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Lawn Revival
Iqbal Bedi
Posts: 4
Hi,
Last week I scarified my lawn to remove quite a significant amount of moss. The lawn turned brown,,, 
I have since fertilised it and hoping it revives. Is it normal that a lawn turns brown after removing moss? If not what's causing this?
Any tips or ideas gratefully received.
0
Posts
Hi Iqbal. Is there any grass showing at all? Lawns can look pretty dire after scarifying so don't worry too much. If there was more moss than grass it's usually due to the conditions - too much shade, compaction or waterlogging - or a combination. It can be difficult to keep grass growing well in that kind of site. If you've given it a feed, any remaining grass will start to come through - especially after some rain. If it's still looking a bit bare in another week or two, you may need to re seed the whole area. I had a north west facing front garden a few years ago - it had mature trees so very shady and was very compacted. It was an ongoing battle to keep the grass looking half decent, but it was a small area so I didn't mind.
Come back and let us know how you get on - others here will also offer some help with it.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Hi the lawn will look quite rough for a week maybe two max but you will notice that what is left looks and grows much better.
As for looking brown don't know it could be soil/mud on the leaves, if you have cut your grass short before scarifying get some quick growing grass seed down, as long as you can keep it watered it will fill in the gaps and stop weeds and moss filling in the bare patches.
James
Thanks James and Fairygirl - here is a pic of the grass now...I am getting some small shoots of green, but still lots of brown...tell me if you think it looks revivable..or if I need to consider more drastic action.
Tricky to tell from that I'm no expert, but years ago when I first did mine it was a little like that, does look a bit dry with the brown bits dead grass or weeds?
or you have brought the dead thatch to the top
When I first did mine many years ago was more moss and weeds with very little grass, it probably comes down to money now, either a returf or get some grass seed down and water really well every day or every other day, I opted for grass seed and now it looks really good.
James
grass seed it is. How Did you get the grass into the soil? Did you have to expose the soil? I think this is a labour of love
I think I'd wait a week or two, let the rain get to it and give it some time to revive a little. If you still have bare patches you can mix grass seed with some compost and sprinkle it on them. Firm it in gently and water. You'll be surprised how soon it will start to improve.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Grass can be surprisingly difficult!
I haven't been trying to care for my lawn for long (at least, not with any real focus) but I have found some good advice here: http://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/
It will be a while before I find out if it works though!
First thing to think about would be what kind of fertiliser did you use and at what kind of concentration and did you water it in well - applying too much nitrate rich fertiliser without watering it down well can lead to a kind of chemical burn on the grass - if you have seen grass die where dogs pee on it, this is exactly the same effect. I wonder if that has happened in the middle of the photo because it looks worse than just a bit brown?
A lot of places just sell combined weed and feed stuff, but there are different lawn fertilisers for different times, it may be worth checking to see if there is something more suitable.
I scarified my lawn much more heavily than that a couple of months ago (really you could see a lot of bare soil!) it hasn't come back evenly yet but it is growing strongly and without moss (although plenty of weeds). I don't think you have anything to worry about, but you can still do some things to try and help it along.
Firstly if it isn't going to rain water it regularly - if it isn't draining reduce the amount you water it, but try to keep it well enough supplied. One tip is to make sure you water before midday to give it a chance to dry by evening because apparantly cold damp conditions in the lawn are good for disease to take hold. When it rains 24/7 like it seems to here at present I guess the lawn just has to take its chances, but when you can control the watering regime you might as well.
Another thing which is important is soil compaction, or rather de-compacting it. Aerating with a fork or a hollow tine aerator can be quite beneficial in loosening up the sub soil and giving the roots a chance to spread out and down (most plants need at least as much area for roots below ground as they cover above ground). That website does suggest that aerating once a year is a waste of time, it needs to be more regular (unless you have really loose/sandy soil) I guess I need to be thinking about doing mine again by now.... It seems that trying to fill the holes with sand or fertiliser is a waste of time, and filling holes on clay soil with sand will make it worse.
Overseeding - apparantly always worthwhile, although I think the birds got most of mine! do this after aerating and disturbing the soil a bit because the seed will need good soil contact to germinate (if you can rake the top layer of soil that seems to be good). It is recommended to lightly roll or trample the seed onto the soil - light roller means half filled or less water roller, you don't want a cricket pitch with good bounce and heavy rolling will undo the aerating. I would over-seed ASAP because you want the young grass to get light to grow and you don't want to be cutting the lawn again until it is well established....
You can overseed at about half the rate for a new lawn.
Grass seed needs warmth as well as water - right after I sowed mine it turned cold again and has never really warmed up properly
Top dressing - (applying soil/compost on top) may be useful if you are going to mix the seed in with it (ensuring soil contact!) and for filling shallow depressions, but otherwise seems to be something best left to the professionals managing grass for sports use and similar - getting the application rate right seems complex and it is going to be pretty heavy work!
It all seems like a lot of work for a weed that grows pretty well anywhere you don't want it, but refuses to grow nicely where you do!
Be
Well what can I say...a bit of TLC, rain and sunshine and a few weeks later my lawn has never been in better condition.
It has literally gone from 90% moss to 95% grass. It was a long hard tough job to rake out the moss with a lawn raker but worth the effort.
So my next job is to patch up the bare patches with seeds.
I will still aerate in September time, but do you think it is necessary to scarify as well?
i can vouch for the wolf rake in the link above its a great bit of kit, I have the one without the wheels.
ever so easy to use
james