What's wrong with my grass?

Car99 · 24-02-2021 2:35pm #1

Hi All.

My lawn was seeded about 3 years ago and is light in places and a bit yellow in places , any suggestion in how improve the thickness and quality of the grass? I had an awful lot of thistles in year 1 so I gave it a spray of dicophar other than that its had nothing since it was planted , just cut once a week and that's it.

I was told some 7617 plus sulphur might help but I said I'd ask here before doing anything.

looksee · 24-02-2021 3:19pm

It would be reasonable to suspect that there is a problem with the ground, since the problem appears to be all in one area. What preparation was done? Is there anything buried in that area? And less likely, given the localised nature of the problem, do you have a dog - or rather, a bitch?

rje66 · 24-02-2021 4:28pm

Looks a bit like moss?? Could be mistaken though..

Car99 · 24-02-2021 5:11pm

rje66 wrote: »

Looks a bit like moss?? Could be mistaken though..

No definitely not moss . The yellow seems to be dead grass.

Car99 · 24-02-2021 5:16pm

looksee wrote: »

It would be reasonable to suspect that there is a problem with the ground, since the problem appears to be all in one area. What preparation was done? Is there anything buried in that area? And less likely, given the localised nature of the problem, do you have a dog - or rather, a bitch?

There is a land drain along there heading towards the ditch the other side of the fence. But it isnt very dry there by any means. The soil was topsoil I bought in to raise the area up about 4 inches.

AMKC · 24-02-2021 5:48pm

I hope you don't mind me hijacking your thread. My lawn is like that in parts too. It is yellow in parts and t the moss has gotten worse. Other parts of it grow great. You can rake the moss out of it but it's not easy and impossible to get it all.
You can also put washing powder on it to kill the moss but have to do it before rain and not too much or you will kill the grass too if not careful. Still have to take it after do.

aw · 24-02-2021 8:16pm

It looks a bit like scutch grass.
Could you get a closer pic of the area so the plant can be seen?

Car99 · 25-02-2021 12:13am

aw wrote: »

It looks a bit like scutch grass.
Could you get a closer pic of the area so the plant can be seen?

I'll do that in the morning.

Car99 · 25-02-2021 12:48pm

rje66 wrote: »

Looks a bit like moss?? Could be mistaken though..

Rje66 you're bang on there is an awful lot of moss where the grass looks dead . Until I looked down close I would not have noticed that.

Car99 · 25-02-2021 12:53pm

aw wrote: »

It looks a bit like scutch grass.
Could you get a closer pic of the area so the plant can be seen?

On closer inspection rather than from an upstairs window there appears to be alot of moss in the yellow grass areas . Rje66 did mention it earlier and I said definitely not but just goes to show what I know.

How can I get rid of the moss and replace it with lush green grass?

Car99 · 27-02-2021 7:23pm

Bump

cuculainn · 27-02-2021 8:00pm

I am in a similar situation as you. The land drain is probably some of the problem. I have a drain running the length of the lawn and it looks very similar to yours. Although it is more obvious that there is a drain. I think the drain either drains away nutrients from the soil causing the grass to be weak and not establish strongly.

The potato manure (7 6 17) will do it good. It will green up the grass and the sulfur will kill the Moss to some degree.

This year I have decided to spread lime in the next few weeks and then spread mobacter, which is supposed to eliminate Moss without the need to rake it. I actually sprayed the lawn with sulfate of iron this morning also.

It's a lot of work for a lawn and really regret sowing a lawn rather than wild flowers or something else.

Car99 · 27-02-2021 8:47pm

cuculainn wrote: »

I am in a similar situation as you. The land drain is probably some of the problem. I have a drain running the length of the lawn and it looks very similar to yours. Although it is more obvious that there is a drain. I think the drain either drains away nutrients from the soil causing the grass to be weak and not establish strongly.

The potato manure (7 6 17) will do it good. It will green up the grass and the sulfur will kill the Moss to some degree.

This year I have decided to spread lime in the next few weeks and then spread mobacter, which is supposed to eliminate Moss without the need to rake it. I actually sprayed the lawn with sulfate of iron this morning also.

It's a lot of work for a lawn and really regret sowing a lawn rather than wild flowers or something else.

Cuculainn thanks for sharing your fight with the moss. Will you spread some lawn seed after the moss is dead because if kill all the moss I'm afraid I'll have alot of bare patches and very little grass.

cuculainn · 27-02-2021 10:20pm

Car99 wrote: »

Cuculainn thanks for sharing your fight with the moss. Will you spread some lawn seed after the moss is dead because if kill all the moss I'm afraid I'll have alot of bare patches and very little grass.

To be honest I haven't thought that far ahead....but I would be delighted to have to be spreading grass seed as it would mean I have got on top of the Moss. I do think if the Moss was cleared it would give the grass a chance to thicken up and may not need major reseeding.....

Car99 · 27-02-2021 11:38pm

cuculainn wrote: »

To be honest I haven't thought that far ahead....but I would be delighted to have to be spreading grass seed as it would mean I have got on top of the Moss. I do think if the Moss was cleared it would give the grass a chance to thicken up and may not need major reseeding.....

Best of luck with it. I'll post my progress here.

domeld · 01-03-2021 9:35pm

Car99 wrote: »

Best of luck with it. I'll post my progress here.

To clear moss you can use mobacter - the best moss "remover" what i ever used, and it is organic.

GreeBo · 01-03-2021 9:48pm

Car99 wrote: »

Cuculainn thanks for sharing your fight with the moss. Will you spread some lawn seed after the moss is dead because if kill all the moss I'm afraid I'll have alot of bare patches and very little grass.

A healthy lawn shouldnt have moss....is it in a shady spot? It doesnt seem like it is from the pictures...
Is the lawn very wet in those areas?

Also, do you have any pets or anything else that might be peeing on the grass?

Car99 · 01-03-2021 10:05pm

GreeBo wrote: »

A healthy lawn shouldnt have moss....is it in a shady spot? It doesnt seem like it is from the pictures...
Is the lawn very wet in those areas?

Also, do you have any pets or anything else that might be peeing on the grass?

No pets and the lawn is unshaded all day long . I'll think I'll hit it with sulphate of iron, and some fertilizer, give a run over it with a scarifier and see what happens . Might try and get an aerator on one of the days over the summer too .

Car99 · 01-03-2021 10:08pm

domeld wrote: »

To clear moss you can use mobacter - the best moss "remover" what i ever used, and it is organic.

I'll might try that once I get the lawn looking a bit healthier.

Car99 · 01-03-2021 10:10pm

I'm going to try a bit of overseeing after the fertilizer . Would grass seed number 2 be a good choice for my situation?

BigAl81 · 02-03-2021 8:34am

Car99 wrote:

I'm going to try a bit of overseeding...

Do you plan to just throw the seed over the existing lawn, or so you need to work the seeds into the soil somehow?

GreeBo · 02-03-2021 9:07am

BigAl81 wrote: »

Do you plan to just throw the seed over the existing lawn, or so you need to work the seeds into the soil somehow?

Grass seeds need to be in contact with loose soil, no need to cover/bury them in soil though, typically you break up the existing soil or add an inch of top soil and then spread the seed. Rake over and then to get good contact roll (or walk on) them.

Watering is most important, you cant let new seeds dry out once they germinate or they die. So a light water at least once a day, more if its dry and hot.

What's wrong with my grass?

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