Lawn grass

fiestaman

I sowed my lawns last August. I started to cut my lawn in March and it had some weed but the grass was green and lush, now I have what I call Traneen grass and when I cut it it's left like straw, really spikey. I used a no.2 lawn seed. Is it lacking something? The grass is going to seed as far as I can see. It's mowed every week. Can I get rid of this and get the nice green soft grass back

redser7

A photo would be good. You might be scalping it. Have you moved the blade down low?
At any point did you let it get too long and then cut it? When it gets too long the bottom of the grass can turn white and thick and then when you cut it you can end up with something like you are describing.
Did you feed it at all yet? If you look at the soil up close does it look baked hard and dry?

fiestaman

redser7 wrote: »

A photo would be good. You might be scalping it. Have you moved the blade down low?
At any point did you let it get too long and then cut it? When it gets too long the bottom of the grass can turn white and thick and then when you cut it you can end up with something like you are describing.
Did you feed it at all yet? If you look at the soil up close does it look baked hard and dry?

I can't post a photo off my iPhone so il try when I'm home. I know what your saying about it getting to long but that never happened. I put 10 10 20 on it 2 months ago. Soil is not too dry. It's been like this the last month.

redser7

Very strange then. Is it just patches of this thicker grass? Could be scutch, It can blow in and take hold or else be in your original seed by accident. If it is only in patches you can slash it with a kitchen knife over time to weaken it and reseed the patches with better seed.

fiestaman

These are some pictures i took, only getting around to it now. The long grass is just corners i couldnt get to with the mower but this is whats in the whole lawn and when i mow it its all spikey.

Citizenpain

What height are you cutting it at ? Looks low or like it was left too long at some stage .. Strange

Norfolk Enchants_

fiestaman wrote: »

These are some pictures i took, only getting around to it now. The long grass is just corners i couldnt get to with the mower but this is whats in the whole lawn and when i mow it its all spikey.

That doesn't look like no.2 lawn seed, and by what you describe after cutting it doesn't sound like it either, plus no.2 lawn seed can't/doesn't grow that high. IMO one of two things happen either you were sold incorrectly label seed or the person who laid the lawn told you lies, in any case it's looking like you'll have to redo it.

fiestaman

I cut the lawn at no4 on the tractor lawnmower, I suppose 1 1/2" left after cutting.

I seen the law seed that the contractor used, he opened a new bag and what was left he gave to me to use if I put in kerbs, it was leisure lawn no.2 http://www.coopsuperstores.ie/Garden/Lawncare--Garden-Chemicals/Lawn-Seed/Leisure-No2-Lawn-Seed-20kg-1660622. I do notice shaded areas the lawn is nice and green and looks good.

fiestaman

I found this and this is exactly what I have
http://buckeyeturf.osu.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=647&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=170

redser7

Interesting. So keep mowing once a week. Watch for signs of yellowing and feed it. At this stage one or two feeds would see you through the summer.

farmchoice

that is a very interesting article, its a recurring problem i have had since i overseeded last year and i could never quite get a handle on what was causing it. no2 grass seed has ryegrass in it so i'd say that is it. it does seem to go away after a period of time and then reaccur the next year.

Ogie84

fiestaman wrote: »

I cut the lawn at no4 on the tractor lawnmower, I suppose 1 1/2" left after cutting.

I seen the law seed that the contractor used, he opened a new bag and what was left he gave to me to use if I put in kerbs, it was leisure lawn no.2 http://www.coopsuperstores.ie/Garden/Lawncare--Garden-Chemicals/Lawn-Seed/Leisure-No2-Lawn-Seed-20kg-1660622. I do notice shaded areas the lawn is nice and green and looks good.

Fiestaman, interesting to see this as I had a similar problem. I sat my 1/2 acre lawn in early June 2013 and after battling drought etc the lawn came on well eventually, but after a few cuts we began to notice that the grass was of a more broad leafed variety than what you'd typically expect to find in a lawn. We left it over the winter to see how the grass would be in spring but the broad leafed, tall grass dominated and similar to you, was stalky when cut and basically didn't make for a very nice lawn.
In April my brother, a farmer, had an advisor out from Teagasc who noticed the lawn and informed us that What we had purchased (Greenfields no.2 lawnseed), was in fact Italian Rye grass, the same as what was growing over the fence in the brothers silage fields.

So we took the decision to burn it off in April and reseeded it with a different brand of seed (Goldcrop no.2). It's 7 weeks in now and the difference in the quality is startling.
It wasn't that big of a deal to us to reseed it as we had a tractor to do most of the heavy work (spray and rotovate), but it may be something to consider.

Norfolk Enchants_

Ogie84 wrote: »

Fiestaman, interesting to see this as I had a similar problem. I sat my 1/2 acre lawn in early June 2013 and after battling drought etc the lawn came on well eventually, but after a few cuts we began to notice that the grass was of a more broad leafed variety than what you'd typically expect to find in a lawn. We left it over the winter to see how the grass would be in spring but the broad leafed, tall grass dominated and similar to you, was stalky when cut and basically didn't make for a very nice lawn.
In April my brother, a farmer, had an advisor out from Teagasc who noticed the lawn and informed us that What we had purchased (Greenfields no.2 lawnseed), was in fact Italian Rye grass, the same as what was growing over the fence in the brothers silage fields.

So we took the decision to burn it off in April and reseeded it with a different brand of seed (Goldcrop no.2). It's 7 weeks in now and the difference in the quality is startling.
It wasn't that big of a deal to us to reseed it as we had a tractor to do most of the heavy work (spray and rotovate), but it may be something to consider.

SSHHHHHH, some people don't like to hear the truth when it's contrary to what they want to hear and you'll get all manner of reasons why you can't be right, none based on fact or experience I might add.

fiestaman

Right I put lots of 10-10-20 on my lawn and it has really brought it on, the scraggly stuff has gotten less and it has greened up too. I now have this grass like a snake snaking through. I pulled som and this is what it looks like.

Norfolk Enchants_

fiestaman wrote: »

Right I put lots of 10-10-20 on my lawn and it has really brought it on, the scraggly stuff has gotten less and it has greened up too. I now have this grass like a snake snaking through. I pulled som and this is what it looks like.

You can put the world of fertiliser on, but it won't change the variety of the grasses, although it may temporarily take the harsh look off it.

fiestaman

Norfolk Enchants_ wrote: »

You can put the world of fertiliser on, but it won't change the variety of the grasses, although it may temporarily take the harsh look off it.

Ok, il see how it goes until next year, if it's still annoying me il kill it and resow. Any idea what the other grass is, is it scutch?