Janet Baraclough wrote:
:: The message
:: from "Phil L" contains these words:
::
::: Someone mentioned this earlier this year, I have a few bad patches on
::: the lawn and so I have placed a few handfuls of grass seed into a bag
::: of moist compost to germinate so that it will take root more easily
::: when spread, I gather it will also prevent birds etc from eating it.
::: What I want to know is, how long will it take to germinate?
::
:: Isn't it a bit late for sowing grass this year? Frosts forecast etc.
::
:: Janet.

I asked this very question last week, although it doesn't seem to be visible
now...

Phil L wrote:
Today I scarified my lawn, I got out quite a lot of dead grass and
moss, but in some places I ripped the grass up in small sheets,
underneath were lots of leatherjackets (daddylong legs larvae?) -
some parts of it look barely alive given the recent plague of these
insects we have had in this part of the country...anyway, my question
is regarding lawn seed - if I sow it now, will it get chance to
germinate before winter sets in? - we are in a well sheltered spot
and get full sun most of the day, however the ground is quite wet
most of the time as we are also in a dip.

Mike Lyle wrote:

Yes, it's daddy-long-legs time! Raking will expose the
leatherjackets, and we hope the natural predators will do their
stuff. I've never done it, but watering and leaving covered with
plastic sheet overnight should also bring them to the surface to be
dealt with next day -- I suppose you treat a different area every
evening, unless you own a plastic sheet factory! Presumably rain
would remove the need for the sheet.

On the main question, yes, it's fine to sow grass seed now -- I've
done it in late October.


_________________________________________________

The box of lawn seed says up to mid October!

It's still quite warm down here in Lancs yet, most days are still in the
high teens to low twenties, nights have dipped as low as 5 once up to now,
but our garden is very sheltered on the North side and gets full sun.



--
If God had intended us to drink beer, He would have given us stomachs.