[Misc] Lawn growing

[Billy the Fish]

This is a before an after of our lawn from last year. We just followed online advice, invested in good quality seed that suited our gardens aspect (north west) it took alot of effort, watering, feeding and regular mowing but was like a carpet by June, well worth the effort

View attachment 134958

Looking pretty sexy!

Just been leaving the lawn in patches for wildlife, have a pond with newts and a couple of bird boxes up. Bug hotel and wood pile cuttings for their pleasure, will be planting up native shrubs around the lawn. Using no pesticides in the garden. We get visited by a hedgehog and can hear him crunching on snails. There's more to a garden than a lawn, let it grow

Which is great, I love a wildflower meadow. People are talking about it at the moment as if the two concepts can't coexist. The lawn is a sociable space which I think most people want from a garden, it's also a good place to admire the borders.

 

[Jack Straw]

My number one tip for lawns would be "Don't shave it!" It's all about what you leave behind, not how much you cut off. That's why football pitches look lovely and green and cricket wickets snowy white.
If you've got a female dog, those little grass volcanoes that appear on your lawn, with bare patches in the middle are her doing!

 

[Bry Nylon]

Know when to cut and when not to cut
Know when to water
Know when to feed
Know when to scarify
Know when to aerate
Know when to sow new seed

If I’m being honest, I preferred the Kenny Rogers version.

 

[Billy the Fish]

My number one tip for lawns would be "Don't shave it!" It's all about what you leave behind, not how much you cut off. That's why football pitches look lovely and green and cricket wickets snowy white.
If you've got a female dog, those little grass volcanoes that appear on your lawn, with bare patches in the middle are her doing!

I think this is partially how I wrecked mine in the first place. Infrequent cuts then taking too much off left it stressed and patchy. Zero feeding probably didn't help either!

Don't think I'll go lower than 35mm this year

 

[The Grockle]

After the first mow of the spring, mine now looks like yours did in the top left photo as someone who's pretty new to this garden stuff, any tips?

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

Happy to give my advice but I should point out I'm no expert and my previous garden experience was helping my mum in the garden as a kid.

I started in mid March by doing a a mow with the blades set mid height.

I then waited a couple of weeks for the weeds like dandelions to rear their ugly heads then used a weeding tools to remove them down to the root.



Straight after that I heavily raked the whole area with a loose rake, collecting all the moss and debris. Reading online it said not to worry if it looked very sparse and messy, which it definelty did!



I them went over the whole lawn with garden fork, pushing down hundreds of fairly deep but narrow little holes. Then I went back over the area with the rake to prepare the lawn for "over seeding"

I then applied a liquid lawn feed with a watering can followed by a a heavy soak with a garden hose spray function. The bare soil patches at this point were loose/no longer compacted.

I had bought a mixed selection of seed that suited the amount of light it would get and the size of the plot with a little extra to be safe. I paid about 15 quid from a specialist company online. I simply followed their instructions increasing the amount for the barer patches.

At this point the lawn was a no go zone for around 6 weeks, no walking beyond well placed tip toeing if absolutely needed. Because of the warm climate here in Bournemouth and warm April I didn't have to worry about frosts.

After 6 weeks it looked like a lockdown hair piece so I mowed with blades at their longest setting, this was followed by weekly mows at the shortest. I used a weak liquid lawn feed every 10-14 days.

I watered with a sprinkler every other day unless it had rained.


Hope this helps as well [MENTION=365]Napper[/MENTION], good luck!

 

[Deleted member 2719]

110 sq m of CB Winter turf arriving tomorrow.

Planks, rakes, tea all at the ready.

If the turf turns up yellow or mildewy or full of weeds, seed it back don't be scared to inspect it before he drops it off his lorry.

There is some shite turf sold out there and as your not a bulk buyer they may just offload you with the crap.

Chuck a few handfuls of 7:7:7 (growmore) down and rake in lightly first, make sure it's even.

Butt the turf up tight really tight, and keep it well watered especially when we get wind and sun, as it will shrink like crazy.

I hope you have prepared it well as this is the tough part, the turfing part is a breeze.



And get your mower sharp and ready to roll once the roots have started to take to the soil, pull it like you would a stubborn nose hair.

Top off first cut, then slowly lower in the following cuts.

 

[jevs]

The secret of turf laying assuming that the ground has been prepared properly, is to ensure that the soil is moist to a depth of at least 150 mm. This time of year shouldn't be a problem, but in Spring and Summer, this is absolutely crucial.

And to place the turf "green side up"

 

[The Grockle]

View attachment 134970View attachment 134971

Love this, where does the little gate at the end lead to?

 

[banjo]

Love this, where does the little gate at the end lead to?

Nothing exciting. It’s the gateway to my shed. Don’t tell the wife.

 

[Creaky]

Get a few of these - no need to mow and they provide the fertiliser.

 

[Jack Straw]

And to place the turf "green side up"

My money was on you posting that!

 

[Doonhamer7]

Paid to returf our garden last March- our dog (a bitch) has basically weeded the thing to death over the year!!

 

[Wardy's twin]

The secret of turf laying assuming that the ground has been prepared properly, is to ensure that the soil is moist to a depth of at least 150 mm. This time of year shouldn't be a problem, but in Spring and Summer, this is absolutely crucial.

I carefully laid some turf only to find that it had been rolled back over night , put it back same thing happened the next night. Put some pepper down and that stopped Mr or Mrs Fox....

 

[Wardy's twin]

Just been leaving the lawn in patches for wildlife, have a pond with newts and a couple of bird boxes up. Bug hotel and wood pile cuttings for their pleasure, will be planting up native shrubs around the lawn. Using no pesticides in the garden. We get visited by a hedgehog and can hear him crunching on snails. There's more to a garden than a lawn, let it grow

Same here , luckily still have some slow worms as well. Do you have frogs as well or have you found their numbers have declined as the numbers of newts expands. I have a few ponds as now have some rehoused goldfish in a separate one.

 

[The Grockle]

Nothing exciting. It’s the gateway to my shed. Don’t tell the wife.

Ah ok, love the idea of little hidden spots and might use that as inspiration for a little escape in the shade

 

[banjo]

Ah ok, love the idea of little hidden spots and might use that as inspiration for a little escape in the shade

If you do post a picture. Love my garden. Gardens in general.

 

[wellquickwoody]

My number one tip for lawns would be "Don't shave it!" It's all about what you leave behind, not how much you cut off. That's why football pitches look lovely and green and cricket wickets snowy white.
If you've got a female dog, those little grass volcanoes that appear on your lawn, with bare patches in the middle are her doing!

Dog Rocks.

Black, stone like product that you put in the dogs water bowl. Stops the brown burn from bitch urine. On the flip side the dog will really love fresh water without this item in when they can find it, but in reality they will drink it when they have no other choice.

Oh, and to add JSs advice not to cut too short, I would add to cut regularly, aim for once a week. You may not achieve it, but aim for it, or maybe even every five days. Weeds do not stand a chance.

 

[The Grockle]

If you do post a picture. Love my garden. Gardens in general.

Will do.

 

[Seagull27]

Happy to give my advice but I should point out I'm no expert and my previous garden experience was helping my mum in the garden as a kid.

I started in mid March by doing a a mow with the blades set mid height.

I then waited a couple of weeks for the weeds like dandelions to rear their ugly heads then used a weeding tools to remove them down to the root.

View attachment 134972

Straight after that I heavily raked the whole area with a loose rake, collecting all the moss and debris. Reading online it said not to worry if it looked very sparse and messy, which it definelty did!

View attachment 134973

I them went over the whole lawn with garden fork, pushing down hundreds of fairly deep but narrow little holes. Then I went back over the area with the rake to prepare the lawn for "over seeding"

I then applied a liquid lawn feed with a watering can followed by a a heavy soak with a garden hose spray function. The bare soil patches at this point were loose/no longer compacted.

I had bought a mixed selection of seed that suited the amount of light it would get and the size of the plot with a little extra to be safe. I paid about 15 quid from a specialist company online. I simply followed their instructions increasing the amount for the barer patches.

At this point the lawn was a no go zone for around 6 weeks, no walking beyond well placed tip toeing if absolutely needed. Because of the warm climate here in Bournemouth and warm April I didn't have to worry about frosts.

After 6 weeks it looked like a lockdown hair piece so I mowed with blades at their longest setting, this was followed by weekly mows at the shortest. I used a weak liquid lawn feed every 10-14 days.

I watered with a sprinkler every other day unless it had rained.


Hope this helps as well [MENTION=365]Napper[/MENTION], good luck!

Thanks, much appreciated!

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

 

[Weststander]

If the turf turns up yellow or mildewy or full of weeds, seed it back don't be scared to inspect it before he drops it off his lorry.

There is some shite turf sold out there and as your not a bulk buyer they may just offload you with the crap.

Chuck a few handfuls of 7:7:7 (growmore) down and rake in lightly first, make sure it's even.

Butt the turf up tight really tight, and keep it well watered especially when we get wind and sun, as it will shrink like crazy.

I hope you have prepared it well as this is the tough part, the turfing part is a breeze.



And get your mower sharp and ready to roll once the roots have started to take to the soil, pull it like you would a stubborn nose hair.

Top off first cut, then slowly lower in the following cuts.

CB Winter delivered to me a big load of turfs, with large pebbles embedded in each one, full of perennial weeds and annual meadow grass.

By contrast, our other batches bought directly from Rolawn were perfect, like rolling uniform sections of emerald coloured carpet.