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#1
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Lawn rejuvenation.
Ok. The lawn is in such a sorry state right now I'm at a bit of a loss.
The grass hasn't been cut for probably a couple of years and is pretty sparse so that the soil is clearly visible. The grass that is left is pretty long but flattened so mowing would be difficult. The soil is ok (not clay or too rocky) as far as I can tell. There are quite a few pretty tough clumps of grass dotted about and the area is fairly well drained (I haven't seen it get waterlogged ever). The edges where it meets the border have also become lost as the grass peters out. Sorry for the ignorance, I'm pretty new at this. Thanks, Pete. than grass which is about a foot or so in length On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 15:08:33 +0100, Emrys Davies wrote: 'Peter', You have not described the state of your lawn, the soil, drainage and whether there are lots of bare patches, that it is full of weeds or that the grass has not been cut for a long while. You do mention overgrown but with what and to what extent? Cutting it back to bare soil before the winter or leaving it to die off are definitely not options which you should pursue but once you have given a fuller picture I am sure that you will get plenty of good advice. Regards, Emrys Davies. "Peter Lewis" wrote in message newsan.2002.10.20.12.55.06.952836@NOSPAMflamingc amel.co.uk... Hello there, Since movng into my house about a year ago, I've decided it's finally time to do something with my garden.... I've been putting it off for so long now and I'm afraid the job has become much bigger than it should have been! The "lawn" is fairly overgrown but never having had to maintain a lawn before, I'm looking for a bit of advice. I've raked it over a bit to get rid of the dead stuff and I've been advised that I should resow it in the spring. Would I be better off to try and cut it right back to pretty much bare soil before the winter or leave it to die off? Will that make more work in the spring? Any other related advice would also be much appreciated. I've read the Lawns FAQ -thanks! Peter Lewis, Leicester, UK. |
#2
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Lawn rejuvenation.
'Peter',
Best if you hire an industrial strimmer or the like and get rid of all of the overgrown grass down to about an inch or so. Then, in the spring, treat the lawn to a good weed and feed fertilizer. Give it regular mowings, water during dry spells, and you will be amazed how quickly your lawn will recover itself and start to look good again. When the grass is under control you could re-mark your borders by using a hosepipe as a guide and in that way you can have nice scalloped edges of your choice and widish borders in which you can plant shrubs, perennials, small conifers, annuals and even a small tree or two. This site will give you some ideas: http://tinyurl.com/23io (Best to go to Landscaping| Garden Plans). I wish you luck. Regards, Emrys Davies. "Peter Lewis" wrote in message newsan.2002.10.20.14.58.08.446606@NOSPAMflamingc amel.co.uk... Ok. The lawn is in such a sorry state right now I'm at a bit of a loss. The grass hasn't been cut for probably a couple of years and is pretty sparse so that the soil is clearly visible. The grass that is left is pretty long but flattened so mowing would be difficult. The soil is ok (not clay or too rocky) as far as I can tell. There are quite a few pretty tough clumps of grass dotted about and the area is fairly well drained (I haven't seen it get waterlogged ever). The edges where it meets the border have also become lost as the grass peters out. Sorry for the ignorance, I'm pretty new at this. Thanks, Pete. On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 15:08:33 +0100, Emrys Davies wrote: 'Peter', You have not described the state of your lawn, the soil, drainage and whether there are lots of bare patches, that it is full of weeds or that the grass has not been cut for a long while. You do mention overgrown but with what and to what extent? Cutting it back to bare soil before the winter or leaving it to die off are definitely not options which you should pursue but once you have given a fuller picture I am sure that you will get plenty of good advice. Regards, Emrys Davies. "Peter Lewis" wrote in message newsan.2002.10.20.12.55.06.952836@NOSPAMflamingc amel.co.uk... Hello there, Since movng into my house about a year ago, I've decided it's finally time to do something with my garden.... I've been putting it off for so long now and I'm afraid the job has become much bigger than it should have been! The "lawn" is fairly overgrown but never having had to maintain a lawn before, I'm looking for a bit of advice. I've raked it over a bit to get rid of the dead stuff and I've been advised that I should resow it in the spring. Would I be better off to try and cut it right back to pretty much bare soil before the winter or leave it to die off? Will that make more work in the spring? Any other related advice would also be much appreciated. I've read the Lawns FAQ -thanks! Peter Lewis, Leicester, UK. |
#3
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Lawn rejuvenation.
Peter.
Weather will play quite a part in what you decide to do about your lawn. If we have a dry/mild spell would suggest you cut the lawn (if very long) Hire from your local hire shop a turf remover (you need dryish conditions). Remove the turf, high a rotavator, rotavate well, rake and rake and rake to fine tilth, use some growmore and then relay having bought new turf. With some planning 30sq yards with hard work could be done in a day. Ensure does not stay dry (ie water if we don't get normal autumn winter weather) Keep off over winter and in the Spring you should be ready for first mow and have a good lawn next summer.Preparation is the key. If weather lousy do this in late March early April weather permitting. Turn the removed turf and leave 'upside down on your borders to rot down over Winter. That is probably most expensive remedy but the Rolls Royce. Good luck Tim "Peter Lewis" wrote in message news:pan.2002.10.20.14.58.08.446606@NOSPAMflaming camel.co.uk... Ok. The lawn is in such a sorry state right now I'm at a bit of a loss. The grass hasn't been cut for probably a couple of years and is pretty sparse so that the soil is clearly visible. The grass that is left is pretty long but flattened so mowing would be difficult. The soil is ok (not clay or too rocky) as far as I can tell. There are quite a few pretty tough clumps of grass dotted about and the area is fairly well drained (I haven't seen it get waterlogged ever). The edges where it meets the border have also become lost as the grass peters out. Sorry for the ignorance, I'm pretty new at this. Thanks, Pete. On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 15:08:33 +0100, Emrys Davies wrote: 'Peter', You have not described the state of your lawn, the soil, drainage and whether there are lots of bare patches, that it is full of weeds or that the grass has not been cut for a long while. You do mention overgrown but with what and to what extent? Cutting it back to bare soil before the winter or leaving it to die off are definitely not options which you should pursue but once you have given a fuller picture I am sure that you will get plenty of good advice. Regards, Emrys Davies. "Peter Lewis" wrote in message newsan.2002.10.20.12.55.06.952836@NOSPAMflamingc amel.co.uk... Hello there, Since movng into my house about a year ago, I've decided it's finally time to do something with my garden.... I've been putting it off for so long now and I'm afraid the job has become much bigger than it should have been! The "lawn" is fairly overgrown but never having had to maintain a lawn before, I'm looking for a bit of advice. I've raked it over a bit to get rid of the dead stuff and I've been advised that I should resow it in the spring. Would I be better off to try and cut it right back to pretty much bare soil before the winter or leave it to die off? Will that make more work in the spring? Any other related advice would also be much appreciated. I've read the Lawns FAQ -thanks! Peter Lewis, Leicester, UK. |
#4
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Lawn rejuvenation.
'Twas Sun, 20 Oct 2002 15:58:08 +0100, when "Peter Lewis"
enriched all our lives with these worthy thoughts: Ok. The lawn is in such a sorry state right now I'm at a bit of a loss. The grass hasn't been cut for probably a couple of years and is pretty sparse so that the soil is clearly visible. The grass that is left is pretty long but flattened so mowing would be difficult. The soil is ok (not clay or too rocky) as far as I can tell. There are quite a few pretty tough clumps of grass dotted about and the area is fairly well drained (I haven't seen it get waterlogged ever). The edges where it meets the border have also become lost as the grass peters out. Sounds like a candidate for starting again, depending on the quality of lawn you're after. It can take a couple of years to get a crappy lawn knocked into shape, whereas you can seed or turf a good lawn in 3 months, come next spring. If I were starting over, I'd scythe it now and turn it over or rotavate to let the weather work on it over the winter, then start preparing a tilth next Feb/Mar for seeding or turfing in late March. -- cormaic URG faqs/webring - www.tmac.clara.co.uk/urgring/ Culcheth Garden - www.tmac.clara.co.uk/garden/ Warrington Paving - www.pavingexpert.com/ Peoples' Republic of South Lancashire cormaic CAN BE FOUND AT borlochshall.co.uk |
#5
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Lawn rejuvenation.
"Peter Lewis" wrote in message newsan.2002.10.20.14.58.08.446606@NOSPAMflamingc amel.co.uk... Ok. The lawn is in such a sorry state right now I'm at a bit of a loss. The grass hasn't been cut for probably a couple of years and is pretty sparse so that the soil is clearly visible. The grass that is left is pretty long but flattened so mowing would be difficult. Cut it, scarify it, aereate it [1], treat with phosphate-based fertiliser[2], and re-seed. [1] Stick a garden fork into it, to a depth of about 6 inches, and waggle it to enlarge the holes. Do this all over the lawn. It loosens the soil after years of compaction, and so gives the grass roots an easier time. [2] Phosphate-based fertilisers are for autumn use. They encourage good root-growth. You could re-seed it now and see what happens, but you're more sure of good results if you do it next spring. |
#6
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Lawn rejuvenation.
On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 19:30:27 +0100, " Emrys Davies"
wrote: Best if you hire an industrial strimmer or the like and get rid of all of the overgrown grass down to about an inch or so. Then, in the spring, treat the lawn to a good weed and feed fertilizer. Give it regular mowings, water during dry spells, and you will be amazed how quickly your lawn will recover itself and start to look good again. When the grass is under control you could re-mark your borders by using a hosepipe as a guide and in that way you can have nice scalloped edges of your choice and widish borders in which you can plant shrubs, perennials, small conifers, annuals and even a small tree or two. The advantage of this method is that the wild and feral grasses making up your newly revived lawn will be species that are especially well adapted to your particular combination of soil, climate, and maintenance regime. Wild grasses will usually take over your lawn eventually, no matter what you do, so you might as well encourage them from the start. Doing so avoids a lot of unnecessary expense and worry, to say nothing of the heartbreak of having an unfashionable lawn. -- Rodger Whitlock Victoria, British Columbia, Canada |
#7
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Lawn rejuvenation.
On Sun, 27 Oct 2002 18:21:03 +0000, Peter Lewis
wrote: On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 19:30:27 +0100, " Emrys Davies" wrote: Best if you hire an industrial strimmer or the like and get rid of all of the overgrown grass down to about an inch or so. Then, in the spring, treat the lawn to a good weed and feed fertilizer. Give it regular mowings, water during dry spells, and you will be amazed how quickly your lawn will recover itself and start to look good again. When the grass is under control you could re-mark your borders by using a hosepipe as a guide and in that way you can have nice scalloped edges of your choice and widish borders in which you can plant shrubs, perennials, small conifers, annuals and even a small tree or two. The advantage of this method is that the wild and feral grasses making up your newly revived lawn will be species that are especially well adapted to your particular combination of soil, climate, and maintenance regime. Wild grasses will usually take over your lawn eventually, no matter what you do, so you might as well encourage them from the start. Doing so avoids a lot of unnecessary expense and worry, to say nothing of the heartbreak of having an unfashionable lawn. Thanks folks. I've bought a strimmer which (after some fun!) managed to cut most of it down. Next weekend I'm planning to give it some feed/fertilizer and see how it copes. I'm not in a rush, so next spring, if it really doesn't look like it's improving, I'll go for the 'start again' method! Cheers. Pete. You'd be wasting your time and money if you put fertiliser on your lawn now. It would just get washed away by the winter rains. Note what Emrys actually wrote: "Then, in the spring, treat the lawn to a good weed and feed fertilizer." You say you're not in a rush. Well, next year follow Emrys's advice (as contained in the first two paragraphs quoted above) right through next spring, summer and autumn and THEN judge whether your lawn has improved. You are highly unlikely to see any improvement between now and next spring -- in fact, probably the opposite. Norman Tulloch |
#8
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Lawn rejuvenation.
Rodger Whitlock put thought into words and said:
On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 19:30:27 +0100, " Emrys Davies" wrote: Best if you hire an industrial strimmer or the like and get rid of all of the overgrown grass down to about an inch or so. Then, in the spring, treat the lawn to a good weed and feed fertilizer. Give it regular mowings, water during dry spells, and you will be amazed how quickly your lawn will recover itself and start to look good again. When the grass is under control you could re-mark your borders by using a hosepipe as a guide and in that way you can have nice scalloped edges of your choice and widish borders in which you can plant shrubs, perennials, small conifers, annuals and even a small tree or two. The advantage of this method is that the wild and feral grasses making up your newly revived lawn will be species that are especially well adapted to your particular combination of soil, climate, and maintenance regime. Wild grasses will usually take over your lawn eventually, no matter what you do, so you might as well encourage them from the start. Doing so avoids a lot of unnecessary expense and worry, to say nothing of the heartbreak of having an unfashionable lawn. Thanks folks. I've bought a strimmer which (after some fun!) managed to cut most of it down. Next weekend I'm planning to give it some feed/fertilizer and see how it copes. I'm not in a rush, so next spring, if it really doesn't look like it's improving, I'll go for the 'start again' method! Cheers. Pete. |
#9
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Lawn rejuvenation.
In article , Peter
Lewis writes Rodger Whitlock put thought into words and said: On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 19:30:27 +0100, " Emrys Davies" wrote: Best if you hire an industrial strimmer or the like and get rid of all of the overgrown grass down to about an inch or so. Then, in the spring, treat the lawn to a good weed and feed fertilizer. Give it regular mowings, water during dry spells, and you will be amazed how quickly your lawn will recover itself and start to look good again. When the grass is under control you could re-mark your borders by using a hosepipe as a guide and in that way you can have nice scalloped edges of your choice and widish borders in which you can plant shrubs, perennials, small conifers, annuals and even a small tree or two. The advantage of this method is that the wild and feral grasses making up your newly revived lawn will be species that are especially well adapted to your particular combination of soil, climate, and maintenance regime. Wild grasses will usually take over your lawn eventually, no matter what you do, so you might as well encourage them from the start. Doing so avoids a lot of unnecessary expense and worry, to say nothing of the heartbreak of having an unfashionable lawn. Thanks folks. I've bought a strimmer which (after some fun!) managed to cut most of it down. Next weekend I'm planning to give it some feed/fertilizer and see how it copes. I'm not in a rush, so next spring, if it really doesn't look like it's improving, I'll go for the 'start again' method! Cheers. Pete. The last thing you want to do now is feed it with standard fertilizer. You could give it *autumn* fertilizer which is lower in nitrogen , higher in phosphates and potash and is intended to stimulate root growth over the winter. -- hugh |
#10
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Lawn rejuvenation.
Norman Tulloch put thought into words and said:
On Sun, 27 Oct 2002 18:21:03 +0000, Peter Lewis wrote: On Sun, 20 Oct 2002 19:30:27 +0100, " Emrys Davies" wrote: Best if you hire an industrial strimmer or the like and get rid of all of the overgrown grass down to about an inch or so. Then, in the spring, treat the lawn to a good weed and feed fertilizer. Give it regular mowings, water during dry spells, and you will be amazed how quickly your lawn will recover itself and start to look good again. When the grass is under control you could re-mark your borders by using a hosepipe as a guide and in that way you can have nice scalloped edges of your choice and widish borders in which you can plant shrubs, perennials, small conifers, annuals and even a small tree or two. The advantage of this method is that the wild and feral grasses making up your newly revived lawn will be species that are especially well adapted to your particular combination of soil, climate, and maintenance regime. Wild grasses will usually take over your lawn eventually, no matter what you do, so you might as well encourage them from the start. Doing so avoids a lot of unnecessary expense and worry, to say nothing of the heartbreak of having an unfashionable lawn. Thanks folks. I've bought a strimmer which (after some fun!) managed to cut most of it down. Next weekend I'm planning to give it some feed/fertilizer and see how it copes. I'm not in a rush, so next spring, if it really doesn't look like it's improving, I'll go for the 'start again' method! Cheers. Pete. You'd be wasting your time and money if you put fertiliser on your lawn now. It would just get washed away by the winter rains. Note what Emrys actually wrote: "Then, in the spring, treat the lawn to a good weed and feed fertilizer." You say you're not in a rush. Well, next year follow Emrys's advice (as contained in the first two paragraphs quoted above) right through next spring, summer and autumn and THEN judge whether your lawn has improved. You are highly unlikely to see any improvement between now and next spring -- in fact, probably the opposite. Norman Tulloch So what would the autumn fertilizer do? I seem to have conflicting advice as to whether it would be worth it or not... |
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Lawn rejuvenation.
On Sat, 09 Nov 2002 11:45:07 +0000, Peter Lewis
wrote: Norman Tulloch put thought into words and said: You'd be wasting your time and money if you put fertiliser on your lawn now. It would just get washed away by the winter rains. Note what Emrys actually wrote: So what would the autumn fertilizer do? I seem to have conflicting advice as to whether it would be worth it or not... I think it's just too late for the autumn fertiliser now. I would apply that in September or early to mid October; I feel that now we're on the edge of winter, or perhaps we're already there. Though the autumn fertiliser is high in potash rather than nitrogen, it would still encourage your grass to grow more quickly, and if your weather conditions are anything like those we experience here, you will probably find your lawn will be too wet to cut easily. I think the best thing you can do now is to give your lawn and yourself a rest, though you may still have to keep it clear of fallen leaves if, as I am, you're close to trees. Norman Tulloch |
#12
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Lawn rejuvenation.
What types of grass is the most widely used in the UK? From watching Ground Force here in the states, it appears to be a short fine bladed variety. Similiar to a bent grass fairway golf course here. I have also heard that the UK does not have a climate similar to any region in the states. Would this be true? If not how would you describe it? -- Thank you, Craig do not use Rejector email address |
#14
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Lawn rejuvenation.
What types of grass is the most widely used in the UK?
From watching Ground Force here in the states, it appears to be a short fine bladed variety. Similiar to a bent grass fairway golf course here. I have also heard that the UK does not have a climate similar to any region in the states. Would this be true? If not how would you describe it? -- Thank you, Craig There are too many grasses used in the UK to really answer your question. Many grasses use a mix of several varieties to give the best all-round results. This usually means mixing in fine grasses with rye grass. The rye grass is hard wearing and is used in amenity lawns/grassed areas such as parks and public spaces. It is course and doesn't give the best result visually, but stands up well to a large amount of pedestrian traffic. If you're serious about getting the best lawn in the UK you can send soil samples away for testing, and give your location, local climate, aspect, etc. and you will get a specialist company mix you up the ideal grass seed mix for your conditions. Most people just go to a garden centre though and wil pick out a luxury lawn seed without rye grass. As far as the weather is concerned, I think you'll find that the spring in the UK often comes earlier, and the winter comes later. The winter is often warmer, while the summers wetter and not so hot. This is a huge generalisation and I know I'll get all sorts of people saying that California is warmer in the winter than the UK, or similar such things, but the bottom line is that where the summers are as cool and wet as the UK the winters are often colder, and where the winters are as mild as in some parts of the UK the summers are much hotter. Having said that there are huge differences in weather across the UK with regards to rainfall, sunlight, and overall temperatures, so maybe I'm wasting my time with trying to give you any kind of an answer at all. Maybe I'm just inviting anyone and everyone to give me a huge amount of grief about the weather. Anyway, I hope this helps, though I doubt it will very much. Dave. |
#15
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Lawn rejuvenation.
In article ,
writes What types of grass is the most widely used in the UK? From watching Ground Force here in the states, it appears to be a short fine bladed variety. Similiar to a bent grass fairway golf course here. I have also heard that the UK does not have a climate similar to any region in the states. Would this be true? If not how would you describe it? 'Other places have climate - we have weather' ;-) - reflection on the changeability of our weather - which is probably why we talk about it so much. I'm about half way up the UK, inland. Winters are wet, with long nights - it gets dark about 4pm and isn't properly light again till 9am. It can be a few degrees above freezing and foggy (like today) or wet (like tomorrow's forecast) or it can be a few degrees below freezing. First frost is usually the first week of October, last frost may be as late as the first week of June. Summers have long days - light before I wake up, and still light until 9pm or 10pm. It can be hot - up to 80F - or warm or coolish. Spring and autumn can be almost anything. We get about 30 inches of rain a year, spread almost evenly throughout the year (the SE has drier summer, some areas in the west have much more rain) - though in recent years we seem to be getting more rain than usually, and milder winters. What makes our climate so different from yours is the Gulf Stream, which means we are a lot warmer than we have any right to expect for this latitude. Which means our cold winter nights last a lot longer than winter nights of similar coldness over there. -- Kay Easton Edward's earthworm page: http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/garden/ |
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