Laying New Lawn from Seed

[Damian30]

Hi,

We live in a typical new build with a very poor quality sloping lawn.

I'm thinking of putting a small retaining wall in to minimise the slope and then prepare the ground to grow a good quality lawn from seed (can't afford turf at the moment).

Most books recommend that the lawn is seeded by the end of September which leaves me with no time at all to get everything prepared. Would it be un-realistic to expect to get the seed down by the end of September with all the preparation required and would early October be to late?

If I don't do it soon I guess I will have to wait for spring and a further 12 months for a new lawn!

Thanks for any views.

Damian

 

[Diyisfun]

Its all about weather conditions, the seed needs damp & warmth. I would try it, if it dosnt germinate you have only wasted a packet of seed, if it does germinate, you get a lawn 1 year earlier.

 

[coastal16]

My personal feeling is more depends on the ground/soil conditions than date, so I would say you will be ok into early October as long as there is some moisture there and good soil to seed contact (good seedbed).

Would help if you gave it a dressing of Autumn fert, the phosphate helping the young plants establish a good root system.

Autumn fert = P & K with no Nitrogen.

JC

 

[alexp.1]

Given the current weather you'll be ok to delay overseeding until well into October.

In the meantime I urge you to really put some time into preparing the soil. Use a fork and go down a foot, removing as many stones/bricks etc as you can. Break up large clods of earth. Add compost/rotted manure and mix it in. Really try to create a firm, level, smooth soil surface for seeding. Time invested in the soil preparation will pay huge dividends.

There is loads of info on the net, so read up. Enjoy.

 

[roccodelucca]

As previously mentioned prep' is the important thing do it well.
Having said that you can always level at a later stage with a mix of sharp sand and fine earth.
If the lawn is patchy you can always oversow in the spring, you are just fine until the end of September for the first sowing.
At the end of the day you ain't got nothing to lose.