Lawn

[Pumpy]

Well have read all I can find about lawncare but still have some questions, so maybe someone here can help me?

The lawn has compacted soil, as a result, its full of moss and a few weeds are getting in there now too. Have just raked it and got as much moss as possible.

Plan now is to chuck mosskiller, weedkiller and feed on it, in say five weeks time, hire an electric rake to rake up the thatch.
Put Fork holes in the whole lawn and pour garden sand down the holes, followed by seed in early October.

I do realise that this will mean the lawn won't look its best this summer, I can live with that, but is there a flaw in the plan above? Could I be doing things a bit differently/better?

TIA

Pumpy

[Flummery]

Don't forget you are on a veg and fruit growing forum - I suspect most of us have murdered our lawns by now in the cause of veg growing!

Sorry I can't help - I dug mine up years ago.

[Pumpy]

Yes thats why I took over my neighbours!

You guys know everything about gardening and its all seeds isn't it?

P

[Glutton4...]

Why not aerate it and add the sand now? Then weed/feed/mosskiller after that. You can still top-dress and seed later if you have bare or thin patches. You can do it again in the autumn if you need to.

[Capsid]

Apply weed and feed now, rake it off when dead. I wouldn't sow seed so late in the season, late August is the recommended time. In autumn, rake and aerate again and then add topsoil. I make my own from MPC and sharp sand (3:1) and brush it in.

[Snadger]

You're not going to like what I am saying but............on really mossy compacted or shaded lawns the only solution is to strip it all off, work the soil adding drainage if required and either re-sow or lay turf.

Aeration can do some good 'during the winter months' but if you aerate compacted soil pre summer/during summer the area will open up with large cracks as the soil dries out.

Far easier to dig it over and plant tatties!

[Pumpy]

OK, thanks for the replies so far.
Snadger, I did think about starting again, its not that bad that it needs digging up, I'd say about 20% moss at the most. It just needs a bit of attention.

I think its going to be:

1) Weed and feed with the moss killer now.
2) Couple of weeks rake up
3) Sow some seed fresh seed after this (should be end of April-ish)
4) See how it goes in the summer....
5) Aerate in Autumn.

If anyone wants to chip in with something else, please do...

P

[glasgowdan]

OK, thanks for the replies so far.
Snadger, I did think about starting again, its not that bad that it needs digging up, I'd say about 20% moss at the most. It just needs a bit of attention.

I think its going to be:

1) Weed and feed with the moss killer now.
2) Couple of weeks rake up
3) Sow some seed fresh seed after this (should be end of April-ish)
4) See how it goes in the summer....
5) Aerate in Autumn.

If anyone wants to chip in with something else, please do...

P

You're on track there. You won't need weedkiller unless it's full of flat-leaved weeds. If the grass has started to grow properly then get the mosskiller/lawn feed down. 2 weeks later rake it up (you can do this by hand if it's small, or hire a petrol one if big but make sure you cover the whole area in two different directions, roughly 30 degrees to each other). Electric scarifiers are slow at best, crap the rest of the time.

It is worth aerating now though. Instead of just spiking the lawn, which doesn't do much other than squash the surrounding soil, give the fork a tilt back once spiked so you see the lawn in front of the fork lift a bit. This encourages air flow under the compacted layer of soil. Brush in a bit of sandy topdressing after this treatment and try not to walk on the lawn for a few weeks. Then treat it as normal through the summer and come autumn perhaps give it a go over with a hollow tine aerator, removing the cores afterwards. No need to top dress twice in a season.

It'll come back!

[Pumpy]

Thanks very much for the replies.

The stuff is actually called Feed, weed & mosskiller so it's all in one. There are lots of greater plantain around but have managed to dig those out from my lawn. Should explain here that I live in a house that has been converted to 4 flats, each flat has a quarter of the old garden, which is still open, ie there is no fence between the gardens. Any weeds get spread with ease, another reason why I have taken over my neighbours garden for a bit as it was a bit wild to say the least. Am quite sure more weeds will pop up soon if left alone.

Another question, when aerating with a fork, how deep to go? All the way?

I'm kind of keen to do all this soon as I suffer from hayfever and can' t go near cut grass during May.

Thanks again

P

[glasgowdan]

Between 3-4 inches deep.

D

[Nicos]

I'd use the machine now as well as later - before you add the mosskiller- that way the chemicals will get to more of the moss deeper down, and giving more of a chance for the feed to get washed into the soil beneath.
Those machines are superb!!!

Can you borrow/buy/hire one of those forks with hollow tines to use as well as the fork? ( the type which remove little plugs)
The fork will make a small hole by pushing the soil aside- in effect compressing it from the side- but the gentle lifting at the same time would loosen it slightly allowing better drainage.. The hollow tine fork will leave you holes to add sand to..so both work in a slightly different way!

Interestingly, although I have a moss problem every year , my soil lifts in the frost- so it needs rolling!!!! ( you could sprain your ankle walking across my lawn!)

[Nicos]

I'd sow seed in the autumn/late summer otherwise you'll be needing to water it all summer- and realistically you shouldn't be walking on it once the seedlings start growing!
The soil is warmer then too!

there are a few useful videos on youtube- have a look through a few of them- here's one to start you off!!!

YouTube - Fall Lawn Care