Lawn help please

keza

Hi everyone.

Our lawn is covered in moss and weeds ! We have brought a lawn moss killer which is working its magic at the moment and already i can see black patches where the moss is dying off.

My questin is, i now need to think about grass seed to grow in place of the moss and weeds im currently exterminating! We have a lot of birds who are partial to a bit of seed.....

any advice on how to get my seed to grow and avoid the birds having a filling lunch? and also how to make sure i end up growing new grass in these patches! its somehting ive never been great at in the garden and i really would like a nice lush lawn (bit like next doors i suppose )

Thanks!

TonyMMM

Once it's dead you will need to rake the lawn to remove as much dead stuff as possible.

Then you will need to deal with the underlying cause of the moss being there in the first place (normally poor drainage , too shady or both).

Once that's sorted you can think about reseeding/re-turfing.

Otherwise the moss will just return and you will have wasted your time/money.

keza

thanks tonyMMM i believe the moss is there because it hardly gets any sun and the drainage is poor. will have a look and see if i can find any solutions! im greta in the garden but lawns arent my strong point

thanks!

TonyMMM

Good lush lawns need full sun and good drainage, but with plenty of water - you can get shady seed mixes which will help a bit, but you will never get the lawn you really want.

If you can't get rid of the shade, dig it up, redesign the area (paving, gravel etc.) be creative.

marleyboy

Be sure to rake the seeds into the top layer, the birds can get to some of the seeds, but if sown properly, they wont get to all of the seeds. You can always overlay the patched lawn with some clear plastic sheeting until they shoot.

Get yourself a few brightly coloured garden wind fans from the pound shop or some glitter tape from the Garden Centre, these deter the birds akin to how a scarecrow works.

growleygrumps

Hi

I have just put weed, feed and moss killer down and already the grass is becoming a healthy lush green colour and the weeds are starting to twist and contort as they should. I dont have a lot of moss in my lawn as i always put my lawn raker on at the start and end of every season which controls it to a point. If you havnt got an electric lawn raker i would highly recomend one they do a fantastic job. Its surprising how much crap you get up, all lawnmowers leave some debris on the grass which gets trampled into the lawn but the lawn raker gets this out. Its surprisingly a dry mixture that comes out when lawn raking but make sure your garden waste bin is empty, you wont believe how much you get up lol. You can get a lawn raker for about £60 it really does do a lot of the hard work for you. Just beware it is time consuming to begin with but it certainly pays off.

I lawnrake in several directions for the best result, then any bald patches i loosen the soil (the lawn raker has already started the process) put down a good grass seed, i try to use the canadian fast growing and then put a good layer of a good compost over the top and finally put black bin liners over for 5-7 days or until you see the shoots coming through then i take away the plastic. Just make sure you water the area to be treated well before you put the seed down and then while your plastic is down it will sweat keeping the area moist. This has always worked really well for me and my lawn is beautiful.

Good luck
GGxx

Leif

It might help to aerate the lawn. I bought some studded shoes from ebay but I've seen the same ones at local garden centres at reasonable prices. They are a bit fiddly to assemble, but they do work. They do say putting some sand down can help too, or a sand and soil mix spread around. I had the same problem as you, my lawns were awful. I did like you and put down some weed, feed and moss killer, and I also walked around with studded shoes on, and after 6 months the front lawn looks amazing. yes it still has some dandelions, trefoil and moss, but with a good cut from a new mower, it looks as good as other lawns nearby. The back lawn is improved too albeit with a lot more weeds, and some presents from an as yet unknown dog.

I think as others have said if you lightly cover new seed with some soil, the birds won't eat it.

afm_2

I know this doesn't have much too do with the op but my grass is a mess too and I would like to use some weed, feed and moss killer on it. However, I have a dog and she needs to use the garden and sometimes eats grass thus I am worried that this can be harmful for her. Does anyone use this whilst having pets coming into the garden? I can keep her away from it for a few days until the product disappears but would it be harmful for her if she then eats the grass that was treated with this product? Any help would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

Ash_McCloud

keza wrote: »

i really would like a nice lush lawn (bit like next doors i suppose )

Ask next door how they keep their lawn looking like that, they'll be able to offer much better advice than anyone on an internet forum can

afm wrote: »

I know this doesn't have much too do with the op but my grass is a mess too and I would like to use some weed, feed and moss killer on it. However, I have a dog and she needs to use the garden and sometimes eats grass thus I am worried that this can be harmful for her. Does anyone use this whilst having pets coming into the garden? I can keep her away from it for a few days until the product disappears but would it be harmful for her if she then eats the grass that was treated with this product? Any help would be much appreciated!

Thank you!

Most weed, feed and mosskillers say how long to keep pets/children away for, normally no more than 24 hrs. If you've got a grazing dog then it might be wise to check out how long rabbits/guinea pigs etc need to be excluded from the area for though

cyclonebri1

The best piece of kit I bought recently was a lawn scarifier.:T:T:T:T

Fantastic, two sets of blades 1 solid and 1 spring tines.

Unless you have tried 1 of these you would not believe the crap they will remove from your lawn.

Mine was shop soiled off ebay for £35, bargain, new, £50.

Treat the moss either before or after, doesn't seem to matter, but you better have a dam big bin or compost heap available, it shifts some muck:p

Oscargrouch

keza wrote: »

Hi everyone.

Our lawn is covered in moss and weeds ! We have brought a lawn moss killer which is working its magic at the moment and already i can see black patches where the moss is dying off.

My questin is, i now need to think about grass seed to grow in place of the moss and weeds im currently exterminating! We have a lot of birds who are partial to a bit of seed.....

any advice on how to get my seed to grow and avoid the birds having a filling lunch? and also how to make sure i end up growing new grass in these patches! its somehting ive never been great at in the garden and i really would like a nice lush lawn (bit like next doors i suppose )

Thanks!

The best results on moss will be the application of a Lawn Sand mixture. This can be applied 3 times a year in Spring, Summer and Autumn. It will also burn off many broad leafed weeds. You may find that as the moss dies back, the grass will re-colonise, as it does when you just use any selective weedkiller on your lawn. The advantages with Lawn Sand are many - it hardens the sward, provides a small amount of Nitrogen, during the Autumn it helps prevent Fusarium Patch disease, which thrives in wet, high Nitrogen lawn conditions. It is relatively cheap to purchase. Being comprised of sulphate of iron with dried sharp sand as a carrier. Another option, would be to buy Soluble Iron, which you obviously mix in water and spray evenly with a knapsack sprayer. To correct the causes of Moss will cost you a fortune, for a home garden, hardly ever worth it. Just try the Sulphate of Iron for a year, you won't look back and saves you applying costly other products. :beer: