The thought has crossed my mind, trust me! But the quote for that amount of
green painted concrete was going to break the budget. The bigger problem
though was trying to convince the better half...(there's always a hitch)!
:-)


"rob" wrote in message
...

Get rid of the lawn and stop wasting water.

--
Your village is calling,
their idiot is missing.

--
Remove "not" from start of email address to reply
"MT" wrote in message
...
Can anyone advise me of the best way to help the lawn in our back yard
without digging it up and starting from scratch. The soil very compacted
and
has quite a bit of clay which obviously makes it difficult for the grass
to
grow through and is prone to dry patches and mould as the water can't soak
deeply.
We've just installed a sprinkler system which has helped a little, but my
thoughts were to also run an airator over it and then spread out some
gypsum, lime and fertiliser.
Would this be right or is there a better way to achieve a lush thick green
backyard lawn from our existing lawn without digging it up or spending a
fortune?

Thanks
Matt



You could try the gypsum on the existing area, aerate it, and fertilise
well. Oh, aerate first, then gypsum, then fertilise.

Top dressing before you fertilise wouldn't be a bad idea either

It should fix the problem.

Is the areas of compaction due to people walking on it? If so, then consider
a path in that area. Trying to get grass to go on a regular walk track is
generally a lost cause

If the area you live in has a chance of getting water restrictions imposed
real soon, then I would consider leaving it for now.
Many lawns are brown here, as watering lawns is one of the first things to
be stopped.
We are at stage 4 here (think 4), and we are down to watering only by
buckets/watering cans, for 1hr in the morning and night. You can only water
plants, no lawns, and no washing cars even with buckets amongst other
things.

Good luck

Yes Matt, sounds about right to me. Though if you are going to the expense
of replanting and coring it may just well be worth your while to hire a
tiller or rotary hoe that way you know your lawn will have a better chance.
You could get some lanscapers mix and improve the soil.

If money is the concern coring & thatching is certainly the way to go. Best
of luck with it. Heather.

"MT" wrote in message
...
Can anyone advise me of the best way to help the lawn in our back yard
without digging it up and starting from scratch. The soil very compacted
and
has quite a bit of clay which obviously makes it difficult for the grass
to
grow through and is prone to dry patches and mould as the water can't soak
deeply.
We've just installed a sprinkler system which has helped a little, but my
thoughts were to also run an airator over it and then spread out some
gypsum, lime and fertiliser.
Would this be right or is there a better way to achieve a lush thick green
backyard lawn from our existing lawn without digging it up or spending a
fortune?

Thanks
Matt

I take a shower on the lawn with my garden hose; everyone is happy

That's pretty much what I had in mind to try. Aerate, gypsum and then
fertilise.
I'm not planning on starting the whole thing till after the summer and
assuming the water situation improves. We're watering too infrequently
enough now anyway to make it worthwhile I feel. The gypsum would probably
just blow of the surface like dust! Maybe by next spring we can have a green
lawn or if there's no water I may as well rip it up and start from scratch!?
Thanks for the advice!


You could try the gypsum on the existing area, aerate it, and fertilise
well. Oh, aerate first, then gypsum, then fertilise.

Top dressing before you fertilise wouldn't be a bad idea either

It should fix the problem.

Is the areas of compaction due to people walking on it? If so, then
consider
a path in that area. Trying to get grass to go on a regular walk track is
generally a lost cause

If the area you live in has a chance of getting water restrictions imposed
real soon, then I would consider leaving it for now.
Many lawns are brown here, as watering lawns is one of the first things to
be stopped.
We are at stage 4 here (think 4), and we are down to watering only by
buckets/watering cans, for 1hr in the morning and night. You can only
water
plants, no lawns, and no washing cars even with buckets amongst other
things.

Good luck

"S. McLaren" wrote in message
...
I take a shower on the lawn with my garden hose; everyone is happy



LOL, I may try the same.

Might stop the nosy neighbours from peering over the fence. Then again,
maybe not. :-)