First cut of the year

GreeBo wrote: »

Ah yeah, forget about the bags, I never use it, have 2 bungy cords keeping the back flap slightly open and then just rake and bag afterwards. I've toyed with using a blower but it literally takes hours.
I also recommend going over with the mower after you have cleaned up, it will pick up loads more.

One other hint for cleanup is if you have a side discharge mower, with the discharge chute on the "inside", go around your grass in a circular fashion and you will end up with a pile in the middle.

Zardoz wrote: »

Last year I just scarified and then drove the mower over the debris on the highest setting to collect the grass/moss/thatch.
I'd then repeat the process scarifying at ~30 degrees to the first angle.
Slow work though.

Yeah, I only do that after I have picked up the majority as otherwise I am emptying the mower bag 50 times and stopping after maybe 2 lengths!

This year is my second year and although I still got a ridiculous amount of stuff up, the lawn looks much better afterwards compared to last year.

Progression since last year.

GreeBo wrote: »

Yeah, I only do that after I have picked up the majority as otherwise I am emptying the mower bag 50 times and stopping after maybe 2 lengths!

This year is my second year and although I still got a ridiculous amount of stuff up, the lawn looks much better afterwards compared to last year.

Yes that's very true.
Emptying the bag is what hurts my back the most I reckon too, having to bend down.

Nice pictures, thats a very nice garden you have.
You gave it a real going over.

Goddamn its a nice day out there today, hope you all got your seed down!

Dohvolle wrote: »

Got my seed down, but does anyone have any tips to stop dogs digging up new grass?
The wife won't let me use barbed wire or electric fencing, because they are our dogs...

If its only a few random patches then I wouldnt worry, you can address them later, if its the whole area then you are in trouble!

You could try one of the sonic repellers, or the garden hose

How long would you wait after applying iron sulphate before raking out moss?. I put it down on saturday and it more or less turned moss black right away as i diluted with water. I'm already tempted to rake it out but might leave it until weekend at least. Most sources online saying to wait 2 weeks though.

Ground temp overnight has definitely not gone above 5 degrees for last week.

I threw seed down at the start of February onto a new lawn (If you would even call it that). Not bad results considering the cold weather we've had & a north facing garden.

Mid/end February it had started to germinate

Start of March:




End March


Now (After its first top cut last week)

Zardoz wrote: »

What method would you recommend for overseeding bare areas ?

2 passes completed on the front this afternoon.
Scarified in one complete pass then went over it with the lawnmower on highest setting to gather up the debris.
Not as much as last year as I removed most of the moss last April and had kept it in check over the Winter with Iron Sulphate.
Repeated the process at 30 degrees to the first angle.
2.5 hours for 350 square metres which is pretty good.
It looks pretty decent now, still green enough although the grass is quite coarse in places.
Kind of a creeping grass.

Will do the back on Friday and the side on Sunday.
Will spray Iron Sulphate next week then to kill remaining moss and green up the grass.

That coarse grass is a curse, I pull it out anywhere it appears as it spreads and really stands out.

That leaves me with lots of areas to patch but no harm, 2 weeks and they are back with new grass.

For bare areas it depends on the size, if it's an actual hole where you removed something then I'd build up the level with soil first and compact, then sprinkle some seed and light rake it in, finally ensure good seed to soil contact by rolling out just walking it in.

For larger areas I might use the blades in the scarifier to cut some grooves in the top of the soil, after that it's pretty similar to the above, top dress, throw some seed, rake in and then roll.

Watering is the most critical part to be honest, if they dry out after germinating but before rooting they die.

GreeBo wrote: »

That coarse grass is a curse, I pull it out anywhere it appears as it spreads and really stands out.

That leaves me with lots of areas to patch but no harm, 2 weeks and they are back with new grass.

For bare areas it depends on the size, if it's an actual hole where you removed something then I'd build up the level with soil first and compact, then sprinkle some seed and light rake it in, finally ensure good seed to soil contact by rolling out just walking it in.

For larger areas I might use the blades in the scarifier to cut some grooves in the top of the soil, after that it's pretty similar to the above, top dress, throw some seed, rake in and then roll.

Watering is the most critical part to be honest, if they dry out after germinating but before rooting they die.

Sorry I should have been more accurate.
By saying coarse grass I didn't mean scutch grass.
Its grass similar to that you'd see in the rough on golf courses, a kind of creeping thicker grass. It likes to grow horizontally.
Fine for a lawn but it can't be cut too low.

I've no holes as such, just areas where there was moss and its a small bare patch now or an area where the grass is a bit thin now .
Is it ok to just put the seed down and roll it in or does it need some top dressing ?

GreeBo wrote: »

Ah ok, well scarifying or dethatching will help to break or lift any horizontal runners and the mower will get them, but to totally eradicate you are looking at killing it off...

If the soil is visible in those bare areas I'd just overseed directly and add a light top dressing if you have it, as much to keep the birds at bay. If the soil is dry/hard then I'd definitely top dress but wouldn't bother trying to break up/till the soil for an overseed.

The big worry is overseeing into a heavy thatch layer, the grass will grow but always be weak as the roots will stay in the thatch.

Thanks .

Thatch is a problem in my lawn, I've removed a good bit of it but because of the creeping grass it comes back.

My grass tends to go bad in June and July, I think its because its growing in thatch and the soil is heavy so in the dry weather it doesn't do as well.
I have lots of trees too and I don't water the lawn.

Leaving it that bit longer helps it, more leaf on the grass.
The lawn is definitely improving though, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Core tining the lawn would be a big help but I cant get a machine locally.

What would you recommend for the top dressing material, I've tried a top soil and sand mix in the past, it didn't seem to work well, it may have dried out though.
The sand was builders sand too so not ideal.
I also tried just throwing seed down but that didn't take too well either.

fryup wrote: »

will an electric scarifier help with a moss laden lawn (2 tennis court size) or should i hire a petrol one for the day?

GreeBo wrote: »

It will but you will have bushels of stuff to dispose of. Have to considered mobacter or similar to handle the moss?

no matter what moss killer & lawn feed that i've used ...the moss keeps coming back with a vengeance

fryup wrote: »

no matter what moss killer & lawn feed that i've used ...the moss keeps coming back with a vengeance

Iron sulphate is the best thing to kill moss.
5g per square metre in water will kill it.
Its very cheap too.

Moss will return if the garden is poorly drained or heavily shaded or you cut the grass too low.

Zardoz wrote: »

Thanks .

Thatch is a problem in my lawn, I've removed a good bit of it but because of the creeping grass it comes back.

My grass tends to go bad in June and July, I think its because its growing in thatch and the soil is heavy so in the dry weather it doesn't do as well.
I have lots of trees too and I don't water the lawn.

Leaving it that bit longer helps it, more leaf on the grass.
The lawn is definitely improving though, Rome wasn't built in a day.

Core tining the lawn would be a big help but I cant get a machine locally.

What would you recommend for the top dressing material, I've tried a top soil and sand mix in the past, it didn't seem to work well, it may have dried out though.
The sand was builders sand too so not ideal.
I also tried just throwing seed down but that didn't take too well either.

Yeah, I inherited a lawn with 2 inches+ of thatch in places, so I feel your pain!
The problem is as you say, in the height of summer the thatch dries out (or actively repels water as in my case) so the grass struggles. for water, and its already weakened from lack of oxygen and nutrients.

The deeper you can dethatch the more it "acts" like aeration, opening up the soil, but you have to balance that with the look of the lawn as it recovers, I try to go deep but not too many passes, a multi year project!

I do plan on renting a hollow coring machine this year, will see how that goes!

I've really only used compost mixed with top soil, but even then if the compost dries out too much it forms a crust that stops the grass growing.
Drying out is the number 1 problem but also burying the seed too deeply is probably next, they will rot if too deep (more than 1cm)