Seeding a lawn

Rossdarragh1

I'm looking to get my lawn seeded in the coming weeks. Firstly when is the best time to put down seed?

I sprayed the site last autumn which produced a good kill. Weeds are starting to become prominent again though. The area that needs seeding is just under three acres,

A small portion of this 3 acres will be the 'good lawn' with the remainder being more of a field. I plan to cut this area three to four times a year with a tractor and mower and maintain the actual lawn area more regularly with a mower.

Soil is sparse enough in places on the 'good lawn ' so I've got a few loads of topsoil of a neighbour which are currently in heaps on the site.

I'm looking to till the ground and add the topsoil to the more lawn proper.

Any advice on what I should do and in what order . I'm pretty clueless in this regard . Should I use the same type seed in both areas, should I spray off weeds prior to till or after ?

Ive access to farm machinery to rotavate ground and have mini digger to level ground. I'm looking to keep costs down so thinking of doing most of prep working myself and then get someone in to seed the lawn. Would I be saving money in getting professional to just seed the good lawn with a mechanical sower and seed remainder myself ? Be great to get people's thoughts .

Rossdarragh1

Also does anybody know what this hedge is? Saw it in castle Durrow and think it would look nice as a boundary hedge.

lordgoat

If you have that much space you could consider a wild meadow. Which you would probably cut less than 3 times a year but you'd have something nicer than a patchy green area to look at cos a lawn that big will need effort to look good all the time.

www.wildflowers.ie. Send them an email and they'll give you a good idea on how to get going.

Also I think they are a Nandina or a japonica plants can't be sure though

Rossdarragh1

Thanks for the reply. Ya I was looking at the idea of wild flowers over a certain area of the site. I must have a look at that site. Thanks for your suggestions

lordgoat

FYI with that large a site you could keep bees and have your own honey... and bees!

Other things you could do, plant about 12 apples trees, put in a poly tunnel and grow all your own veg. You've a great opportunity (as long as you have the time!)

macraignil

Rossdarragh1 wrote: »

Also does anybody know what this hedge is? Saw it in castle Durrow and think it would look nice as a boundary hedge.

Looks to me like a type of cotoneaster shrub. They are a good choice for a hedge in my opinion and are fairly vigorous but you will need to keep an eye on seedling cotoneaster popping up around the place as the birds spread the seeds when they eat the berries.

As for making 3 acres in to grass land without anything to graze on it I think you would be better off planting trees and at least then you could harvest some firewood after a few years. Many trees will coppice well so you can let them re-sprout from the stump after cutting them down and have another crop of firewood again faster than if you started from seedling trees again. I read before that an average household could get all its heating fuel needs from about 3 acres of woodland.