hello,

My back lawn is very poor quality & I am thinking of re-seeding it.

In the garden centre there are packs of lawn seed which claim to be
specifically for this purpose.

Can I just sprinkle new seed over an old lawn ? (seems unlikely to me ! )

all advice very welcome

KK

"dido22" wrote in message
...
hello,

My back lawn is very poor quality & I am thinking of re-seeding it.

In the garden centre there are packs of lawn seed which claim to be
specifically for this purpose.

Can I just sprinkle new seed over an old lawn ? (seems unlikely to me ! )

all advice very welcome

"General" advice......

Rake the areas to be seeded thoroughly to achieve a softer, debris/dead
grass and moss free(er) surface.
Evenly sprinkle the seed over those areas and *gently* press in with your
foot or a roll very lightly.
Provide a surface layer of either sand or very fine sieved topsoil to hide
the seed and provide a reasonable covering to retain moisture and reduce
direct sunlight.
Water daily until germination is evident.
Gently add a little more sand or topsoil when leaf of grass is around an
inch tall.
Continue to water enough to keep moist.

Provide mechanical protection (small fenced off area etc) to reduce
trampling until fully grown.

That's how we patched the approaches and surrounds on the golf course.

On 11 July, 16:35, "R" wrote:
"dido22" wrote in message

...

hello,

My back lawn is very poor quality & I am thinking of re-seeding it.

In the garden centre there are packs of lawn seed which claim to be
specifically for this purpose.

Can I just sprinkle new seed over an old lawn ? *(seems unlikely to me ! )

all advice very welcome

"General" advice......

Rake the areas to be seeded thoroughly to achieve a softer, debris/dead
grass and moss free(er) surface.
Evenly sprinkle the seed over those areas and *gently* press in with your
foot or a roll very lightly.
Provide a surface layer of either sand or very fine sieved topsoil to hide
the seed and provide a reasonable covering to retain moisture and reduce
direct sunlight.
Water daily until germination is evident.
Gently add a little more sand or topsoil when leaf of grass is around an
inch tall.
Continue to water enough to keep moist.

Provide mechanical protection (small fenced off area etc) to reduce
trampling until fully grown.

That's how we patched the approaches and surrounds on the golf course.

Give your lawn a good raking with a wire rake to shift debris, mos and
to stand the existing grass stems a bit, let the grass you have grow
to about 1.5 inches, broadcast sow the grass seed all over the lawn
and give it a light rake in with the wirew rake,
If it's dry then water well,
The longer grass will keep a microclimate round its base and hold
moisture, if you are lucky enough to be getting no rain then a light
watering in the evening every couple of days. .
The grass should germinate quickly at this time of year.
Remember you should cut new grass with a cylinder mower as it Curs the
grass rather than slashes it as a rotary mower does.
A rotary mower can pull the young grass out by the roots.
Remember, in nature grass seed just drops to the grownd and doesn't
get planted, except some by worms.
David Hill

I had a lawn just like yours last season - I used this during the Autumn/Spring http://tiny.cc/5FJ31 to cleanse and feed the lawn. I then raked out all the dead stuff, left the lawn to rest in growth until the grass was 4" long, cut it right back as short as I could, seeded and then....

....this was followed by dressing the lawns (and everything else!!!) this summer with the max allowed of 200g per sq metre of http://tiny.cc/CiJ1S.

I know it is not the cheapest of products but your neighbours will ask what you are using as the results are so wonderfully obvious!

These are the products golf, cricket, football, bowling etc., greensmen use.

You will see such a lush green lawn and you will get a fantastic show of flowers and growth in your garden especially when you feed with: http://tiny.cc/CiJ1S.

On 11 July, 17:43, Dave Hill wrote:

Remember, in nature grass seed just drops to the grownd and doesn't
get planted, except some by worms.

It's true. But Nature is not setting out to achieve a perfect
monovarietal sward, and as long as one seed in a million succeeds is
quite happy. We are hoping to get at least 50% of grass seeds to
succeed, so a bit of TLC & the elimination of hazards will help this
un-natural desite.

"dido22" wrote in message
...
| hello,
|
| My back lawn is very poor quality & I am thinking of re-seeding it.
|
| In the garden centre there are packs of lawn seed which claim to be
| specifically for this purpose.
|
| Can I just sprinkle new seed over an old lawn ? (seems unlikely to me ! )
|
| all advice very welcome
|
| KK
|

Look at the long term forecast and pick a long wet, warm spell to do it. If
you do it in a dry spell you'll have to water frequently

On 11 July, 23:04, bobharvey wrote:
On 11 July, 17:43, Dave Hill wrote:

Remember, in nature grass seed just drops to the grownd and doesn't
get planted, except some by worms.

It's true. *But Nature is not setting out to achieve a perfect
monovarietal sward, and as long as one seed in a million succeeds is
quite happy. *We are hoping to get at least 50% of grass seeds to
succeed, so a bit of TLC & the elimination of hazards will help this
un-natural desite.

We dont all go into the garden with "un-natural desires"

If just 1 in one million grass seeds grew in nature then we would have
no grass.
David Hill

On 2009-07-12 10:35:05 +0100, Dave Hill said:

On 11 July, 23:04, bobharvey wrote:
On 11 July, 17:43, Dave Hill wrote:

Remember, in nature grass seed just drops to the grownd and doesn't
get planted, except some by worms.

It's true. *But Nature is not setting out to achieve a perfect
monovarietal sward, and as long as one seed in a million succeeds is
quite happy. *We are hoping to get at least 50% of grass seeds to
succeed, so a bit of TLC & the elimination of hazards will help this
un-natural desite.

We dont all go into the garden with "un-natural desires"

If just 1 in one million grass seeds grew in nature then we would have
no grass.
David Hill

Am I allowed at this stage to butt in, yet again, with Ray's lawn
seeding method? ;-) Well, I will anyway (perhaps NB to FAQ
makers?!): thoroughly mix up lawn seed and compost in a wheelbarrow to
the quantity required. Tip all back into an empty compost sack. Roll
over loosely at the top and leave for a few days. When the seed has
germinated, scatter it where needed. This helps you to see where
you've sown and it helps to keep birds off. Cover the scattered seed
with horticultural fleece and weigh the edges down with stones or
similar. This also helps to repel birds, gives the grass a bit of a
'greenhouse' and gets it off to a good start. When grass is a decent
height, remove fleece. Keep watered in dry spells before and after
fleece removal. Several NT gardeners learned this tip from Ray and
have put it to good use!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

Thanks all

K


"dido22" wrote in message
...
hello,

My back lawn is very poor quality & I am thinking of re-seeding it.

In the garden centre there are packs of lawn seed which claim to be
specifically for this purpose.

Can I just sprinkle new seed over an old lawn ? (seems unlikely to me ! )

all advice very welcome

KK

"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-07-12 10:35:05 +0100, Dave Hill
said:

On 11 July, 23:04, bobharvey wrote:
On 11 July, 17:43, Dave Hill wrote:

Remember, in nature grass seed just drops to the grownd and doesn't
get planted, except some by worms.

It's true. But Nature is not setting out to achieve a perfect
monovarietal sward, and as long as one seed in a million succeeds is
quite happy. We are hoping to get at least 50% of grass seeds to
succeed, so a bit of TLC & the elimination of hazards will help this
un-natural desite.

We dont all go into the garden with "un-natural desires"

If just 1 in one million grass seeds grew in nature then we would have
no grass.
David Hill

Am I allowed at this stage to butt in, yet again, with Ray's lawn seeding
method? ;-) Well, I will anyway (perhaps NB to FAQ makers?!):
thoroughly mix up lawn seed and compost in a wheelbarrow to the quantity
required. Tip all back into an empty compost sack. Roll over loosely at
the top and leave for a few days. When the seed has germinated, scatter
it where needed. This helps you to see where you've sown and it helps to
keep birds off. Cover the scattered seed with horticultural fleece and
weigh the edges down with stones or similar. This also helps to repel
birds, gives the grass a bit of a 'greenhouse' and gets it off to a good
start. When grass is a decent height, remove fleece. Keep watered in dry
spells before and after fleece removal. Several NT gardeners learned this
tip from Ray and have put it to good use!
--

Now included as an FAQ...

http://www.u-r-g.co.uk/faqlawnrep.htm

RG

On 2009-07-13 12:04:53 +0100, "RG" said:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-07-12 10:35:05 +0100, Dave Hill said:

On 11 July, 23:04, bobharvey wrote:
On 11 July, 17:43, Dave Hill wrote:

Remember, in nature grass seed just drops to the grownd and doesn't
get planted, except some by worms.

It's true. But Nature is not setting out to achieve a perfect
monovarietal sward, and as long as one seed in a million succeeds is
quite happy. We are hoping to get at least 50% of grass seeds to
succeed, so a bit of TLC & the elimination of hazards will help this
un-natural desite.

We dont all go into the garden with "un-natural desires"

If just 1 in one million grass seeds grew in nature then we would have
no grass.
David Hill

Am I allowed at this stage to butt in, yet again, with Ray's lawn
seeding method? ;-) Well, I will anyway (perhaps NB to FAQ
makers?!): thoroughly mix up lawn seed and compost in a wheelbarrow to
the quantity required. Tip all back into an empty compost sack. Roll
over loosely at the top and leave for a few days. When the seed has
germinated, scatter it where needed. This helps you to see where
you've sown and it helps to keep birds off. Cover the scattered seed
with horticultural fleece and weigh the edges down with stones or
similar. This also helps to repel birds, gives the grass a bit of a
'greenhouse' and gets it off to a good start. When grass is a decent
height, remove fleece. Keep watered in dry spells before and after
fleece removal. Several NT gardeners learned this tip from Ray and
have put it to good use!
--

Now included as an FAQ...

http://www.u-r-g.co.uk/faqlawnrep.htm

RG

Many thanks. Don't know why I'm seeing some of these posts so late -
I'm getting used to a new newsreader and obviously haven't got the hang
of it yet!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-07-22 14:14:07 +0100, Sacha said:

On 2009-07-13 12:04:53 +0100, "RG" said:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-07-12 10:35:05 +0100, Dave Hill said:

On 11 July, 23:04, bobharvey wrote:
On 11 July, 17:43, Dave Hill wrote:

Remember, in nature grass seed just drops to the grownd and doesn't
get planted, except some by worms.

It's true. But Nature is not setting out to achieve a perfect
monovarietal sward, and as long as one seed in a million succeeds is
quite happy. We are hoping to get at least 50% of grass seeds to
succeed, so a bit of TLC & the elimination of hazards will help this
un-natural desite.

We dont all go into the garden with "un-natural desires"

If just 1 in one million grass seeds grew in nature then we would have
no grass.
David Hill

Am I allowed at this stage to butt in, yet again, with Ray's lawn
seeding method? ;-) Well, I will anyway (perhaps NB to FAQ
makers?!): thoroughly mix up lawn seed and compost in a wheelbarrow to
the quantity required. Tip all back into an empty compost sack. Roll
over loosely at the top and leave for a few days. When the seed has
germinated, scatter it where needed. This helps you to see where
you've sown and it helps to keep birds off. Cover the scattered seed
with horticultural fleece and weigh the edges down with stones or
similar. This also helps to repel birds, gives the grass a bit of a
'greenhouse' and gets it off to a good start. When grass is a decent
height, remove fleece. Keep watered in dry spells before and after
fleece removal. Several NT gardeners learned this tip from Ray and
have put it to good use!
--

Now included as an FAQ...

http://www.u-r-g.co.uk/faqlawnrep.htm

RG

Many thanks. Don't know why I'm seeing some of these posts so late -
I'm getting used to a new newsreader and obviously haven't got the hang
of it yet!

FWIW, I managed to strip the grass verge outside my house back to bare
earth as a consequence of building works, skips, rubble, etc. The
Highways Officer for the local council came to see me and told me that
I needed to re-seed the verge and reinstate (which I was going to do
anyway). I told him what I planned to do and how I intended to care for
it during propagation and growth. He looked shocked. "Don't bother with
all that," he said. "Just loosen the surface, scatter the grass seed
and then ignore it. Nature will take care of the rest." I voiced my
surprise and he added: "We seed or re-seed hundreds of acres of grass
verge and landscaping every year and this method works just fine." And
it did.

On 2009-07-23 12:22:30 +0100, Stan The Man said:

On 2009-07-22 14:14:07 +0100, Sacha said:

On 2009-07-13 12:04:53 +0100, "RG" said:


"Sacha" wrote in message
...
On 2009-07-12 10:35:05 +0100, Dave Hill said:

On 11 July, 23:04, bobharvey wrote:
On 11 July, 17:43, Dave Hill wrote:

Remember, in nature grass seed just drops to the grownd and doesn't
get planted, except some by worms.

It's true. But Nature is not setting out to achieve a perfect
monovarietal sward, and as long as one seed in a million succeeds is
quite happy. We are hoping to get at least 50% of grass seeds to
succeed, so a bit of TLC & the elimination of hazards will help this
un-natural desite.

We dont all go into the garden with "un-natural desires"

If just 1 in one million grass seeds grew in nature then we would have
no grass.
David Hill

Am I allowed at this stage to butt in, yet again, with Ray's lawn
seeding method? ;-) Well, I will anyway (perhaps NB to FAQ
makers?!): thoroughly mix up lawn seed and compost in a wheelbarrow to
the quantity required. Tip all back into an empty compost sack. Roll
over loosely at the top and leave for a few days. When the seed has
germinated, scatter it where needed. This helps you to see where
you've sown and it helps to keep birds off. Cover the scattered seed
with horticultural fleece and weigh the edges down with stones or
similar. This also helps to repel birds, gives the grass a bit of a
'greenhouse' and gets it off to a good start. When grass is a decent
height, remove fleece. Keep watered in dry spells before and after
fleece removal. Several NT gardeners learned this tip from Ray and
have put it to good use!
--

Now included as an FAQ...

http://www.u-r-g.co.uk/faqlawnrep.htm

RG

Many thanks. Don't know why I'm seeing some of these posts so late -
I'm getting used to a new newsreader and obviously haven't got the hang
of it yet!

FWIW, I managed to strip the grass verge outside my house back to bare
earth as a consequence of building works, skips, rubble, etc. The
Highways Officer for the local council came to see me and told me that
I needed to re-seed the verge and reinstate (which I was going to do
anyway). I told him what I planned to do and how I intended to care for
it during propagation and growth. He looked shocked. "Don't bother with
all that," he said. "Just loosen the surface, scatter the grass seed
and then ignore it. Nature will take care of the rest." I voiced my
surprise and he added: "We seed or re-seed hundreds of acres of grass
verge and landscaping every year and this method works just fine." And
it did.

It will certainly work but the method I've described is faster and for
re-seeding bare patches in lawns (which are hard on the naked eye for
some people) it's just a very satisfactory way of getting it going
easily. Grass verges aren't usually treated with the tlc lawns usually
get so a less than perfect finish probably doesn't matter quite so
much. One of the things I like so much round here is that the verges
are a great mixture of different grasses and wildflowers, especially
where there are no pavements. By and large, they're left unmown for a
long period and in due season, primroses, bluebells, ox-eye daisies,
foxgloves, campion and ragwort are allowed to flourish.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon

On 2009-07-24 16:38:07 +0100, Martin said:

On Fri, 24 Jul 2009 15:58:37 +0100, Sacha wrote:
snip One of the things I like so much round here is that the verges
are a great mixture of different grasses and wildflowers, especially
where there are no pavements. By and large, they're left unmown for a
long period and in due season, primroses, bluebells, ox-eye daisies,
foxgloves, campion and ragwort are allowed to flourish.

There were wild orchids growing on the grass verges in places in N Yorksire

There were some near here and then the owner of a nearby house put in
possibly the ugliest gateway in Devon and must, I think, have got lime
or something onto the grass. We've never seen the orchids again.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon