Lawn advice

[russellm72]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can give me some advice on my lawn which is in a bit of a mess...............

Its not a big lawn maybe 20-25 m2 with a nice cherry tree in the middle and surronded by a big 8ft hedge. In some patches it is very mossy and I am putting this down to bad/drainage and shady enviroment.

Last year I bought a moss killer with which one mixed two sachets in water and watered the area using a watering can. It did work to a degree, with the moss going black, but there was no way i could cover the area stated on the sachet. My plan last year was to kill off the moss, scrape out and re-seed but after reading a few posts on here I expect more action is needed. One needs to tackle the root problem (No pun intended )

Would the best bet be to rotavate the whole area and remove all the crap on top which includes normal grass, moss and weeds. I know this will be hard work but I am hoping to sell next spring and would like the lawn to look better...(first impressions and all). I am a tad concerned that there is a load of rubble etc under the lawn as my house is not that old and I've also read builders have a bad reputation for dumping old waste and just throwing soil over the top. Would the rotavator cope with this or will i need a bloomin pneumatic drill......

I also would like some advice on what kinda turf to buy and I'll stay clear of the B@Q stuff and perhaps use a local garden center. I am expecting the best stuff to buy would be grass that tolerates shady conditions but any advice much appreciated.

There is no rush to do this as I don't have any kids etc so can happily stay clear of the area as the project continues. I am hoping to put in some decking in a corner but not until the weather allows.

Many Thanks in advance.

Russell.

 

[Hightowermark]

You could try treating it again this year with some proper stuff that does not need you to add it to water. You can get moss and feed in one now and also make sure it's for spring (top growth). Give it a good feed even put a little sand for drainage. And dont forget to water it when we have no rain for a few days. If this works dont forget to give it a good clean and thatch in the October time aswell as feeding it Autumn type feed (roots).

If the problem has still not worked but September then you can rip it all up, import some good top soil. Then contact a turf company get good quality stuff and turf it in the October and it should be fine for next Spring.

If you are selling it aslong as the grass is green and looking good people are not gonna stop buying your house because you have moss in there aswell.

Grass will grow on about 2" of soil so it's very common in most new houses to have all the old rubbish they dont need in your back garden.

 

[ratm]

Hi Hightowermark
You should be able to make out if there's anything buried under the grass by sticking a fork through it, and I would suggest that that's the root of your problem. If there is indeed rubble under a thin layer of soil there's nothing for the grass to get into, so shallow roots weaken in hot summer weather and by winter the wet weather only encourages the moss to grow where the grass has thinned and the rubbish is preventing decent drainage. If however you find that it's not the dreaded rubbish and just compaction that's causing your problems you could hire a scarifier. This machine will cut a series of slits in the grass and at the same time scarify the thatch, some even vacuume up the debris. If you do have rubble or rocks under there though it's best just to airate by hand with a fork and run a lawn raker over it. Then brush some lawn sand into the holes you've created and water well in. It will look a bit of a state at first especially if there's a lot of moss but after a week it will start to come back to life and repay all that hard work. Then treat with a good dry fertilizer and moss killer and keep watering in dry weather, remember to patch any bald spots with germinated grass seed mixed 50/50 with seed compost or sharp sand.