The 2024 Lawn Thread
Discussion
we’re not going to be winning any prizes or starting using it as a putting green any time soon, but as a patch of grass for my 4yr old to tear around and the improvement from what it was.
it does look a bit patchy, and some areas better than others. might give it some soil/ overseed come autumn, might just see how wrecked it is after summer!
Challo said:
Moved into a new house on Oct and the small lawn took a battering from the weather and the dogs. Going to look to improve the drainage first, and then try and get some grass growth.
We also have another small section, but it’s under a large oak and think will struggle to grow grass in the shade. We might convert this to patio or a gravel area instead
Edited by Challo on Monday 11th March 22:18
I think I'm going to have to lay new turf instead
Best to wait till the autumn?
MrJuice said:
Help please guys
I am just in the process of laying top soil on my lawn. Garden is being redone
Thoughts on growing grass from seed Vs laying turf?
I’ve had some pretty decent success growing from seed (I’ve a few posts showing progress on the few pages of this thread). I read as much as I could from the ‘lawnsmith’ website and followed it as much as I could.I am just in the process of laying top soil on my lawn. Garden is being redone
Thoughts on growing grass from seed Vs laying turf?
the only down side to trying to grow from seed at the moment, is how much you’ll need to water it. I seed at the beginning of may, and I still watered twice a day to stop it drying out. I know it might not feel like a great summer, but you could be watering the seeds a lot to keep them damp/ moist for germinating.
I put down All in One lawn feed and weed on the front lawn last week as the local weather forecast said that there would be some rain about to help it soak in. Right enough, we had heavy rain and even thunderstorms in the area but incredibly absolutely nothing falling on us. I gave in yesterday and got the sprinklers as the forecast was to stay dry for a few more days..... and today it poured!! Grrrr
malks222 said:
I’ve had some pretty decent success growing from seed (I’ve a few posts showing progress on the few pages of this thread). I read as much as I could from the ‘lawnsmith’ website and followed it as much as I could.
the only down side to trying to grow from seed at the moment, is how much you’ll need to water it. I seed at the beginning of may, and I still watered twice a day to stop it drying out. I know it might not feel like a great summer, but you could be watering the seeds a lot to keep them damp/ moist for germinating.
thank youthe only down side to trying to grow from seed at the moment, is how much you’ll need to water it. I seed at the beginning of may, and I still watered twice a day to stop it drying out. I know it might not feel like a great summer, but you could be watering the seeds a lot to keep them damp/ moist for germinating.
I was admiring your lawn
I think I am just going to go for it. Why not. Worst case will just lay turf if needed
renmure said:
I put down All in One lawn feed and weed on the front lawn last week
Just out of interest, did you actually need to use an all-in-one product?I do think sometimes people buy these products because it seems like a good idea, without considering whether they actually need all the components that they give. If you don’t have widespread weeds and/or widespread moss, then you really are better off using a plain fertiliser product. More of your money is then being spent on the product you need, rather than on the stuff you don’t need.
There are two significant downsides to using all-in-one products. Firstly, because they contain ferrous sulphate for moss control, there is always a risk of scorching if you overdose or overlap your application. Secondly, because of the weedkiller component you can’t re-apply it as frequently as necessary to keep the lawn well fertilised.
If you have only the occasional weed in your lawn, you’re far better off using a plain granular fertiliser and squirting the individual weeds with a bottle of liquid weedkiller (the ones specifically designed for use on lawns).
All-in-one products have their place, when your lawn needs feeding and you have widespread weeds or widespread moss. But I think many people use them by default when often a straight granular fertiliser would be better.
renmure said:
we had heavy rain and even thunderstorms in the area but incredibly absolutely nothing falling on us.
That’s the nature of thunderstorms I’m afraid. They’re not reliable for providing rain when you need it. Thunderstorms are cellular, and in this country we rarely get organised lines of them so they tend to be scattered with clear weather in between. So there’s always a significant chance of all the cells missing you, and then you’ll get no rain at all.MrJuice said:
thank you
I was admiring your lawn
I think I am just going to go for it. Why not. Worst case will just lay turf if needed
exactly, it’s worth having a go and seeing what you can do, worst case you have to turf in a month or so anyway. I was admiring your lawn
I think I am just going to go for it. Why not. Worst case will just lay turf if needed
I will say that buying a lawn lute (although others here have made some impressive DIY versions) made life a lot easier for spreading/ smoothing out top soil. oh and i wish i had some kind of roller, because stepping in/ compressing all the top soil was a real pain!
what's the best resource to read about growing from seed?
And roller you say...? again, any suggestions on resources to read about all the tools required?
I have basically got no tools other than non relevant bits.
Is a cylindrical lawnmower best? any suggestions on which one?
right now I have a pretty heavy duty MTD (I think) petrol lawnmower bought from costco some years back. I don't think it's what I need now.
And roller you say...? again, any suggestions on resources to read about all the tools required?
I have basically got no tools other than non relevant bits.
Is a cylindrical lawnmower best? any suggestions on which one?
right now I have a pretty heavy duty MTD (I think) petrol lawnmower bought from costco some years back. I don't think it's what I need now.
www.lawnsmith.co.uk has all the info you need, anything I say is just a repeat of what I read on their site!
malks222 said:
www.lawnsmith.co.uk has all the info you need, anything I say is just a repeat of what I read on their site!
This. Lawn from seed is very doable, and like most gardening, in part the art of embracing imperfections.A good amount will take, some less so, but it all thickens and looks great in a month or two.
builder just called and was really pushing turf
some medallion variety apparently.
difference in outlay of £ is significant. I would need to do the maintenance of the lawn during growing stage and once it takes (hopefully). I think I have enough time in my day to do 20mins x a day most days.
some medallion variety apparently.
difference in outlay of £ is significant. I would need to do the maintenance of the lawn during growing stage and once it takes (hopefully). I think I have enough time in my day to do 20mins x a day most days.
I'm creating a new lawn to join the front and back lawns/gardens.
This morning 11am
By 11:30 am I have 18 tonnes of grade 1 Ormskirk top soil
By 5pm .... I need a G & T in the bath with me
But at least I got it done before the rain . It will be seeded with all fescue golf putting green seed from Boston seeds once it's settled. The quality of the sward on bought turf doesn't meet my specifications
.
This morning 11am
By 11:30 am I have 18 tonnes of grade 1 Ormskirk top soil
By 5pm .... I need a G & T in the bath with me
But at least I got it done before the rain . It will be seeded with all fescue golf putting green seed from Boston seeds once it's settled. The quality of the sward on bought turf doesn't meet my specifications
.
Fresh turf put down yesterday, well watered so far and I've ordered some pre-fertiliser off the back of reading the Lawnsmith website.
Day 2:
We had this two weeks prior to moving in this time last year:
Which was looking like this exactly a year later:
The trampoline was killing off a patch so a dedicated area for it fixed above artificial turf will see the end of that issue. Just need to keep everyone and the dog off it now until kiddo's birthday party next month!
Day 2:
We had this two weeks prior to moving in this time last year:
Which was looking like this exactly a year later:
The trampoline was killing off a patch so a dedicated area for it fixed above artificial turf will see the end of that issue. Just need to keep everyone and the dog off it now until kiddo's birthday party next month!
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