Hi there,

I have a badly maintained lawn that needs some assistance to get back to health.

I put the lawn in 2 years ago and then injured myself badly enough that I was unable to do any gardening until now.
I've spent the last two weeks cleaning it up and it looks like this:

http://www.jamesrichmond.com/pic/lawn_0411.jpg

The issues we are having a

Ground is a bit uneven in places.
Grass grows in clumps (thanks to a female dog that wees on it0 we are discouraging her from doing it)
Generally poor condition of the grass.

How do I fix this?


Should I be mowing it- or using a strimmer to cut for now?
Should I be fertilising it and putting down some new seed and top soil?
Or just water it and mow it every 2 week?

Thanks people.

FWIW, I am in London.

octatonic wrote:
Hi there,

I have a badly maintained lawn that needs some assistance to get back
to health.

I put the lawn in 2 years ago and then injured myself badly enough
that I was unable to do any gardening until now.
I've spent the last two weeks cleaning it up and it looks like this:

[image: http://www.jamesrichmond.com/pic/lawn_0411.jpg]

The issues we are having a

Ground is a bit uneven in places.
Grass grows in clumps (thanks to a female dog that wees on it0 we are
discouraging her from doing it)
Generally poor condition of the grass.

How do I fix this?


Should I be mowing it- or using a strimmer to cut for now?
Should I be fertilising it and putting down some new seed and top
soil? Or just water it and mow it every 2 week?

There are things to feed your dog to lessen the damage. Research it.

Fertilize, but lightly to avoid increasing the dog problem.

Mow LONG at least once a week during the high growth period. If you wait too
long between mowings, you scalp the grass, leaving mostly stem and no leaves to
collect the sun.

Thanks for the reply.

Should I try putting some more grass seed down?

Jim

octatonic wrote:
Bob F;918859 Wrote:

There are things to feed your dog to lessen the damage. Research it.

Fertilize, but lightly to avoid increasing the dog problem.

Mow LONG at least once a week during the high growth period. If you
wait too
long between mowings, you scalp the grass, leaving mostly stem and no
leaves to
collect the sun.

Thanks for the reply.

Should I try putting some more grass seed down?


Can't hurt, at least on the bare spots. Sprinkle a little dirt over the seed,
just enough to cover the seed, then keep it damp, not wet, until it sprouts. If
you let the seed dry out,it won't made it. A sprinkler on a timer so it gets 5
minutes of water a few time a day will do wonders.

Thanks, I will give that a go.

Jim

On Apr 24, 11:37*am, octatonic
wrote:
octatonic;918810 Wrote:





Hi there,

I have a badly maintained lawn that needs some assistance to get back to
health.

I put the lawn in 2 years ago and then injured myself badly enough that
I was unable to do any gardening until now.
I've spent the last two weeks cleaning it up and it looks like this:

[image:http://www.jamesrichmond.com/pic/lawn_0411.jpg]

The issues we are having a

Ground is a bit uneven in places.
Grass grows in clumps (thanks to a female dog that wees on it0 we are
discouraging her from doing it)
Generally poor condition of the grass.

How do I fix this?

Should I be mowing it- or using a strimmer to cut for now?
Should I be fertilising it and putting down some new seed and top soil?
Or just water it and mow it every 2 week?

Thanks people.

FWIW, I am in London.

--
octatonic- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Big unknown here is what the soil is like. If it's decent soil and
the existing
grass is OK, not some undesirable crap, then I would:

1 - test PH, adjust if necessary

2 - Rough up the bare spots with a rake or similar

3 - Apply a high quality grass seed suitable for the location

4 - Top dress lightly with peat moss, humus, topsoil,
no more than 1/4"

5 - Apply starter fertilizer

6 - Keep it constantly damp, which could require watering for
5 mins few times a day. I'd do the last watering at about 8pm
so it stays wet at night. Only do that when establishing new
grass, not on an existing lawn during summer, which would
promote disease.