Lawn issues

11fernsroad

Our lawn which we turfed 5 years ago is not looking very healthy and has lots of weeds,and grass looks sparse.That is in spite of fortnightly mowing,and sprinkle watering in summer months
Moss is also spreading fast,which we use iron sulfate to kill.I also apply Weedol kills weeds not lawn" once a year.

I thought of getting it aerated but the chap who came to look at the work needed feels ground is not very compact but is clay and aeration while good is not the need of the hour..
He felt good quality lawn fertilizer is needed as well as weed+moss killer.
Before going and buying wrong product,I would appreciate any recommendations for lawn fertilizer and lawn weed killer.

glasgowdan

Hang fire... it sounds like the lawn has not bedded in and developed the rootzone in the way it should.

How short do you cut it? I would cut it higher this season if I were you. If the lawn is clay it has potential to grow a good lawn as it holds nutrients well.

Was it a lawn franchise company you got out to look at it? If so, they have very large incentives to offer fertiliser treatments which are more profitable per minute over mechanical work such as aeration.

Justagardener

we use iron sulfate to kill.I also apply Weedol kills weeds not lawn" once a year.

Weedol lawn weed killer Will do a good job of killing weeds, as will iron sulphate to kill moss. Not wishing to state the obvious but more weeds grow because the grass is sparse and sprinkling with water will allow weed seeds to germinate hence more weeds.
Have you fed the lawn with anything else throughout the season or have you just applied iron sulphate at the beginning of the season?

11fernsroad

I had used Miracle Gro soluble lawn feed once last year.Nothing else.

Justagardener wrote: »

Weedol lawn weed killer Will do a good job of killing weeds, as will iron sulphate to kill moss. Not wishing to state the obvious but more weeds grow because the grass is sparse and sprinkling with water will allow weed seeds to germinate hence more weeds.
Have you fed the lawn with anything else throughout the season or have you just applied iron sulphate at the beginning of the season?

Justagardener

Was the lawn in good condition for the first couple of years then steadily declined in health?
I suspect that if the guy says it's not compacted I would be inclined to believe him... it sounds like it just needs a good feed. It is always good practice to feed the lawn when spraying a selective weed killer such as weedol lawn weed killer.
I would suggest a good nitrogen feed like Lawn Builder this spring, clay soils usually make potassium more readily available to plants, therefore a high nitrogen feed would be preferable. Get the grass really growing and then you can tackle the weeds and the moss the way you have been doing. You might find some useful info here:
https://theperfectgarden.co.uk/category/lawns/

11fernsroad

Hi
Actually when we brought the property the lawn was in awful state.It was full of weeds,and not mowed for many months.
We removed the turf or what was left of it and go a rotovator to get the ground loose,and then re-laid new turf.That was 5 years ago.
After the first 2-3 years,the grass started getting little sparse and moss started spreading with weeds showing up as well.
I must say our garden has tall trees at the back and to one side-but the lawn in shade looks lot healthier,thicker and greener!!
We water lawn during summer time and apply weedol weed killer in April as well as applying Ferrous Sulfate in November time.
Apart from applying Lawn Builder anything else needed at this time?

Justagardener wrote: »

Was the lawn in good condition for the first couple of years then steadily declined in health?
I suspect that if the guy says it's not compacted I would be inclined to believe him... it sounds like it just needs a good feed. It is always good practice to feed the lawn when spraying a selective weed killer such as weedol lawn weed killer.
I would suggest a good nitrogen feed like Lawn Builder this spring, clay soils usually make potassium more readily available to plants, therefore a high nitrogen feed would be preferable. Get the grass really growing and then you can tackle the weeds and the moss the way you have been doing.

Justagardener

Apart from applying Lawn Builder anything else needed at this time?

No nothing more required. The weeds in lawns are starting to grow a bit later this year due to the lateish spring. You may want to spot treat the weeds again late may early June when they are actively growing.
If you are watering with a sprinkler try putting a cup on the lawn, just to see how much water is actually falling on that area, it is surprising how long a sprinkler has to be on for the water to get down to the roots. If you have areas under trees doing well, it could show a lack of water in full sun areas. If you are just scratching the surface with watering it will aid weed seed germination only adding to an already weedy lawn.