Getting your grass green

TerryPalmer

I have just recently started to really take car of my garden, had other priorities when I moved into my house. But notice loads of weeds and bald patches.

Just wondering if anyone can recommend how to get it nice and green without and weeds, I want something to be proud of.

I_have_spoken

Quick way is to get a turf cutter, remove existing lawn and returf.

anotheruser

^ that is cheating. Plus, it's hard work and won't give you as much a sense of pride and achievement.

Firstly, take photos once a week so when it's all finished, you can look back. Also post the pictures here when it's done. I'll add mine soon.

1) Buy some Verdone. Follow the instructions carefully. I gave my lawn a double helping a few days apart.

2) Go to Wilko and get their "bag your own" grass seed. I got 500g of both the "luxury" and "hard wearing" types and mixed them together. You could just get a box of cheap Wilko basics brand though, or both.

3) Spread the seed over the lawn, even on areas which already have grass to over-seed it. Water in nicely, especially in this hot weather. I don't have a spreader but just do it by hand. I add extra seed to bald looking patches.

4) Wait for a week or two for it to grow nicely. You may have to seed again if the birds steal a lot of it. Don't worry if it sticks out like a bright green sore thumb. Over 12/18 months, the grass will find it's own colour together.

5) Purchase some Aftercut lawn feed. Currently £10 at Asda. Don't worry about the reviews on Amazon, mine worked fine and looks like it helped the lawn. You could get some Evergreen lawn feed instead. The Aftercut I have comes with a spreader thing on the tub, which is refillable - handy if I wanted to use it for seeding too.

6) Mow the lawn as normal. The new grass should survive so long as you left it to grow. Then a couple days after, go round with the lawn feed.

You can repeat the steps as much as you need to get a really nice lawn. Amazon wouldn't allow me to send the Verdone to my house so I had it sent to work. It has been great at getting rid of dandelions from the lawn. The over seeding has made my grass nice too, especially in the bald patches where moss had grown (killed by verdone and further killed off by the lawn feed).

It took a good few months to get the lawn to the state it is now but well worth it. I'll be continuing to get it really nice. I would only feed once or twice a year though, certainly not every week like it says.

Good luck!

smufflemuppet

Slightly off topic but one that someone can perhaps help me with...? Normally I pay £6 to £12 for those large weed killer products like Round Up or Path Clear but a friend of mine recommended to just use thin bleach. On the basis that most supermarkets carry bleach at a cost of 29p, can bleach effectively do the same job as round up??

pawsies

Bleach is likely to kill all plants in the vicinity so I would not use it on lawns or near other plants.

But that is also true of Roundup and Path Clear.

Leif

You can buy glyphosate - the active ingredient in RoundUp - on ebay. It is very concentrated, so be careful. I would not use bleach.

jimbo_the_jetset

anotheruser wrote: »

^ that is cheating. Plus, it's hard work and won't give you as much a sense of pride and achievement.

Firstly, take photos once a week so when it's all finished, you can look back. Also post the pictures here when it's done. I'll add mine soon.

1) Buy some Verdone. Follow the instructions carefully. I gave my lawn a double helping a few days apart.

2) Go to Wilko and get their "bag your own" grass seed. I got 500g of both the "luxury" and "hard wearing" types and mixed them together. You could just get a box of cheap Wilko basics brand though, or both.

3) Spread the seed over the lawn, even on areas which already have grass to over-seed it. Water in nicely, especially in this hot weather. I don't have a spreader but just do it by hand. I add extra seed to bald looking patches.

4) Wait for a week or two for it to grow nicely. You may have to seed again if the birds steal a lot of it. Don't worry if it sticks out like a bright green sore thumb. Over 12/18 months, the grass will find it's own colour together.

5) Purchase some Aftercut lawn feed. Currently £10 at Asda. Don't worry about the reviews on Amazon, mine worked fine and looks like it helped the lawn. You could get some Evergreen lawn feed instead. The Aftercut I have comes with a spreader thing on the tub, which is refillable - handy if I wanted to use it for seeding too.

6) Mow the lawn as normal. The new grass should survive so long as you left it to grow. Then a couple days after, go round with the lawn feed.

You can repeat the steps as much as you need to get a really nice lawn. Amazon wouldn't allow me to send the Verdone to my house so I had it sent to work. It has been great at getting rid of dandelions from the lawn. The over seeding has made my grass nice too, especially in the bald patches where moss had grown (killed by verdone and further killed off by the lawn feed).

It took a good few months to get the lawn to the state it is now but well worth it. I'll be continuing to get it really nice. I would only feed once or twice a year though, certainly not every week like it says.

Good luck!

Can I ask how long you waited from Verdone treatment to placing new seed? Most feed and weed products say don't apply to new lawns which makes me scared to add new seed too soon?

Ash_McCloud

TerryPalmer wrote: »

I have just recently started to really take car of my garden, had other priorities when I moved into my house. But notice loads of weeds and bald patches.

Just wondering if anyone can recommend how to get it nice and green without and weeds, I want something to be proud of.

Just buy a weed, weed and mosskiller from the shelf of a garden centre, supermarket, or B&Q etc and follow the instructions on the box.

And then buy some grass seed and a some compost or topsoil and re-seed any bald patches.

cyclonebri1

The issue is likely to be the existing lawn base, ie it is compacted, full of thatch, (old dead grass), poorly drained, (on clay soil), or simply starved of nutrients. If it's under shade you will have issues forever no matter what you do.

You need to decide how much effort and cost you are prepared to put into it.

Yes you can returf, but in 3 years time you will have the same issue.

The ideal solution is this, remove the turf, turn over and stack, it makes beautiful compost in a couple of years. (cover with tarpaulin for best results).

Rotavate, treat with weed killer in late summer or autumn and leave over winter.

Winter will have fined out the surface, rack over and either seed or turf in March.

Or, leave it as is, buy a scarifier and an aerator and over the next few years try to aerate and rid the lawn of moss and weeds with lawn fertilisers and moss killers