Advise on grass seed.

jamski07

We've just had a lot of work done to our house, and this left a new area of garden that needed grass of some kind. To save money I decided to seed. I dug, levelled, raked, measured out the seed, marked out the m2 and put down the seed as directed.

All this rain and sun has been great and the grass is coming through, but is VERY patchy! Its been down about 3-4 weeks now, nearer 4 I think. Is this normal, will all the bare patches catch up or have I bodged it up?

Thanks in advance,

James.

Oli.s

I've just done the same, seeded two weeks ago. When I look at the patches though there are shoots of grass coming through, just not as many as the non patchy areas I'm going to give it a few more weeks then reseed any patchy bits.

wallbash

Days have been warm , here in the S.E but the nights are still cold, we had a frost last week , so be patient. You have done everything correctly

forgotmyname

I popped a sacrificial tomato plant in the garden on Friday. Sheltered spot.
It was looking rather unwell Monday.

I think its probably dead now. It got rather chilly tonight. I will give it a few weeks before trying it again.

I always plant way too many so a few to sacrifice wont hurt.

jamski07

Oli.s wrote: »

I've just done the same, seeded two weeks ago. When I look at the patches though there are shoots of grass coming through, just not as many as the non patchy areas I'm going to give it a few more weeks then reseed any patchy bits.

wallbash wrote: »

Days have been warm , here in the S.E but the nights are still cold, we had a frost last week , so be patient. You have done everything correctly

I'm watering well if it's been a dry day too. I'll wait a bit longer before thinking about filling in the gaps then.

The thing is, the earth in the gaps is now pretty rock solid! How can I get the earth in to the correct state to put more seed down without disturbing the new grass around it?

Thanks all.

jamski07

So 4 weeks down and still have bare patches. So tonight I watered and put some more seed down. Then gave another little water. No idea if it will grow but we'll see. Couldn't see how I could make the earth loose and rake the seed in when all around are new shoots of grass?!

DaftyDuck

You can scatter a thin layer of peaty compost on top to help retain the moisture. But, if you've got a few grass shoots, you'll have a few dozen in a week, and a green lawn in two months. Just keep up the watering in the dry, and have patience. Grass really, really, really spreads. If you've done it too thinly, or had poor germination, it'll only be another month at most before it catches up with a thickly sown thatch.

P a t i e n c e ! ! !

jamski07

Ok, thanks. I actually thought about compost this morning. May put a bit on top later if I get time.

jamski07

FYI the seed is doing great now! Taken 5-6 weeks to really get there but it's nice and thick, ready to cut!

Although that is quite scary as we have a big heavy petrol mower. Any advise about the first cut?

Unfortunately the other side of the garden is almost always in shade so the seed hasn't worked so will turf over there.

lardlikesdogs

cut on the top blade and reduce the height over the next month or so

jamski07

Thanks very much. Hoping it will be dry at the weekend and I can get out there. It's the sheer weight of the mower that concerns me, but sure it will be fine.