John Catlin

Carry out the following for the next year :-

1 Feed regularly. Miracle Grow - Lawn Food - every two weeks.

2 Cut at least once a week. Keep at 1" cut. Not less than 3/4"

3 Put selective weed killer down.

4 Rake Spring and Autumn.

P.S. Will send the Wife round at cost to you for further advise

5 Course grass cut across in both directions.

6 Put Autumn feed on in October.

7 Fill all indentations as you go along.

8 Sing and dance to it once a week.

Low and behold 1 lawn after 1 to 2years.

All the best

John Catlin

[Edited by John Catlin - 4/3/2002 8:09:08 PM]

druddle

We moved into a house before Xmas thats about 5 1/2 yrs old now and the develpoment is built on what were farmers fields.

The gardens were turfed when it was new but the first owner, in the last 2 years, did nothing with the garden and it is like a wilderness. Have been clearing it and making soil beds look ok but the major problem is the lawn. I would say it is 10% decent grass, 90%ldead leaves and weeds. It was nearly 1ft long when we first cut it, but now its a manageable height.

We have put some of the weedkiller/fertiliser stuff down, and I have raked most of the leaves up (big Oak tree next to us) but the problem is it looks bloody terrible now. We are tempted to treat it this year and see how it looks, but not being a "Percy Thrower" I dont really know what to do with it. Can anyone help ?

In the end, if we dont get anywhere this year, we might just cheat and returf it !!

DAve

PeteT

Dave,
I'd suggest you give it the summer to recover and see how it goes. Grass is tough stuff as long as it has enough water, light and air around it. If it's looking really patchy you could try scattering some seed over it, but try to do it over the whole lawn rather than just the bald bits. That way the new grass will blend in better.
If it,s no better by the autumn returf it but don't let it get covered in leaves.
Hope that helps.

druddle

Pete

Thanks for that. If i put seed doen, can i just scatter it on the top or do i have to fork the ground so theres loads of holes, put sharp sand in and then seed it ?? My dad mentioned doing that be it seems a bit excessive !!

Dave

Richard Simpson

Have you tried using a scariffier (I think that is how it is spelt)?

I have a similar problem. Last year I bought the house and it had been previously let out, the grass/garden had not been looked after at all. Decided last week to give the grass a go as it is pretty uneven and manky! My dad lent me this thing called a scariffier, you plug it in and then roll it over the grass and it has these hooks that spin pulling up all the crap between the soil and the grass - leaves, weeds, moss, dead grass etc. This allows the grass that is there to breathe a bit better and grow.

I gave this a go and it pulled up so much sh$t I now realise that 30% of the lawn was weeds anyway - so it looks a bit patchy now. I put down some Weed n Feed to get rid of some of the weeds and in 2 weeks time i'm putting down some new grass seed to cover the patches.

Hopefully by the end of the summer it will all look a bit better now it is able to grow!

Hope this helps,

Richard

PeteT

Dave,
if there are patches of bare soil just rake over with a spring rake and scatter the seed on top. Then gently rake over again to lightly cover some of the seed. There are loads of different seed mixes available (shade mix, hardwearing, fine turf etc..) so get one that suits your requirements.

Tiggs

i spent a year on my lawn then the following year (as i'd got no where) i had it returfed which cost less than the time and effort i had spent the year before!

Tigggs

fast bloke

Scotts Lawnbuilder once a month until October. Rake over the entire lawn now with a spring rake and cut it down to about 1.5-2 cm's. Cut it minimum once a week. Water it every day from middle of May onwards. Let it lengthen to about 3cm by the end of the summer. It will look the dogs next year.

ChrisB

http://www.greenthumb.co.uk/

Not used them - they've just moved onto the same business park as us and stuck some leaflets through.

druddle

Yesterday I had a go at it. Previously I used a metal grass rake and raked the entire lawn twice. I got 3 black sacks of sh1te out. I also mowed it back then 2 weeks ago.

So yesterday i got the rake out again and had another go at raking hard. Got more out. It looks really patchy now. I have put down this Fisons Evergreen stuff that is a lawn fertiliser and weed killer and watered it in. There are loads of dandelions with deep roots so hopefully it will kill them. If needs be i will get a scarafier from someone in case i havent cleared the lawn enough.

Will try FBs recommended stuff aswell once the Fisons stuff ahs attempted to clear it. If I get a nice lawn after this effort, I will have everyone round for a putting contest on the immaculate lawn

Thanks for all your advice, Dave.

Richard Simpson

Can you use that lawnbuilder stuff on new grass or is it best to wait until it has taken hold - I'm putting some new seed down next week to cover the muddy bits?

Cheers
Richard

Dave P

You should only scarify every now and then. Best advice is to get a book from your garden shop called "The Lawn Expert". A very good book and deals with not just keeping a lawn but returfing etc etc. Will also give you a guide as to whether yours is beyond hope.

Dave

Mark Jackson

Get it turfed,

Absolutely never put pathclear down all over the patio and then walk all over the grass, only a pillock would do that......

fast bloke

Richard - You shouldn't really put anything down on a new lawn until it is well established.

Druddle - Don't scarify more than twice a year. You don't need to get everything out. As long as you get some of it you are allowing the grass an easier time. Might also be a good idea to aeriate it now as well. Leave the Fissions stuff for about 6 weeks. The only real difference between it and Scotts is that Scotts doesn't cause surge growth, so the weeds wont become massive before dying.

ScoobyJawa

My garden was a mess I killed the whole damn lot of it with contact weedkiller Patio'd it, whacked a shed and path down, created a little border. Just levelled off the area for the lawn as it was up and down like a yoyo and its only about 2x3 metres!!! Then just turfing it........

Maxwell Straker

I can vouch for Greenthumb, they performed wonders on my lawns.

PS - I do not work in the lawn maintenance business or have green thumbs.

druddle

Just been in touch with Greenthumb. They do a no obligation free healthcheck and advice service.

Cool !

fast bloke

John - Sound advice, but does 8 really make a difference? I usually just talk to it at the weekends

John Catlin

Fast Bloke,

Makes the lawn happy.

That's the secret.

All the best.

John Catlin