Starting a new lawn

[higgins 75]

I am about to start a new lawn off using grass seed,so far i've dug the area roughly and broken it up,just have to keep raking it for a few more days to get all rubbish out and make the soil fine.What else should i be doing or using to make the soil better for seeding,there seems to be a lot of roots about which i've been chopping and pulling out,has anyone any tips on getting a good lawn going,thanks,

Higgins

[FightTheBan 1,147]

Grass likes a firm seed bed, so once you have seeded it - a good roll will do it a world of good.

If your soil lacks anything, maybe it needs extra nutrients. If the grass previous was mossy, it will probably be quite acidic - so a sprinkle of lime would be good.

Also make sure it has enough water, don't let it dry out too much.

Oh, and choose your seed well, get proper lawn stuff.

 

Failing that, get a couple of buckets of yara nitram fertiliser off your local farmer and the stuff will be loupin

 

 

FTB

Edited June 10, 2010 by FightTheBan

[christian71 3,187]

BUY SOME TURF ABOUT £1.20 A SQUARE METRE YOU WILL HAVE A FAR BETTER LAWN STRAIGHT AWAY

[higgins 75]

I'm not turfing it as the ground needed a lot of prep work anyway to level it off,so i figured i may as well seed it instead,and what is proper lawn seed is there a particular brand that is better or is it down to the blend of different types?I have bought some Canada Green and some other stuff,is the Canada Green any good,would it be better to blend my own seeds?Also what can i put over the seeds to prevent birds eating them?

Higgins.

[Bosun11 537]

Always better to sow a new lawn in autumn or spring Higgins but if you can't wait.... Prep your ground well, clear as much out as poss, level and firm over by using your feet in tiny steps. Buy any decent seed but without Rye in it.

Scatter seed well and lightly rake in. Water well in this weather, always in the evening, never in full sun. Once the grass is up enough to start bending and looking a little raggety, set your mower on a high cut and take the top off it. Don't cut too short for a few cuts to encourage it to thicken. If you get any weeds growing through pull 'em and if needed re-seed the patch. Don't use any feed n' weed type stuff for at least 10 weeks.

 

Best of luck

[stealthy1 3,964]

Make sure you get a seed mix that suits your needs, if you have kids, go for a tougher mix with more rye grass, it is the wrong time of the year, so it may well grow patchy, turf is the way forward, but a little more expensive

[Hob&Jill 258]

The more luxury blends of grass seed, containing no rye grass, will be abit nicer looking, but wont be as hard wearing as a basic utility seed.

 

Personally I would just get a utilty blend, just as good (unless you want a bowling green) , cheaper, more hard wearing. Although if the area is shady or low water I believe the more lux types are more reliable as they grow slower needing less water, light etc.

 

Like ftb said just make sure you have a fine tilth on the soil, sprinkle the seed on and roll it in. Ive done alot of seeding and never really had any trouble with birds, ive seen diagrams of pegs being put out and string zig zagged all over to stop any larger birds landing. Although like i said ive never tried it, never needed to.

 

Make sure the soil your seeding on is consistant, i.e. not stoney one side and not the other etc as ive seen lawns where patches of grass grows well the other parts dont... Normally when builders put about 0.5cm of topsoil on top of hardcore and turf it lol.

[christian71 3,187]

I'm not turfing it as the ground needed a lot of prep work anyway to level it off,so i figured i may as well seed it instead,and what is proper lawn seed is there a particular brand that is better or is it down to the blend of different types?I have bought some Canada Green and some other stuff,is the Canada Green any good,would it be better to blend my own seeds?Also what can i put over the seeds to prevent birds eating them?

Higgins.

 

YOU WANT THE SAME FINISH SO SAME PREP WORK IF YOUR SEEDING OR TURFING

ONE YOU PUT SEED ON ONE TURF

[christian71 3,187]

I'm not turfing it as the ground needed a lot of prep work anyway to level it off,so i figured i may as well seed it instead,and what is proper lawn seed is there a particular brand that is better or is it down to the blend of different types?I have bought some Canada Green and some other stuff,is the Canada Green any good,would it be better to blend my own seeds?Also what can i put over the seeds to prevent birds eating them?

Higgins.

 

YOU WANT THE SAME FINISH SO SAME PREP WORK IF YOUR SEEDING OR TURFING

ONE YOU PUT SEED ON ONE TURF

[higgins 75]

Well after endless raking(still a few small stones there)i've had enough,so i decided to level it as much i can and sow the seeds.I know it's the wrong time of year,but the climate is not the same as when this advice was given,we have mostly damp summers although we're getting some fine weather these last few weeks,anyway i will keep my eye on it and water as and when needed.I have used two packets of seed,one is Canada Green and another is a Wilkinson's Luxury lawn seed,i just decided to mix both and see what happens.I'll post a pic of the lawn bed tomorrow,

and at intervals of a week or so,one packet says results within 7-21 days,the other 10-21 days,wish me luck,

Higgins

[scothunter 12,609]

seen people criss cross the lawn with string and attach bits of tin foil on the string at intervals it keeps the birds away

[higgins 75]

i haven't put anything down to scare birds off yet,i'll see how many are on it in the morning,have some small bamboo sticks ready just in case.

Higgins

[SNAP SHOT 194]

Your best bet is a general hard wearing lawn seed, like a NO.2 mix.... to get a good result at this time of year add a low nitrates fertilizer...

 

either 10-10-20 or a 7-6-17 would be good, scatter through the lawn and rake in, the coverage for the grass seed should be around 1kg to 30 m squared... roughly... So see do you have enough before you start to sow out....

 

roll the seed into the ground, to provide a good firm bedding, pull all young weeds by hand,

 

once your lawn is around 16 months, you can use a product, called mortox 50, at at rate of 3 bulb fulls per gallon of water, that or a jam jar full, of a product called 2-4D ester, per 18L sprayer...

 

you will have a lovely green lawn with no daisy's or buttercups... or creeping thisle.....

 

then or year 2 use a prodduct called MARATHON, to hurish the lawn, it is low in nitrate, so you won't be cutting the lawn every few days....

 

good luck with it...

 

 

Snap.

[Leeview 791]

I used to exercise my dogs until they redeveloped it beyond recognition the sports stadium had a running track around what was eventually a rugby league pitch, now the groundsman seeded that (not the quicker turf method)the ground was prepared and seeded,watered nightly, NOT cut at all,when it was about 2"high it was covered with 2" of light sandy soil and reseeded, same process again and when that was up to the 2" mark they once again repeated the same process talking to the groundsman in theory there was 3x as much grass growing on the same ground to give a really thick luscious growth, the result was a truly amazing playing surface the team played the first couple of months away from home until the pitch was ready by November

May sound like too much just for a lawn but once you've started who knows

Y.I.S Leeview

[higgins 75]

Some pics before and after..

 

Before raking and levelling...

after levelling and sowing seeds..