On 7/11/2018 4:16 AM, funkytwig wrote:
I have a garden that runs east-west and the house creates shade. from
around 0930-1200 it goes from full shade to fully covered in sun. then
for the next 5 hours stays like that and then the sun goes down.

I have been treating it as a shady lawn and getting an appropriate grass
seed mix for reseeding. I have recently reseeded grass is growing very
well but the existing grass is not growing much. When it was
germinating was watering twice a day but now watering every other day.
There is some moss and it needs feeding so I have just ordered some MO
Bacter Organic Lawn Fertiliser.

The fertilizer will help.]


I seem to be getting there but have a few questions.

1) Is it correct to treat it as a shady lawn or am I using the wrong
grass mix?

You would probably be good either way.

2) How long should I cut it? Currently, I am setting mover to 60mm but
thinking 40 or 50 may be more appropriate. I'm currently mowing once a
week (ish, sometimes a bit more frequently, sometimes a bit less).

Cut it as high as your mower will go. The grass will better shade the
soil, helping retain water. The roots will have more energy to grow.

3) in this weather is watering every other day about right.

That's way too often after the newly seeded grass is growing to mowing
height. You are encouraging shallow root growth. Give it 5-7 days
between deep waterings (1") unless you see it start to dry out. You want
to get the grass roots to keep growing towards the deeper soil that
holds the moisture longer. If you water too often, the surface never
dries out, and all the root growth will be right at the surface

Thanks in advance,
Ben