February edited 27 February

  Not sure what to advise, but it does look like you may have cut it too short to start with.
  With the time of year and temperatures you should just "tip" it and not cut it too short.
  
  Is it possible you did that last year when you seeded and re seeded it?
  
  And with the very wet winter we have had I think that would affect it too.
  I know we all want to get on and mow, but the ground there looks a little on the damp side to have gone over with a mower.
   
  Was the new top soil nice to work with apart from the stones?
  Not heavy and loose easy to work with?
  I wonder about the quality. 
  It is hard to tell if those stones are big.
  
  You have a lot of what looks like creeping buttercup in there amongst the other weeds.
  
  With the wet we have had we have also had low light levels the grass does not grow well.
  
  Where you are will also affect it, has it been very cold?
  I would wait a little until it starts to grow again before treating anything. But I maybe wrong.
  
  
  

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• sareail93347 Posts: 2

  27 February

  Thanks for your response, you are certainly a lot more knowledgeable than I am!
  
  

  We haven’t had a particularly cold winter (-3 was our low and it was rare). The grass was in the same state last summer, pre-winter.
  
  The topsoil was loose when first laid, the stones were mainly small - almost like gravel.
  
  

  Thanks again for your help. Lots of
  learnings for next year!!

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• AnniD Posts: 12,585

  27 February edited 27 February

  I was going to type a long reply, but have a look here as a start 
  
  https://www.gardenersworld.com/how-to/maintain-the-garden/improve-your-lawn-in-12-weeks/
  
  I would try and improve the drainage as shown in step 2, and remove the larger weeds by hand as shown in the photo in step 3 (if there aren't too many of them). You could do that straight away, weather permitting. 
  
  If you want to use weedkiller ,wait until the weather warms up, although the smaller weeds should be weakened by regular mowing and the grass gaining the upper hand.
  
  I wouldn't worry too much about scarifying (although l'm happy to be corrected), as l can't see much moss or thatch in your photos. 
  
  I would then reseed the area later in Spring as shown in step 6, but unless you have a serious problem with birds l wouldn't net the area as mentioned in the article. That could lead to problems for wildlife.
  
  As @Rubytoo says, the stones don't seem to be that big. Unless you want a bowling green, l wouldn't worry too much.
  
  Hope this helps 

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• JennyJ Posts: 10,576

  27 February

  Small stones/gravel won't be stopping the grass growing (in fact they might be helping with the drainage) although they could potentially get thrown up by mower blades so watch out for that and protect your eyes.
  

  What's the aspect like? Does the whole area get plenty of sun (when it shines that is)? Is the grass more sparse in some areas, and if so which ones (eg where there's more shade from a fence or building,or where there's water run-off from the patio or elsewhere)? Has it been walked on at all, other than the bare minimum for mowing?
  

  The grass generally looks a bit sparse and weeds have taken advantage of the bare soil, so maybe the seed was sown too thinly or some was eaten by birds, or the germination rate just wasn't great for whatever reason (old seed, too dry etc (although if I remember rightly last July was reasonably wet for summer). If the conditions are generally right for grass-growing, you could over-sow with fresh seed when the weather gets warm enough and looks likely to stay that way.
  

  Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  

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