Renovating a lawn

[Entropy]

I am just starting to renovate my lawns as both are in a pretty shabby state. I would like to lift it all and re-seed but CIC, however, has other ideas so I am forced down the renovation route.

The front lawn is full of moss so I have been trawling the internet for advice but everyone seems to offer conflicting order for the steps to take.

My plan is to aerate, apply moss killer, scarify then top dress and seed. What do all you green fingered reccomend?

 

[grumpyoldb]

I am just starting to renovate my lawns as both are in a pretty shabby state. I would like to lift it all and re-seed but CIC, however, has other ideas so I am forced down the renovation route.

The front lawn is full of moss so I have been trawling the internet for advice but everyone seems to offer conflicting order for the steps to take.

My plan is to aerate, apply moss killer, scarify then top dress and seed. What do all you green fingered reccomend?

Get CIC to do it and retire to the patio via the frdge. DT_Xtremez_14:

Your plan sounds good but make sure you have the relavent labour on hand.

 

[busby1971]

Trying the same

Trying the same

In a new house so have a lovely lawn sat on top of a dense clay soil.

From what I have read the most important thing is to get organic matter into the clay to change into a more loam type soil (these are all technical terms that I hope will make my grass nice and green).

Top dressing seems to be a top tip so I have covered my lawn in holes and brushed top dressing into them. Apparently this may take several years.

If you've got moss then you've got damp issues, aerating and bringing in organic matter will help but as above it's a long term thing.

If you want a quick fix then get a contractor in to dig out your garden to about 3 foot, insert drainage runs and soak a ways, dump loads of good quality (loamy) top soil back in the hole and returf. Don't forget to remortgage house so you can afford it.

 

[grey haired chiefy]

Concrete lots of it and beer to admire your handy work. Self levelling so you get the bonus of a patio/BBQ area, and the dogs turds are easier to pick up !!
Add some green dye and hey presto instant lawn that does'nt need cutting
Simples.

 

[Ex-Bay]

Moss?

Copper Sulphate and sharp sand. It takes a while to work and the next year you get to do the Weed & Feed routine - big time.

 

[Tin basher]

Alot depends on why it's deteriorated in the first place you could be fixing stuff that isn't broke. As has been mentioned how good is the drainage? If its reasonable leave it alone improving drainage requires plenty of digging and effort and years of patience. If it's gone downhill through neglect then that is the easier fix. Regular weekly or even better twice weekly mowing will help, weeds don't like being cut down twice a week and short grass allows sunlight to dry the moss which prefers damp conditions. A good lawn rake manual or hire machine would also be a good start point. Rake out all the old thatch and moss you can (it will look shabby straight after) reseed particularly bald bits. Once the grass is settled apply autumn lawn feed this should kill most weeds and help prevent moss taking over. Look for one that is a "feed, weed and moss killer" not all feeds do all three jobs. Mow as needed until around late Oct ish. Next year apply some spring lawn feed. Think of the autumn lawn feed as the important Saturday night kebab before sleep and the spring feed as the Sunday morning bacon butty on awakening. Hollow tine aerating and top dressing are both useful treatments but for me are at the luxury end of the lawncare scale but if you want to avoid root compaction and achieve billiard table levels of flatness they could be for you.

 

[needsabiggerfuse]

When we first moved into 'Fuse Mansions, the 'lawn' was a square of green moss. I applied a dose of Weed-Feed-Mosskill and let it do its stuff, i.e. no mowing for two weeks. If you go at it too soon, all you'll end up doing is spread mossy spores all over the place and you'll be back to square one. Hand raking is OK for small areas, but when it's the whole lawn you'll need a bit more help. I've got one of those little whizzy scarifier things and it produced sack after sack of dead moss; actually, it quite amazing just how much grot came out. The lawn itself looked devastated, but simply allowing the air and light in let the grass grow and it was back to normal within a couple of weeks. Since then it's been a case of Spring and Autumn feeds and regular mowing.

 

[Life-Is-Good]

From my (hit and miss) experience, we're coming to he end of th growng season so whilst you might be able to cure the moss, you'll probably not get good lush growth until next spring.

For what it's worth, I've got my best lawn this year by doing most of the work earlier in the year:
Weed/moss kill and feed. - I found Evergreen brand was good. Be patient and follow the instructions. Repeat application at 6 weeks paid off.
Cut little and often: no more than the top third off the grass.
Water. Regular.
Scarifing is good. I'm a poor techie so I use a rake.
Fork some drainage holes. Boring (no pun intended) but really helps.
Water.

Hope that's of some help.

PS don't strimmer weeds it spreads them something rotten....

 

[Entropy]

I was in the middle of aerating the lawn and Mrs Ent in her enthusiasm has applied moss killer to the lawn while I was at work.

Upon my return from hunting computers, I saw that the treatment was a mosskiller and feed. The instructions say no seeding for 8 weeks.

How long can I realistically get away with waiting as I was originally planning on 2 weeks for the moss to die, scarify, top dress and re-seed. This would take us into early Oct for the seed to germinate.

If I now have to wait until the end of Oct then no seed will grow this year. Will the top dressing help to lessen the effect of the feed so I could reseed in 2-3 weeks?

 

[Tin basher]

8 weeks seems a long time probably the manufacturers covering their 6 o'clock. For me alot would depend upon the amount of rainfall. With no rain to wash away or dissolve the moss killer and feed then an 8 week wait to re-seed could be perhaps be justified but with plenty of rain the time period may well be reduced. Given the relativley low cost of some grass seed just go for it in Mid Oct one of two things will happen either it grows or it doesn't. I reckon you could get away with it if we are spared early frosts. Top dressing will make little difference.

 

[Entropy]

Cheers TB I'll give it a go. The moss is already black and starting to wilt, just desparate to get the seed sown.

 

[Tin basher]

Have you seeded yet?? With the current mild weather could be worth a go soonest before it gets to cold.

 

[Entropy]

Thanks for the interest TB, I hired a scarifier last week and stripped the lawn. I knew that it was going to look bad but I was suprised by the result it looked like a wasteland with the odd blade of grass showing. Plus 1 large green recycling bit full of moss.

All that was missing for that chav look was an old matress and a knackered 3 seat settee.

Last weekend I top dressed the lawn and sowed seed. Just waiting for it to germinate now. I am starting to fret a little as we are 10 days after sowing, which as I understand it is the back of the germination window. May need to run down to the garden centre for more seed if nothing has sprouted by the weekend. What do you all think?

However lessons learnt from the experience. As per my original post a number of websites stated different order of steps to kill moss, sacarify and aerate. I followed a site that said you should aerate, kill moss and then scarify.

The next time I do this I will kill the moss, scarify and then aerate. In my case the scarifyer closed up the hole created by the aerator. Hope this helps someone thinking about doing the same.

 

[needsabiggerfuse]

Why not try one of these? All you'd need to complete the task is a broom shoved up your @rse and you could sweep up at the same time. DT_Xtremez_30:

View attachment 9966

 

[Tin basher]

Last weekend I top dressed the lawn and sowed seed. Just waiting for it to germinate now. I am starting to fret a little as we are 10 days after sowing, which as I understand it is the back of the germination window.

Yes it is late but the seed should still germinate if we escape a frost. Though with cooler temps and less available daylight now you might be nearer 20 days rather than 10. Patience is a virtue so they say.

 

[Entropy]

Panic over, the seed has started to sprout (still some bare patches thoough). The next question is when can I cut the grass. The original grass is starting to get quite long now so would like to tidy it before winter.

 

[Entropy]

Sorry to resurrect this old post but need some more advice. Just to let you know that the lawn came up a treat over the winter although a little bit thin in places. It looked really good at the start of the year, so much so that the first cut was accidentally done on the same setting as the end of last season. I only noticed when I went to drop the height due to the ease of the cut.

Now for the advice. The lawn does have some weeds in it, has a little moss and is still a bit thin in places. So, do I put down a weed 'N' feed now then aerate, dress and seed in late August or do I aerate, dress and seed now then weed and feed until late Sept?

 

[Fluid Druid]

Find the number for your local "Green Thumb" agent and call then in!