Scraggly Lawn

Luis · 12 April 2005 at 11:28PM

Hello,

When I moved into my house 18 months ago, the back lawn was very scraggly. So last spring, the OH dug it all over, levelled it and we reseeded it.

The Lawn grew back very scraggly - ie sort of clumps of grass and lots of earth inbetween. So we chucked some more seed on it.

Anyway, this spring, it remains very scraggly, and quite frankly is starting to do my head in. We have chucked some chicken manure pellets on it as OH swear that will do the trick :rolleyes: We seem to be spending a fortune on this lawn and getting nowhere.

The end by the house is very poor, but rarely gets any light, so we are going to slab that over and make it into a patio. When it rains, the earth gets quite thick and muddy.

But the far end gets plenty of light - what's going wrong?

Help!

Pink. · 13 April 2005 at 12:31AM

No idea what's wrong with your lawn luis, but our problem is clay soil which results in 'scraggly' lawn.

A few years ago I discovered Evergreen Complete (slow release), and boy has it made a difference. Twice a year we sprinkle this magic stuff on the so called grass and it turns into a lawn!

I usually buy it in local supermarket or Homebase when it's on offer.

Pink

Galtizz · 13 April 2005 at 12:52PM

My lawn was rubbish too so I bought some grass seed a couple of years ago. Now, where there was mud there is...... dandilions :mad:

I can't remember which seed I used but it was cheap own brand stuff so I'd get recommendations (like Pink's) and use those so that you don't get loads of weeds.
There is now more dandilions (and cat poo, but that's another story) than lawn in my garden so I am cutting out some flower beds and putting some new turf down but my lawn is soo small I only need about 4 rolls of turf so I can afford to replace it.

FranDan · 13 April 2005 at 2:42PM

We've the same problem with our lawn... the kids have turned it into a mud bath. No amount of seed seems to help.

Recently we've looked into the possibility of laying astro-turf.... expensive tho, but perhaps it'd be worth it if it lasts?? We've only got a small area to cover.

Luis · 13 April 2005 at 4:50PM

Pink - what is evergreen complete - is it seed or a food?

Queenie · 13 April 2005 at 5:09PM

Luis - it's a lawn food and weed killer and moss control

MrsMW · 13 April 2005 at 6:36PM

Trying to grow a decent lawn on clay soil is like trying to find rocking horse poo. I am so fed up of our back garden, we have taken away a lot of the grass and made flower beds, we have dug out an area and gravelled it , but we have to keep some grass because if we turn it all into shrubs/flowers, it would just be muddy, can't plant trees because of the drains (don't ask) and have been advised that if we paved it the flags would move when the ground moves as the clay expands and shrinks. Only time the earth moves round here.
I will try the Evergreen complete.

Baz_Bee_2 · 14 April 2005 at 11:10AM

One problem is that a lot of people believe that grass seed is just grass seed. However, that is far from the reality. There are numerous different types and mixes of grass seed for different types of soil (clay, sandy, chalky, acid, alkaline, etc, etc) as well as for use in different environments (sunny, shady, hard wearing, ornamental, display, bowling green, etc, etc.)

If a normal run of the mill general purpose seed does not take, I would suggest you get down to your local (decent) garden centre and tell a knowledgeable assistant what your conditions are like and get the correct seed for the job. If that does not work ask for your money back.

economiser · 15 April 2005 at 8:35PM

I think the basis of your problem is drainage as with some other contributors to this thread. You either have to put drainage in or abandon the idea of lawn and go for gravel or something similar

mateyboy · 15 April 2005 at 10:19PM

Hi

I had the same prob ,my mate who is a gardner told me to areate the lawn-thats a posh word for making little holes in the lawn to help it breath, it may be compacted,This will allow for better drainage.

If your on a budget sprinke some of the chicken manure ( pellets) on the lawn, instead of the more expensive fertiliser,try and put these pellets on before a good shower, and dont cut the lawn for a couple of weeks this is to allow them to soak into the lawn.

Wait and watch ,I can assure you will have a lawn to be proud of.

Scraggly Lawn

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