My Poor Lawn

[Mr Grinch]

Hi all,

I cut my lawn this morning. It was long, very long and hard work. I set the blade to the highest setting and chomped away. What im left with has left me distraught !! From afar it looks ok, loads of grass but once you get up close, there loads of bare patches, the grass looks thin in places and my 'lawn' now looks a kin to a wild meadow rather than garden turf. The earth underneath the grass has also gone i bit bumpy, the patches that i had re seeded last summers look thin and sickly and im at a loss

Will it improve, what can i do to make it better ??

Mr G

[andy]

Yes it will improve mr G but not for a little while yet. There's probably a lot of flattened out worm casts which are causing the bumps...and these are being flattened out to cause the bare patches too.

As soon as the weather gets warmer, just sprinkle with grass seed. Infact, i like doing that every two or three weeks throughout the summer anyway just to keep the lawn nice and lush.

Meanwhile, try to flatten as many of the bumps as poss by treading them down.

It'll be fine so don't worry

[Deleted]

Mr G

If I were you , I'd scarify the lawn (go over all of it with a spring-tined lawn rake) getting any dead stuff & as much moss out as possible. Then I'd go over the whole thing with a fork, putting the fork in to it's full depth every 18 inches or so and wiggling it a bit to open up plenty of aeration holes.

I'd probably wait a few weeks and then seed those patches that need doing by roughing up the bare soil and throwing about 3 times as much seed on each area as is recommended on the packet (allows for birds to eat some and some that doesn't germinate).

When your lawn is looking better (next year), do the scarifying and aerating again but then use a feed, weed and mosskiller like Fisons Evergreen Extra in the Spring and Autumn Extra in the Autumn (he said rather obviously).

It may take a year or two but your lawns will look much better for it.

FA

[Deleted]

I cut my lawn this afternoon, it was quite long and I am pleased with the result. There are some muddy bits where the mower wheels skidded but overall it looks good.

Also, if we get any snow next week it will not need so much to make it look like a covering ;D

[Mr Grinch]

Thanks for the advice andy !

Will the grass seed grow if i just sprinkled it on the ground ?? I though you had to prepare the area first ??

Mr G

[Deleted]

When I'm reseeding, I roughen up the surface a little first and then just sprinkle the seed around. It usually works for me.

FA

[andy]

I just throw it down....even among established grass areas. The only thing i do is to make sure it's kept watered.

[Deleted]

Mr Grinch i know exactly how you feel did the same thing last year and i could've cried - like you bare patches and rough wasn't the word. However, i had no choice but to see how it fared and i kept cutting it and then gave it a spring feed....by the summer i was dead chuffed.

Keep the faith and it will come back...i find these early cuts don't do anything for it's looks. Resisting the urge to do mine but having looked at it today i'll prob have to....eeek.

[Chuckles]

Oooh dear MrG it sounds like you maybe left it to get too long before you mowed it, guess we have all done the same thing I know I have Not always fit weather to mow at the end of the season and all that. It will come back, but some tlc as suggested will help

[Mr Grinch]

I had no choice Chuckles,

I last cut it in October, then it got wet and was impossible to cut it again until the last 2 weeks when have had dry weather. I thought id leave it a bit longer as i planed to plan and dig a new border and also lay a patio so the extra length would give it a bit more protection. I also left next doors tree leaves which didnt help either !

Mr G