Repairing a lawn
c_whaley
Posts: 2
Hello. I purchased a house in December with a nice long garden. One half (nearest the house) has been easy-maintenance - I have extended the lawn (by removing a path), improved the quality of it, planted some shrubs and this weekend got my baskets and planters out.
We then have a patio in the middle of the garden which is partially shaded with the end of the garden being laid to grass of very poor quality (mainly moss/weeds). This is the area we need dealing with. Up there it sinks down about 4" to 6" lower than the rest of the garden and there are also a few trees down there which may be taking up lots of water
I'd like to know some of the best ways to rectify this. My initial thoughts were to loosen up the existing 'lawn', lay compost over the top of this to level off and raise the ground, then cover with high quality seed.
I am only 26 so fairly inexperienced with gardening, although I am keen and have successfully maintained a large number of bedding plants last year when we were renting. I don't have a lot of money to play with.
What would be the best way of going about this?
Posts
I assume 4" - 6" is inch, just remove the moss and dig out the weeds and any remaining grass. Top up the rest with top soil , compost is no good the lawn will be spongy for years. Lightly re compact the area with your heal walking up and down. rake over to get a good til and level and sow some shade mix grass seed. Dont let the seeds dry out and keep a eye out for some birds wood pigeon are one of the main culprit for eating grass seed
Last edited: 15 May 2017 11:17:21
Hi Perki - thanks a lot for the advice that's given me some food for thought.
I can get hold of soil fairly easily, but I think the main bulk of the work will be in removing the soil/moss/weeds first. I wasn't aware of varieties of grass aimed at shaded areas, so will take a look for these. Local builders merchant has a large selection I understand.
We get a fair amount of wood pigeon so I will most likely cover with string and keep it watered appropriately.
Yes the double quotes symbol is to denote inches (grew up using Imperial measurements).
Thanks again, will be a job for next summer at the latest.
Last edited: 15 May 2017 11:20:29
You don't say how big the area of grass is but raising the level by 4-6 inches is a LOT of topsoil. I would be inclined to kill the moss and weeds, rake the moss off (a weed, feed and mosskiller will do the job) and then just reseed the bare patches. Improve drainage in the autumn by forking holes to aereate it and sweeping in sharp sand or lawn sand.