Lawn going patchy

piperm87

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

Slinky

I'd say you're cutting it a bit short.

[Deleted User]

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

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.

piperm87

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 

[Deleted User]

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

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

subjecttocontract

Assuming it hasn't been laid on poor soil or rubbish then undoubtedly it's being cut to short.

twopenny

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/

piperm87

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

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.