The Gardening Forum

[Dave 123]

For getting rid of cats (the nice way) orange peel and chilli powder.

 

[growingvegetables]

Oi you lot!

Serious question - the photo LOOKS to suggest a claggy, thick clay soil underneath? Some grasses love clayey bogs, but not lawn grasses. If you take a handful of the soil from underneath the lawn, can you press it in your hand into a ball that pretty well holds its shape?

If so, two thoughts

- Basically start afresh. Dig the whole lot up, turn over, while adding lots of sand. And a lot more sand. And a lot more again. Install effective drainage.

And personally - I'm taking one look and thinking ............. nope! Your lawn is small. It's the gardens and buildings around that worry me - they will probably prevent, or at least seriously hinder, any sustainably good drainage. There's just no way for water to drain freely away from your lawn?

- Resign yourself to returfing every 2-4 years. But the more sand you can incorporate each time into the soil underneath the lawn (or by aerating the lawn with a fork, filling the holes with sand), the longer the returfing intervals.

Just a by-the-by - but that looks so much like a "lawn" I know only too well.

 

[Mrs M]

I think the builder's a bit of a red herring tbh, and the drainage. Here's a picture from a different angle:
View attachment 118118
It's the patchy bits in the foreground and under the bush at back left which concern me most. My preferred course of action I think would be to reseed it, but I would like to know how, when and what with. Anything that involves major upheaval or expense simply isn't an option, so no digging up for additional drainage etc. This was done two years ago and isn't necessary I think.

I would dig up the worst bit in the foreground and lay chuckies (little stones) and put some planters with shade loving plants there. The remainder I would Astro turf, shouldn't be too expensive for a small area .
I would also tell the cats that the neighbours gardens are for peeing in, not yours.

 

[winjim]

@winjim

Grass seed will only germinate in temps above 10°c, unless you get some specialist seed like I have at work that will germinate down at 4°c. It's expensive and comes in 20kg sacks!

In the meantime either get a normal garden fork, or a hollow tine fork that removes cores from the soil. After this brush in either sharp sand or cat litter. The grass roots will grow down the edges of the holes deeper, this makes the grass more robust, drought tolerant and greener.

At the end of March buy some seed and oversees the whole lot. Mix it with sharp sand and some sieved topsoil.

That sounds like a plan. Is there any particular type of seed I should buy? I'm guessing one for shaded areas would be best. And is there a regime for overseeding? Do I just sprinkle the seed/sand/soil mixture down after mowing and raking what's already there?

 

[furball]

If you decide to go down the sorting out the soil and getting the right grass seed, it won't look like a lawn and your little un wont be able to play on it this year. If you returf it, are you prepared to maintain it i.e cut it, air it and if necessary feed it? If not I would seriously look at plastic grass. It's not cheap but you don't need a lawn mower.

 

[furball]

That sounds like a plan. Is there any particular type of seed I should buy? I'm guessing one for shaded areas would be best. And is there a regime for overseeding? Do I just sprinkle the seed/sand/soil mixture down after mowing and raking what's already there?

You will need to keep the birds off it. They love grass seed.

 

[summerdays]

You will need to keep the birds off it. They love grass seed.

Yes I spent weeks feeding them before I realised why it wasn't germinating!

 

[winjim]

If you returf it, are you prepared to maintain it i.e cut it, air it and if necessary feed it?

That's sort of what I'm asking how to do.

If not I would seriously look at plastic grass.

Not an option.

You will need to keep the birds off it. They love grass seed.

The cats should see to that. They do occasionally have their uses.

 

[Mrs M]

Our little remaining piece of grass was a real mess.
We got a scarifier to lift the moss, etc. Made lots of holes in the ground to air it, put down sand and grass seeds.
Lots of watering and aerating seemed to do the trick.
I cut some of the lawn away to make a flower bed, added a wee bit of interest and made what was left of the the lawn look a bit bigger.

 

[classic33]

Dead Patches from Urine Burn
Existing dead urine burn patches, less than two inches across will more than likely grow over in a month or two. If the patches are bigger or you want to speed recovery in smaller patches:

• Rake out the dead grass
• Prick the soil surface about 1cm deep with the garden fork
• Lightly sprinkle in grass seed – about 10 – 20 seeds per square inch, no more
• Tread the surface to firm
• Water lightly and at least daily for the first 2 weeks

 

[Tin Pot]

Just chuck a shed load of grass seed and fertiliser on it, and walk away for a few months.

 

[classic33]

Just chuck a shed load of grass seed and fertiliser on it, and walk away for a few months.

Try killing it!

 

[Lullabelle]

View attachment 118172 Our little remaining piece of grass was a real mess.
We got a scarifier to lift the moss, etc. Made lots of holes in the ground to air it, put down sand and grass seeds.
Lots of watering and aerating seemed to do the trick.
I cut some of the lawn away to make a flower bed, added a wee bit of interest and made what was left of the the lawn look a bit bigger.

This may take time but it is a very good way to do it, it does look in need of drainage holes, fresh air and sunshine.

 

[Lullabelle]

Is it any good? I notice it has fewer members than here, are they all the same people?

Basically I have just one question I need to ask, but if I can get a sensible answer to it here then I won't bother faffing about joining another forum which I probably won't regularly contribute to. If on the other hand, the gardening forum is populated by uniquely gifted quasi-mystical gardening shamen who never venture out and will only pass on their wisdom to the chosen few who are courageous enough to venture over their threshold, then I might have to give it a go.

It is good but as you can imagine there is next to nothing happening at the moment due to seemingly endless rain, when the weather warms and dries up things can be done and posts will then start up again.

 

[Dave 123]

That sounds like a plan. Is there any particular type of seed I should buy? I'm guessing one for shaded areas would be best. And is there a regime for overseeding? Do I just sprinkle the seed/sand/soil mixture down after mowing and raking what's already there?

Go for a hard wearing, shade tolerant mix- the packaging will say.

You can either scratch over the surface lightly with a spring tine rake, then scatter the seed, the packaging will tell you the application rate(add a bit more for the birds)
Then you could lightly apply a sand/topsoil mix after (by doing it this way you will be able to see how much seed you've put down before covering it)

Add water regularly.

Let it germinate and grow until the grass is about to topple over, then cut it with a rotary mower on the highest cut.

Remember to aerate now and get the sand/cat litter brushed into the holes.

Alternatively, spend 50quid on some turf, do a bit of digging and raking, water daily for 6 weeks, and regularly throughout the summer.