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Rescuing lawn

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darkwarrior
darkwarrior Posts: 234 Forumite
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in Gardening
I have a large-ish front lawn and as a child I remember it being quite lush, but over the last few years it seems to be struggling. There was a moss issue, which I applied moss killer for and scarified, and there was a large amount of geraniums at one point which had grown over a lot of lawn, which I removed completely and planted new seed down.

Issue is that new seed doesn't seem to have taken well in most of the areas, and the rest of the lawn has issues with weeds and some kind of leafed plant? I've included photos, but basically applying weed killer and weed/feed hasn't really done much, maybe I just haven't done it comprehensively enough, but does anyone have any advice I can use to bring it back to its full glory?
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Comments

  • I_have_spoken
    I_have_spoken Posts: 5,051 Forumite
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    TBH, re-turfing is your best option rather than spending another season trying to turn it around
  • wallbash
    wallbash Posts: 17,775 Forumite
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    Kill everything , reseed in September/ October

    Turf would be nice, but I wouldn't lay any until September/ October!! and then again you won't get the benefit til next spring .
  • cyclonebri1
    cyclonebri1 Posts: 12,827 Forumite
    edited 3 August 2014 at 9:56AM
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    wallbash wrote: »
    Kill everything , reseed in September/ October

    Turf would be nice, but I wouldn't lay any until September/ October!! and then again you won't get the benefit til next spring .

    Agree totally, I wouldn't turf it and this is MSE after all. October seeding for me too

    If you did re turf to make a proper job of it you'd have to skim off and dispose of the old turf which would be an issue for some.

    Either way it will need rotating or a lot of hard digging.
    If you rip it up now you have time to let any perennial weeds shoot and then get rid of them before seeding in early Oct
    I like the thanks button, but ,please, an I agree button.

    Will the grammar and spelling police respect I do make grammatical errors, and have carp spelling, no need to remind me.;)

    Always expect the unexpected:eek:and then you won't be dissapointed
  • wallbash
    wallbash Posts: 17,775 Forumite
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    Agree totally, I wouldn't turf it and this is MSE after all.

    I'm not a full member of MSE !I would Turf in the spring , then you would get a full Summer with a wonderful new lawn. But the work entailed at this time of the year makes seeding the real option.
    If you did re turf to make a proper job of it you'd have to skim off and dispose of the old turf which would be an issue for some.

    I just killed everything and lived with a really dead lawn for months, then it was just a good rake to remove the brown thatch.
  • Mojisola
    Mojisola Posts: 35,557 Forumite
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    How often do you cut it and how low do you have the mower blades?

    If you're cutting it very short, try raising the blades. A longer cut will crowd out some of the weeds and make the lawn more drought-resistant. You may have to cut a bit more often but it will be worth it.

    If you have any of the lawncare companies round you like GreenThumb, give one of them a try. My parents used one of them and their lawn was transformed after a couple of treatments. We costed it out and it was cheaper than buying the stuff and doing it ourselves.
  • darkwarrior
    darkwarrior Posts: 234 Forumite
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    I cut it maybe once a week, sometimes every two depending on growth but I don't cut it that short, the lawnmower I have has 3 settings and it's on the second, so it isn't taken right to ground.

    So by kill everything are we saying but a weed/moss killer down? Then in October put new seed in? I assume turf is out as I haven't even see B&Q selling that recently, and with work, returfing the whole thing would be a big project and as cyclonebri says, then removing the turf would be another big project.

    I'll also look into this greenthumb thing as if I can get a reasonably priced professional to fix it, that would be an option rather than keep spending money on different lawn fixings.
  • cyclonebri1
    cyclonebri1 Posts: 12,827 Forumite
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    wallbash wrote: »



    I just killed everything and lived with a really dead lawn for months, then it was just a good rake to remove the brown thatch.

    Ok, my view is seed every time unless you have uncontrollable kids/pets.

    Problem with seeding in spring is that it can be just too dry once germination has taken place, sow in march and we have a heat wave in may/june equals trouble. In autumn the kids don't tread the garden as much.

    But over riding is this, if you are ready in oct then sow in oct, if you are ready in march sow in march. (Substitute turf for sow if that is your persuasion;)


    Now then, I respect your answer WB, but, it's a high probability that the reason that the lawn is crap in the first place is that it is over compacted. under aerated, and lacking in nutrients.
    Simply seeding on hard, dead, infertile land will result in a good lawn the first year. But the same problems the 2nd.
    I like the thanks button, but ,please, an I agree button.

    Will the grammar and spelling police respect I do make grammatical errors, and have carp spelling, no need to remind me.;)

    Always expect the unexpected:eek:and then you won't be dissapointed
  • wallbash
    wallbash Posts: 17,775 Forumite
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    I was answering the question remark about skimming and dispose of the old turf which would be an issue for some.

    Kill every thing , rake off brown thatch THEN rotavate at least twice.
    Then we leveled and turfed
  • wildwestfan
    wildwestfan Posts: 832 Forumite
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    We moved into a place with green weeds masquerading as grass. I thought we would need to dig it all up and returf. However I asked Green Thumb to inspect and advise.
    A year later after several treatments plus aeration and scarification we had a beautiful lush lawn. We continue with the four times a year treaments.
  • darkwarrior
    darkwarrior Posts: 234 Forumite
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    wildwestfan wrote: »
    We moved into a place with green weeds masquerading as grass. I thought we would need to dig it all up and returf. However I asked Green Thumb to inspect and advise.
    A year later after several treatments plus aeration and scarification we had a beautiful lush lawn. We continue with the four times a year treaments.

    How much does that cost you?
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