On 05/02/2016 16:56, wrote:
I was sent over here from uk.d-i-y in the hope that you might be able to help me...

In June 2014 I removed the patio and subbase from our back garden and replaced
it with Rolawn's Medallion turf sat on approx 6-8 inches of their
Blended Loam topsoil.
Underneath this was the original heavy clay subsoil. Here's how
things looked once laid:

http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/permanent/lawn-jun2014.jpg

A year later it was still going strong:

http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/permanent/lawn-aug2015.jpg

What treatments if any have you applied to it?

My lawn on heavy clay has not stopped growing this winter and needs
cutting but it is way too wet to even contemplate trying.

However, the past few months have been a different story and we now have this shocking sight:

http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/permanent/lawn1-feb2016.jpg
http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/permanent/lawn2-feb2016.jpg
http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/permanent/lawn3-feb2016.jpg
http://www.newtonnet.co.uk/permanent/lawn4-feb2016.jpg

Does anyone have any idea what has happened?

Waterlogging is a distinct possibility this wet year or over feeding or
perhaps inappropriate dosage of weedkiller. Where abouts are you?

As you can hopefully make out, there do not appear to be any weeds
or moss but rather the grass has seemingly disappeared.
Note also that some areas (in the last photo) are still relatively
lush in appearance.

It takes a lot to kill grass. The lush bits look a bit too lush to me
which is why I wonder about over feeding with nitrogen.

We have always had some issues with earth worms and last year I was
sweeping away casts regularly. Could this be it?

Worms don't usually retaliate like that. Although worms coming to the
surface tends to suggest they were trying to avoid drowning in water
sodden soil so they might be a symptom rather than a cause.

Use a fencing spade to take a narrow spade deep chunk out of the worst
affected bit and see if it fills with water quickly or overnight.

If it is that the punching a few drainage holes through the clay pan
underneath will help a lot even though it is hard work.

I am assuming that I will ultimately end up reseeding, or at least overseeding,
however I am keen to ensure that I understand what has happened and
how to prevent it reoccurring.

How much wear does the lawn get? It might grow back of its own accord
when the weather improves - worth waiting before doing anything drastic.

Walking on soggy lawn will potentially make the grass die by suffocating
the roots. Football pitches end up that way near goal posts.

At the risk of biassing the diagnosis I thought I should share one thing with you:
Last year I noticed that whenever I removed the odd weed that
appeared in-between
mowings I often found a 10-15mm long grub at the root of it. I
thought nothing of
this fact at the time however I have just been reading about
leatherjackets and
what damage they can do to a lawn. I can't help but wonder if that's
what these grubs
were and indeed if this is what has led to my loss?
(And I really do mean loss - am feeling pretty sad at what has
happened given how
much effort it took for me to replace the previous completely-patio'd
garden with a lawn!).

Don't fret about it too much yet. Wait for spring to see if it comes
back from the remaining roots before you do anything irreversible. Grass
is quite good at recolonising ground when conditions are right.

Wait until spring and then give the bare bits a good rake and mix in
some sharp sand and peat followed by a grass seed with similar
characteristics to your turf or maybe a bit harder wearing.

Wilkos have a choice of two mixes sold by the kg.


Any thoughts and/or suggestions?

I'm a bit surprised by how bad it went so quickly. Given that it
survived for the first year so well. What else might have happened in
the Autumn that provoked such a serious level of die back?

Do you have any intermediate pictures of its decline?

It almost looks like it has been overgrazed by rabbits or something. The
part near the step could well be caused by compaction. Parts of my lawn
that I have to walk on are unhappy this year.

--
Regards,
Martin Brown