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Lawn advice - dead grass
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 |
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