Grass seed - where from, how to & when?

Hillfly

I have some areas of my garden i want to seed - previously they were borders. I also want to add seed to some turf that has partially taken but is patchy to help it blend the colour with the other areas of grass ( or should i just lift the turf and seed it?

Anyone suggest what type of grass seed, where to get and when to sow please.

Total novice gardner here!


Thanks.

melipona

Usually April or August, just get some from your local hardware/diy store. Although its usually a bit more expensive a packet that also has fertiliser with it too give the seed a good start.

Having said that I did some reseeding in Nov and its taken OK. I also have some plants flowering that shouldn't until April and I saw a butterfly yesterday!!

flang

Wilkinsons have started putting out their gardening stuff so give it a few weeks they usually have a large container full of the stuff!!!

manda1205

We did loads of our garden last summer, we'd just moved in and we had to level out alot of it so we had lots to do. I wanted to buy turf cos I wanted instant grass but I was so surprised how quick grass seed grows. We bought lots from tesco, it was quite cheap but started laying it about may time and my partner watered it every night and also added a splash of baby bio, it was ready to cut within a fortnight. Baby bio does wonders. We also carried on doing other bits till about september time (as it was still warm) and it still all grew fine. Hope this helps (sorry to ramble on).

rooo

I wouldn't recommend August - you will need to water it twice a day if it is warm.

It is a bit early to start now, but if you want to give yourself the best possible chance, get the ground prepared now and give it a thorough dig over, removing every trace of plant/root/bulb.

Then wait until the ground is a bit drier and warmer (March time) and dig over again until it is a fine tilth.

Then if you want to be thorough, dig in some powdered fertiliser a few weeks before laying the seed.

Then make sure the soil is nice and fine and the whole area is firm and raked level and then scatter the seed as per instructions. I always put bamboo canes around the area and criss cross garden twine between them, to keep the cats off, but to allow the rain on.

Given some decent weather and regular rainfall you should start to see growth within 2 weeks. Rain is by far the best thing for most plants, but especially grass seed - they love it and will respond by putting on some rapid growth.

Its hugely satisfying when you see the first blades appear! Good luck!

jfdi

We had to do this last year, having done odd bits & bobs previously using really posh expensive seed.

Being on a money-saving streak (!!!) I bought Asdas stuff. It was amazing! Grew far better than the pricey ones! So my vote is for Asda!

Hillfly

Actually i would prefer to get stuff that doesn't grow too fast - as it'll need cutting every 5 minutes otherwise! Any thoughts on a slower growing grass type?

rooo

I don't think there is much of a difference - I *think* the harder wearing ones often grow a little slower, but we are not talking much difference here.

Grass loves British summers (sun - rain - sun - rain) and grows quickly as a result! Get that mower ready!

Hillfly

I genrally would agree - however the patch of turf i laid last year seems to grow twice as fast as the rest of my lawn so i have and odd long patch. However i suspect thismay be due to the food i placed in the soil before laying it. It was a nice rectangular patch that was laid over a spot where i filled in a pond. In the end I mowed a St.George cross into it for the world cup! :-)
It wasn't there for long though :-(

wishiwasarichgirl

try the bbc website or other gardening sites on the internet, plenty of tips on when and how to sow a lawn.

as for the actual seed, not sure what is best, i reseeded parts of my lawn last year and it is greener and grows faster than the rest :rolleyes:
cost loads too for the seed, then my neighbour told me one of his friends works for the council and could get me a massive bag of seed and fertiliser really cheap :doh:

my dad who's a farmer can also get it in bulk pretty cheap but he lives too far away for that to be of any use to me. might be worth thinking about whether you know any farmers or council workers though

andrew-b

My Dad is a bit of a lawn fanatic. When i asked him similar questions on preparing an area for sowing he referred me to pages 89-91 in his copy of the Lawn Expert by D.G. Hessayon . Available from Amazon or you could always borrow a copy from your local library.

Andy