On 2008-04-22 19:46:46 +0100, Will said:

At great expense we have had our lawn returfed, it having been
destroyed by the builders last year. It's looking pretty good, but
there are two problems.

1. It has weird patches, mainly circular about a foot in diameter, of
much lusher, darker green grass. When it was laid all the turves, so
far as I could tell, were identical. The turf came from a very
reputable supplier. Has anyone got any explanations?

Do you have a bitch (in the female dog sense of the word)? If so, bitch
urine will do this - although it's normally accompanied by a bald patch
in the middle. I understand it's becuase bitch urine is extremely high
in nitrogen, so in high concentrations it kills the grass in the
centre, but fertilises the grass on the perimeter as it dilutes.....I
have loads of these circles of lush green with little bald spots in the
middle. However, I have a very large dog (Deerhound)- if you have a
smaller one, it might not be enough to kill off the grass, just
fertilise it a lot. Training her to only pee in one area is proving
impossible so far.


2. Boys and football. I have sons aged 11 and 9 who regard the lawn
as a football pitch (can't really blame them) and they really want to
kick a ball about. Just the two of them (they can play at the park if
their friends want to get involved) and mainly just practising their
skills. Are they likely to do the lawn any harm? There won't be any
tackling, or a goal area, and they play in ordinary trainers. I'm
afraid I don't know the variety of the lawn - it was supplied by Teal
Turf (http://www.tealturf.co.uk/turf.htm) so it looks like dwarf
ryegrass.

Yes, they will destroy the lawn in parts, and unless you want to ban
them from the garden (which my wife frowns upon - i have 3 boys).

In essence, if you have kids and dogs you are just going to have to get
used to lawn damage. Just fix it up as best you can, enjoy your kids
and wait forthem to leave home before you get a perfect lawn!

Life's too short - don't get too precious.




Any thoughts?

Thanks

Will.