repairing my lawn - the right order
Tracybags
Posts: 4
Hello Everyone,
This is my first post. I am a complete novice despite my age! I have a large lawn 44m x 18m area. The entire area has been mowed. About a quarter of it is virtually no grass, just weed and those weed types that look like grass but aren't. We had gardners in to do the first cut of the season (as we didn't own a mower) and then a second cut and he said don't leave it more than 4 weeks. It was left 6 weeks by the time we bought a mower (gardners didn't show up!). So, that took 4 days to mow and filled 32 sacks to give you an idea of how long it got in that time. I didn't have a strimmer so I used the highest setting and nibbled back and forth.
What we were left with was all very brown. I've cut every week since then and nothing looks like it's recovering. So I looked a little closer and saw that there is a vast amount of moss/hatch all over it, really dense in places, like a blanket sitting on the surface. You can pull up the hatch with your hands. So, I did some searching and found some good stuff (a 1995 video of Alan's for a start!).
So I bought myself a rake today and enough moss/weed killer and lawn feed to cover the area. I started the raking today but it's just going to take about a week to do it properly (in between working), so am trying to hire a scarifier on Monday/Tuesday to do it properly. Now finally to my question (sorry for the ramble!): If my plan is to Scarify - moss/weed kill & feed - oversew grass seed - please can you tell me in what order I should do this and what gaps should I leave in between anything? Also, when can I mow again? It's all very confusing. I've read that scarifying should be done spring or autumn and of course it's no summer but I don't want to leave the moss there all summer - the lawn is brown and I'm desperate to return it to green before the summer is over, if that's possible.
We've been here for 15 months and only mowed last year, never fed it or watered it or anything (I did tell you I'm not a gardener!). Can I scarify on the same day as putting the moss/weed killer & feed down? Can I oversew at the same time or should I wait in between?
Thank you very much for your comments which will be gratefully received!
Posts
Hello Mike, Wow! That's quite some credentials you have! I know I came to the right place for advice, which I am happy to 'hang on for' and meanwhile will take a look at recent posts as you suggest. Thanks for replying.
Hi Pauline 7,
thanks for your advice. What worries me is what I've read in that if your lawn is covered in hatch, as mine is, then the watter and nutrients aren't getting through to the grass and roots or soil, for that matter, and so killing everything off. That's what worries me about not doing anything now. If you say leave it until Autumn, what is your advice then about what to do in the Autumn?
Thanks again.
I agree with all of what Pauline says but if your lawn is a disaster there is no need to wait till Autumn. Do it now! The most unsightly thing is weeds. Use a sharp knife rather than a trowel and slice the big ones out, then when you've got the grass growing reasonably again following her tips, use a selective liquid grass weedkiller. Granules are better but much slower and can only really be applied in Spring. Any kind of chemical weed control is best done early in the season, though if the weather stays hot and humid you can do it now, but don't cut the grass for at least a week afterwards. I'd give this priority over moss as it is more unsightly. Remember also moss tends to thrive where the grass has been cut too short. Don't be afraid to reseed, even in areas where there is still some grass. The new grass will help to choke out the undesirables. Use a tough grass seed like rye. Good luck. Ian.
You may not need to hire a scarifier, there are useful blades you can get for your mower that do the same job. Be prepared to fill a couple of wheelie bins! Then apply a moss killer, and repeat the scarification once it's done it's job. You will then need to aerate as has been suggested, top dress and reseed. The reason it's best done in autumn is that the seed will have a much better chance of establishing in those conditions. Here's a link to a well known site for the scarifier blade, different sizes are available http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400732910187
Yep for rotary mower, they have a little spring on each end of the blade that rips the thatch out, you just need to know the width of your mower blade
Hi Tracy - you're right - the thatch prevents air and water getting in to the roots if it's very thick, so get that off as soon as you can even if you have to hire something. Once you've done that, and assuming the grass is a sensible height (couple of inches) apply a feed only - liquid or granular - but remember you'll have to water in if there's no rain for a few days if you use granules. That will boost the grass and give it a better chance of fighting off the weeds. A few weeks later, apply a weed and feed which will boost the grass again and tackle the weeds. During that time make sure you cut the grass weekly. The problem has arisen because the grass is being left to grow too long and is then being scalped which only benefits the weeds. Regular cutting is the most important thing after that - don't let it go for more than a week and only take off about a third of the length of the grass, so in long dry spells you may need to raise the height of your cut. If you do that for the rest of this season the grass will be in a better state for the next spring when you can start a good regime again. There are weed and feed products specifically for autumn application but I'd be inclined to miss that this year if you decide to follow the above. You'll still have weeds here and there and you'll still get some seeding in, but you'll have tackled the worst of them and given your grass a chance of recovering and looking decent. At my last house we had about an acre of grass, some of which was really reclaimed field, but it's surprising how good it looked after doing just what I've described. The house I'm in just now had the same problem, very little grass, mainly buttercups, daisies, dandelions and clover. A year on and there are hardly any weeds, and the grass is green and healthy. It's never watered, even during the dry summer of last year
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
HI Fairygirl, thanks for your reply. I already bought two sacks of weed and feed but you're saying I shoud "feed only" - would it be bad then to use the weed and feed or should I buy the feed only as you suggest? In the house that you're in now with very little grass, did you oversew grass seed once you'd done the weed and feed? thanks all.