[Misc] Lawn growing

Billy the Fish · Mar 17, 2021

There's been a bit of coverage in the news this week since Monty Don made some ignorant and hypocritical comments about lawns!

Are there any lawn growers on here?

I decided to sort mine out as it's been neglected since moving to my current house. Loads of decent lawn channels on YouTube so I've been following their advice about scarifying, aerating and seeding.

I'm south facing but with a couple of shady areas, I identified the existing grass as browntop bent which looks a bit sh1t on its own. I suspect it's from some old turf laid 30 years ago and was the only thing to survive the droughts in the summer. I've seeded mostly with a dwarf ryegrass mix for the main area as it's heavy traffic. There's some less trodden shady areas where I went for a fescue mix.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it gets on this summer but expecting to take me a couple of years to get it perfect, if ever!

Stat Brother · Mar 17, 2021

Us experts congregate here:-

https://www.northstandchat.com/showthread.php?379071-Gardeners-Question-Time&highlight=Gardeners

We like to encourage on you hobbyists.

WATFORD zero · Mar 17, 2021

Billy the Fish said:
There's been a bit of coverage in the news this week since Monty Don made some ignorant and hypocritical comments about lawns!

Are there any lawn growers on here?

I decided to sort mine out as it's been neglected since moving to my current house. Loads of decent lawn channels on YouTube so I've been following their advice about scarifying, aerating and seeding.

I'm south facing but with a couple of shady areas, I identified the existing grass as browntop bent which looks a bit sh1t on its own. I suspect it's from some old turf laid 30 years ago and was the only thing to survive the droughts in the summer. I've seeded mostly with a dwarf ryegrass mix for the main area as it's heavy traffic. There's some less trodden shady areas where I went for a fescue mix.

I'm looking forward to seeing how it gets on this summer but expecting to take me a couple of years to get it perfect, if ever!

Need pictures of lawn before, so we can really appreciate the 'after'. Get out there with your phone and get them posted up here. Or on the gardeners thread above :thumbsup:

Billy the Fish · Mar 17, 2021

Nice one, I'll get on the proper thread! :wave:

Shropshire Seagull · Mar 17, 2021

I'm a proud lawn man - other residents in the close all seeking to have theirs look like mine.

I found the Lawn Expert guide an excellent source of advice <link>, but, yes, YouTube also has plenty of good videos for advice.

Best advice from me: know your timing!
Know when to cut and when not to cut
Know when to water
Know when to feed
Know when to scarify
Know when to aerate
Know when to sow new seed

It's a seasonal game ...
But [I find] quite rewarding ....

Pint of Ale and a Burger · Mar 17, 2021

God bless you lawn enthusiasts!
It's been on my mind lately just how many gardens and front gardens I'm seeing being turned into concrete yards or carparking spaces,which will only get worse with the arrival of electric.
It's nice to see some people are still keen to devote themselves to tending to the few bits of nature left.
Fantastic.

SeagullinExile · Mar 17, 2021

I have no idea why, but I read this as lawn GROPING!

Jack Straw · Mar 17, 2021

SeagullinExile said:
I have no idea why, but I read this as lawn GROPING!

I like that idea. Count me in!

LamieRobertson · Mar 17, 2021

I just cut them

DavidinSouthampton · Mar 17, 2021

In the process of trying to sort ours out at the moment. had some building work done on the house last summer and have a new patio, slightly extended from the old one, but lots of bare and grotty bits from where the builders stored stuff. Also a lot of unevenness and levels to be sorted, although we don't want a perfectly flat lawn either. Have done some small bits of turfing, and will need to do seeding as well around the edges and a couple of smaller bare bits. Wondering if seed all round might have been better at the moment.

But looking forward to progressing it and sorting it out - not for the perfect lawn, but something that the grandchildren - 8, 4 and 2, - can happily runnaround on without us getting upset or worried.

Tom Hark Preston Park · Mar 17, 2021

I've just sown some seeds of something I found on the internet. Japanese Knotweed? Have to say I'm pretty impressed. As a quick fix for covering up those bare patches on the lawn it's, um, pretty impressive :thumbsup:

The Grockle · Mar 17, 2021

This is a before an after of our lawn from last year. We just followed online advice, invested in good quality seed that suited our gardens aspect (north west) it took alot of effort, watering, feeding and regular mowing but was like a carpet by June, well worth the effort

Bold Seagull · Mar 17, 2021

110 sq m of CB Winter turf arriving tomorrow.

Planks, rakes, tea all at the ready.

Return of the Rev · Mar 17, 2021

Just been leaving the lawn in patches for wildlife, have a pond with newts and a couple of bird boxes up. Bug hotel and wood pile cuttings for their pleasure, will be planting up native shrubs around the lawn. Using no pesticides in the garden. We get visited by a hedgehog and can hear him crunching on snails. There's more to a garden than a lawn, let it grow :hilton:

MJsGhost · Mar 17, 2021

Return of the Rev said:
Just been leaving the lawn in patches for wildlife, have a pond with newts and a couple of bird boxes up. Bug hotel and wood pile cuttings for their pleasure, will be planting up native shrubs around the lawn. Using no pesticides in the garden. We get visited by a hedgehog and can hear him crunching on snails. There's more to a garden than a lawn, let it grow

Absolutely THIS

Jack Straw · Mar 17, 2021

Bold Seagull said:
110 sq m of CB Winter turf arriving tomorrow.

Planks, rakes, tea all at the ready.

The secret of turf laying assuming that the ground has been prepared properly, is to ensure that the soil is moist to a depth of at least 150 mm. This time of year shouldn't be a problem, but in Spring and Summer, this is absolutely crucial.

Napper · Mar 17, 2021

croydon seagull said:
This is a before an after of our lawn from last year. We just followed online advice, invested in good quality seed that suited our gardens aspect (north west) it took alot of effort, watering, feeding and regular mowing but was like a carpet by June, well worth the effort

View attachment 134958

seriously impressive.

How did you even start.

Mine looks like your before

Seagull27 · Mar 17, 2021

croydon seagull said:
This is a before an after of our lawn from last year. We just followed online advice, invested in good quality seed that suited our gardens aspect (north west) it took alot of effort, watering, feeding and regular mowing but was like a carpet by June, well worth the effort

View attachment 134958

After the first mow of the spring, mine now looks like yours did in the top left photo

as someone who's pretty new to this garden stuff, any tips?

Sent from my Pixel 3a using Tapatalk

The Grockle · Mar 17, 2021

Update with some pictures!!!!

The other half teases me constantly but I take regular photos for some before and afters. When you're appreciating all your efforts in mid summer its nice to remind yourself where it all started, what went well/badly and definitely motivates you to put in the hard graft the following spring.

For me gardening is a huge pleasure, I spend the winter dreaming up over ambitious plans and when everything is in full bloom I find you're prolonging the best months of the year because you're on borrowed time before it all starts dieing back.

banjo · Mar 17, 2021

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[Misc] Lawn growing

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