Lawn going patchy

piperm87
piperm87 Posts: 226 Forumite
Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
Hi all.

Laid some new lawn 2 months ago. Its been fine up until recently. I cut it today (third time) and its gone really patchy and a little brown in areas.

Any ideas on what could of caused it and how to rectify it? 

Many Thanks

Matt Piper



«1

Comments

  • Slinky
    Slinky Posts: 10,928 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Photogenic Name Dropper
    I'd say you're cutting it a bit short.
    Make £2025 in 2025
    Prolific £229.82, Octopoints £4.27, Topcashback £290.85, Tesco Clubcard challenges £60, Misc Sales £321, Airtime £10.
    Total £915.94/£2025 45.2%

    Make £2024 in 2024
    Prolific £907.37, Chase Intt £59.97, Chase roundup int £3.55, Chase CB £122.88, Roadkill £1.30, Octopus referral reward £50, Octopoints £70.46, Topcashback £112.03, Shopmium referral £3, Iceland bonus £4, Ipsos survey £20, Misc Sales £55.44
    Total £1410/£2024  70%

    Make £2023 in 2023  Total: £2606.33/£2023  128.8%



  • If you only laid it 2 months ago you're cutting it too short , too often, especially if you're in an area that hasn't had much rain. It's not had time to root well enough, and depends also on what the soil beneath it was like to start with. 
  • twopenny
    twopenny Posts: 7,183 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    2 mths you should only be walking on it now and that's soon.
    It was laid at the hottest dryiest time so should have been watered 2-3 times a week.
    And you need to set the mower higher. 

    The turf has been compacted in places and chopped almost to the roots.
    Leave it be and water. In a month or so then cut at a higher level once a fortnight.

    The autumn cooler and wetter will bring it back. Winter to rest then treat as a normal lawn.

    You have play equipment there. Are the little ones running around too? With an adult following?
    You've just done too much too soon. Leave it to recover.

    I can rise and shine - just not at the same time!

    viral kindness .....kindness is contageous pass it on

    The only normal people you know are the ones you don’t know very well


  • piperm87
    piperm87 Posts: 226 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 29 July 2023 at 10:27PM
    We've had alot of rain in these parts ( west mids) it's been growing pretty quick, its grown above the height of the sleepers each time which has prompted me to cut it.  There's the kids stuff on there but to be honest with how crap the weather has been as of late they haven't been able to get out to go on it anyway. Ive been moving the slide round regularly too so the covered grass gets rain and whatever suns about.

    I cant adjust the height of my mower either which is why its so short. . Not sure how to get round that without buying a new mower or just letting it grow 
  • piperm87 said:
    We've had alot of rain in these parts ( west mids) it's been growing pretty quick, its grown above the height of the sleepers each time which has prompted me to cut it.  There's the kids stuff on there but to be honest with how crap the weather has been as of late they haven't been able to get out to go on it anyway. Ive been moving the slide round regularly too so the covered grass gets rain and whatever suns about.

    I cant adjust the height of my mower either which is why its so short. . Not sure how to get round that without buying a new mower or just letting it grow 
    We have had a lot of rain, but it has been heavy bursts onto really  quite dry soil so not necessarily enough to meet the roots, especially if the soil underneath is quite rough and not holding the moisture well.  The fact you can still see the joins means it just hasn't knitted together yet, so the roots system probably won't have got far down either. It doesn't look too bad for a new lawn, just leave it to grow for a while without mowing, . 
  • piperm87
    piperm87 Posts: 226 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    edited 4 August 2023 at 2:14PM
    I will do. . Its got to be fairly wet this next week so it won't get disturbed mhch during that time. 

    I was thinking of getting some feeder or fertiliser to put over it to give it a helping hand. Would this be worth it or should i steer clear?  The ground underneath wasnt the best to be fair. Mainly a mix of soil and clay but i couldn't stretch the budget enough to add any fresh top soil unfortunately
  • Assuming it hasn't been laid on poor soil or rubbish then undoubtedly it's being cut to short.
  • twopenny
    twopenny Posts: 7,183 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    No, don't put anything on it.
    The roots won't be down into the soil yet so feed would likely burn it.
    Besides if it's growing well leave it alone  :)

    It's going to look lovely. But the lawnmower cutting too short will cause it to be patchy however well established.
    I watch my neighbours do it all the time.
    This explains it all
    https://gardenyard.co.uk/cutting-grass-too-short/

    I can rise and shine - just not at the same time!

    viral kindness .....kindness is contageous pass it on

    The only normal people you know are the ones you don’t know very well


  • piperm87
    piperm87 Posts: 226 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 100 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Makes sense. Ill leave it alone for now. I think they are forcasting 10 days of rain from today so itll be having a good soaking. .  Its been doing to be fair but i have noticed it thinning out in a few areas too. Not sure if a lack of sunlight is contributing to that too
  • Soot2006
    Soot2006 Posts: 2,184 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    If you want a nice lawn, then you will need a decent lawnmower. Might be better to invest now? I hesitated for a long time before treating myself to a nice battery powered mower, but then  bought it on Amazon 6 months interest free installments, so it was a no brainer. I've had it just over a year and my established but rather rubbish lawn has really thrived from regular high mulching cuts and just looks healthier all round.
Meet your Ambassadors

🚀 Getting Started

Hi new member!

Our Getting Started Guide will help you get the most out of the Forum

Categories

  • All Categories
  • 350K Banking & Borrowing
  • 252.7K Reduce Debt & Boost Income
  • 453.1K Spending & Discounts
  • 243K Work, Benefits & Business
  • 619.9K Mortgages, Homes & Bills
  • 176.5K Life & Family
  • 256K Travel & Transport
  • 1.5M Hobbies & Leisure
  • 16.1K Discuss & Feedback
  • Read-Only Boards

Is this how you want to be seen?

We see you are using a default avatar. It takes only a few seconds to pick a picture.