LAWN MAINTENANCE

[LooPrEvil]

Can anybody advise of a good lawn maintenance programme that I could undertake?

I have recently resolved an issue with drainage in an area of my garden, but the constant wetness has allowed moss to takeover. I have just given the lawn a treatment of moss killer, but would like to improve the overall condition of the soil itself. I tend to fork the ground once a year and apply an application of lawn feed / weed. But that is about it.

 

[merlin50]

yes its called sun

 

[LooPrEvil]

yes its called sun

Sorry, perhaps I should have mentioned that I live in the UK, not Southern Europe!

 

[merlin50]

you could always replace it with decking

 

[LooPrEvil]

Do we have any knowledagble gardeners on board, who may know the secret to maintaining a good lawn?

 

[RedHerring2]

Use plastering sand for regular dressing.
A good time to apply is after aerating it.

 

[LooPrEvil]

Thank you. Will B& Q do plastering sand, and how do I apply it?

 

[merlin50]

the way the weather is at the moment nothing is going to work

 

[LooPrEvil]

Thank you. It is worth knowing what to do once the weather starts to improve, which it should in the next few weeks or so.

 

[r896neo]

better off with sharp sand or fine horticultural grit, which is often referred to by builders merchants and the like as paving sand. Spike it before you apply it and mix it with top soil to dress it.

That said the vast majority of lawns that do not get regular lawn treatment are at least 50 percent moss and weeds. For 95 percent of people this is fine as the lawn is for using. If you want an ornamental or high quality lawn in most cases it would be less work to simply kill it all with round up and start over again. Improving the drainage soil quality and basics like that before re-sowing or re-turfing.

 

[RedHerring2]

If you buy plastering sand or sharp sand in 35kg bags it'll work out a bit expensive, best buy it by the jumbo bag or by the tonne.

I don't bother to mix it, just sprinkle straight on, but, no doubt mixed, and you're applying an even better dressing. I probably use about 35kg per 10m². Within a couple of weeks and it's mixed in anyway.

A couple of dressings each year. It'll take at least a couple of years to see an improvement.

Because it improves drainage it reduces moss, thereby improving the grass.

 

[MFCGMFC]

aerate-overseed-top dress

in that order in the next few weeks, i have started already.

mix in fertilizer with a good NPK, the 3 main nutrients needed by grass to survive N-Nitrogen P-Phosphate K- Potassium

so on the fertilizer bag it will say something like 10-5-19

something with an NPK like that mixed with your top dressing with help with growth

either do that or re-turf

depending on the current species of grass in your garden ( there are over 600 species of grass) overseeding could cause different grasses to grow in your garden and they may stick out

whereas if you returf then its most likely to be all the one species

aeration dressing and feeding is as important as cutting