"405 TD Estate" wrote in message
oups.com...
On 2 Mar, 10:00, "George.com" wrote:
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message

.. .

405 TD Estate wrote:
Hi,

Some advice for an absolute beginner please:

I've bought a house and the grass in the rear garden is a bit
patchy.
Also I want to move the path so that will leave a lot of bare soil.

The grass that is there is not very good quality so I was thinking
of
re-grassing.

Is this the best thing to do? I dont mind if it's extra work and
would
need rotavating to get the best results.

Also would the original grass need killing first?

Also would it be worth getting a PH meter or other soil sampler(dotn
know what) to make sure everything is good.

Any other tips for nice grass?

Depends how "nice" you want it. I'm a firm believer in just letting
grass rip in its own way, unless you want to make an
exhibition-quality
lawn. I'd say just loosen the soil, rake out, allow to settle, and sow
whatever seed the budget will allow. Level out any really bad dips and
bumps over the next few years. Cheaper seed mixtures tend to be on the
coarse side: this may or may not matter in your situation, but people
do
often waste money by going for the more expensive kinds on the grounds
that "you get what you pay for". You do (usually) get what you pay
for,
of course: but how often does the difference show? The packets in the
garden centre will describe pretty accurately what the various seed
mixtures are best for.

aye, good common sense advice that. Get the type of grass that will suit
the
wear and tear the grass will have to endure. Hardier, coarser stuff if
kids
will play on it. Finer turf grasses if you want a 'show' type lawn.
Don't
worry too much if in the first year or so the grass looks a little
scungy,
if you cut it high the grass will self seed and thicken up in the right
conditions - spring & autumn.

If you cut it high - what the highest setting on the lawn mower?

Why would I have bald patches now - I'm thinking I need t change
something to stop this?

The last time I put grass seed down it didn't come through at all - do
you just put it on the surface?

set the cut height at least 1/2 way up, cut and see what develops over a
year. For example, I have set my mower to a certain height and observed that
I get rye grass seeding. Depending on how the grass takes you may get thin
patches. Letting the grass self seed will close those up over time.

rob