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New Lawn Growing Poorly

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  • 23-05-2012 2:29pm
    #1
    b2dadizzle
    Registered Users Posts: 35 ✭


    Hi everyone. I sowed my lawn on the 1st of April, using a number 2 seed mix. I didn't spray off the ground before I sowed or anything. The lawn is almost 1 acre in size.
    Since sowing, the lawn seed has only grown about 1 inch, and is really poor in places. Howver, the lawn is now overgrown with weeds like docs and thistles, along with ordinary grass. It looks like it could e a long time before the lawn is high enough to cut with a lawn mower too.
    Would you recommend putting a fetilizer on it yet to help it grow, or would this only make my weed problem a lot worse?
    I'm very impatient at the best of times, but I really can't wait for the lawn to grow.
    Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm a complete novice at these things.
    Thanks.
    B.


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    #2
    bbam
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,410 ✭✭✭bbam


    Firstly this has been an awful spring for grass growth and particularly bad on new seed.
    Definitely feed it, id recommend 18:6:12, 50 kg divided in four and applied two or three weeks apart.

    I sowed my lawn a few years ago like yourself without spraying as its an acre in size. I went along and spot killed any nasty weeds with a 10:1 mix of roundup. A small sponge on a handle does just fine for that, just touches the weed and leaves the grass.

    Newly tilled ground also grows alot of annual weeds that will grow once and once mowed are gone for good.

    Feed it, kill off the weeds as they come and it will do just fine, if there are bare areas just shake a little more seed to thicken it up.


  • Options
    #3
    Sonnenblumen
    Registered Users Posts: 5,834 ✭✭✭Sonnenblumen


    b2dadizzle wrote: »
    Hi everyone. I sowed my lawn on the 1st of April, using a number 2 seed mix. I didn't spray off the ground before I sowed or anything. The lawn is almost 1 acre in size.
    Since sowing, the lawn seed has only grown about 1 inch, and is really poor in places. Howver, the lawn is now overgrown with weeds like docs and thistles, along with ordinary grass. It looks like it could e a long time before the lawn is high enough to cut with a lawn mower too.
    Would you recommend putting a fetilizer on it yet to help it grow, or would this only make my weed problem a lot worse?
    I'm very impatient at the best of times, but I really can't wait for the lawn to grow.
    Any advice would be greatly appreciated as I'm a complete novice at these things.
    Thanks.
    B.

    Recent weather has impacted on growth but i doubt that is the main contributing factor here. Poor ground preparation is often the reason why lawns especially new lawns fail to fully develop into nice lawns. The general wisdom is not to apply any weedkiller to new grass for at least 12 months, one wonders what the consequences might be to adding fertiliser at this point, weeds will also thrive on added nutrients!

    Was there a particular reason you selected Number 2 mix for the area?

    Now that the weather hasd improved, if I were you, I'd start over again with spraying (probably 2 rounds) to kill everything before attempting to re-sowing with # 3.


  • Options
    #4
    Wishbone Ash
    Registered Users Posts: 24,952 ✭✭✭✭Wishbone Ash


    Was the topsoil imported from elswhere? It's possible that it may be contaminated in places.

    As others have said, temperatures have been much lower than normal which will stunt growth.


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    #5
    creedp
    Registered Users Posts: 5,597 ✭✭✭creedp


    Sonnenblumen wrote: »
    Was there a particular reason you selected Number 2 mix for the area?

    Now that the weather hasd improved, if I were you, I'd start over again with spraying (probably 2 rounds) to kill everything before attempting to re-sowing with # 3.

    Can I ask why you don't agree with the use of Number 2 mix for a lawn? I sowed my lawn on Easter Saturday and its progress has been very slow. I used number 2 mix as this was what was recommended by the guy doing the job for me. What is the difference between Number 2 & 3?

    By the way even though the grass is still very low and patchy, how long should I leave it go before the 1st cut? Is is better to let it get pretty high before cutting or would an earlier cut to tidy it up be more harm than good? Also with a new lawn is it better to use a walk behind lawnmower initially to reduce the damage that could be done by the wheels of a ride on?

    Thanks


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