"Jed" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

I'd like some advice on lawn care.

I have worked hard to try and improve the condition of my lawn over the
last 2 years since I moved to a new house, with only limited success.
The lawn was full of moss and yarrow when I moved in and I have
successfully removed much of this through the use of feed and weed,
moss killer, scarifying, top dressing an reseeding. However, in
May/June last year and once more this year I suddenly seem to hit a
problem where by some 25-35% of the grass (possibly just the original
grass) appears to die (pale yellow/whitish) for no obvious reason. This
obviously makes the lawn look in poor condition which is annoying given
the work put in so far ! So, the question is why should this grass
suddenly die ?

Here's some more detail:

- Tha lawn is well protected from wind and receives sun for much of the
day. It is mostly flat apart from a drop between two levels. I never
water the grass (certainly not needed this year so far).

- In mid April I used feed, weed and moss kill (12% nitrogen). We had
two mild frosts after this application. However, the results after two
weeks were great with the whole lawn was looking extremely green and
growing really well. One issue maybe that I never really new how much
my spreader was putting down (no instructions) hence I may have over
done it, or underdone it ... could this be the cause ? I have a Scotts
Evergreend distributor so if anybody knows what the numbers 1-19
represent that would be useful

- I have a mix of weeds in the garden including clover, yarrow,
germander speedwell plus others. General impression I get is these
weeds indicate a lack of nutrition in the soil.

- There are areas which show up with Red Thread disease, I suspect more
so after all this heavy rain. Does this indicate poorly draining soil
?

- The soil is chalky but not until 10-12 inches. On top of that is soil
which I think has an okay pH, although can't recall exact value.

- Newly seeded grass from this year is growing really well. I have used
standard family hard waring grass mix rather than the finer looking
grass that was already down (although I guess this may have just been
the same grass but poor quality).

- The lawn had been poorly maintained for years prior to us moving in.

- I have never aerated the lawn deeply. Those roll spikers never seem
much good and hand coring for a large lawn is a nightmare !

- I mow 1-2 times a week but suspect I have cut too much grass at times
as I have cut greater than 1/3 off at a time. I have noticed the tops
of the grass have browned, yet I have sharpened the blade twice already
this year. Exactly what is 'sharp' for a mower blade ?

I imagine the issue is general poor quality soil rather than one
specific issue, if that's the general view what's the best way to get
the goodness back in. Extra fertilizer applications, more top dressing,
machine based aeration ?

Thanks for any advice,

jed

what is the worm life like in the soil Jed? You can put everything you like
in to the soil however a lack of worms indicates a lack of life in the soil,
which adds life to the lawn. Even poor soil can be improved so it has a
viable food web. A balanced soil gives a good result. It sounds like you are
doing the fundamentals ok. Obviously maybe cut a little less off the grass
each mow but sharpening your blade twice a year (provided it is done
correctly) is more than enough to keep it sharp.

Cut a spade spit cubed (lxwxh) from your lawn and hand count your worm life.
You will have to sacrifice the sod here by the way but you can always refill
the hole and reseed. Anything under about 7 worms per spade cut is abysmal,
that will indicate roughly the health of your soil. If you have upwards of
say 10 to 20 then that is ok to good. Anything over about 23 is very good.
If you have a low worm count then you need to take steps to get some 'life',
literally, back in your soil. Try using an organic fertiliser like pelleted
animal poop or even blood and bone as these will encourage worms and other
microbal life. If you have the ability to mulch your grass clippings do this
as it will add organic matter, encourage worms and other microbal activity.

If you are very keen you could try mixing up a batch of compost tea (google
a search for a recipe) and apply this to your lawn. The compost tea will
inject microbal life in to your soil and (hopefully) kick start the food web
in it. It is not an exact science and there will be differing views on this
matter, some may argue it is hocus pocus. However, I had a garden along the
house that was fairly well dead ie it grew sfa, stuff all, nowt. I dug some
mushroom compost in to it (which is inert itself as it is smeat sterilised
after use to kill any life) to add organic matter. I let it break down a
little but still nothing was growing. I then threw on some worms I had
harvested and soaked the soil on 2 occasions with a liquid compost. Within a
couple of weeks it was sprouting weeds and a ground cover that had hardly
(very weakly) grown there previously. Only an anecdotal story mind, but
enough to suggest to me it may be worth while you trying.

Also test you soil, you said you had done that, if you are not sure of the
ph. Look for around 6.5 ideally. Use lime to sweeten the soil if necessary.
This will not make the grass grow directly but will improve the soils
ability to deliver nutrients.

A suggestion is to set aside a patch of lawn as a test pad for a season or
two. Give it fortnightly or monthly infusions of compost tea through the
spring and autumn and feeds with organic fertilisers. Use as little
synthetic inputs and weed killers as possible. Check a year or 2 to see how
it varies from the rest of the grass. That may be a little long run a time
frame for you however, I note you have spent 2 years looking after a
neglected lawn so you may have the patience. I am in to year 4 of being a
lawn psycho and it does pay off eventually.

rob