Last sept our builders gardener sowed our lawn. He firstly put a stack of
top soil on leveled it and put the seed down.

It is not 100% dense for sure but if I touch it at all you would sink about
1-2 inches the ground is so soft.

Will it all settle as the roots etc grown and the lawn becomes more dense ?

I have paid for this service so want to make sure I get the best from it.

David

In article , David Cleland
writes
Last sept our builders gardener sowed our lawn. He firstly put a stack of
top soil on leveled it and put the seed down.

It is not 100% dense for sure but if I touch it at all you would sink about
1-2 inches the ground is so soft.

Will it all settle as the roots etc grown and the lawn becomes more dense ?

I have paid for this service so want to make sure I get the best from it.

The soil will consolidate a bit as it dries in springtime, but a light
rolling would have been better at the time of levelling. The grass will
become more dense and the soil will compact with mowing, but care should
be taken with the first cut. That needs to be done when the seedlings
are about 2-3 ins. high, probably in about mid to late April.
Traditional advice was to do it by hand with a scythe, but if a mower is
used it should be very sharp and a light cut taken. That is to prevent
new seedlings from being pulled out of the soft soil.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

Just to add to what Alan says I would use a rotary or hover mower ,don't use
a cylinder mower.I turfed some years ago and was eagar for the strips and
first cut, I only had a cylinder mower at the time & was inexperienced .It
made a right mess of the lawn,I will only use a rotary mower with rear
roller now.Take a bit of height off at a time and be patient,I would start
feeding early summer & throughout .Then finish off with a autumn
feed.(follow instructions of fertilizer)!
If you have patches,just seed the patchy areas when the weather warms up
spring/early summer.

--
Thanks Keith,England,UK.
"Alan Gould" wrote in message
...
In article , David Cleland
writes
Last sept our builders gardener sowed our lawn. He firstly put a stack of
top soil on leveled it and put the seed down.

It is not 100% dense for sure but if I touch it at all you would sink
about
1-2 inches the ground is so soft.

Will it all settle as the roots etc grown and the lawn becomes more dense
?

I have paid for this service so want to make sure I get the best from it.

The soil will consolidate a bit as it dries in springtime, but a light
rolling would have been better at the time of levelling. The grass will
become more dense and the soil will compact with mowing, but care should
be taken with the first cut. That needs to be done when the seedlings
are about 2-3 ins. high, probably in about mid to late April.
Traditional advice was to do it by hand with a scythe, but if a mower is
used it should be very sharp and a light cut taken. That is to prevent
new seedlings from being pulled out of the soft soil.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

thanks all

I hope it compacts it is very soft to be honest. It does need more seed as I
can seed as it is not dense.

Thanks again

David

"keith ;-)" wrote in message
...
Just to add to what Alan says I would use a rotary or hover mower ,don't
use
a cylinder mower.I turfed some years ago and was eagar for the strips and
first cut, I only had a cylinder mower at the time & was inexperienced .It
made a right mess of the lawn,I will only use a rotary mower with rear
roller now.Take a bit of height off at a time and be patient,I would start
feeding early summer & throughout .Then finish off with a autumn
feed.(follow instructions of fertilizer)!
If you have patches,just seed the patchy areas when the weather warms up
spring/early summer.

--
Thanks Keith,England,UK.
"Alan Gould" wrote in message
...
In article , David Cleland
writes
Last sept our builders gardener sowed our lawn. He firstly put a stack
of
top soil on leveled it and put the seed down.

It is not 100% dense for sure but if I touch it at all you would sink
about
1-2 inches the ground is so soft.

Will it all settle as the roots etc grown and the lawn becomes more
dense
?

I have paid for this service so want to make sure I get the best from
it.

The soil will consolidate a bit as it dries in springtime, but a light
rolling would have been better at the time of levelling. The grass will
become more dense and the soil will compact with mowing, but care should
be taken with the first cut. That needs to be done when the seedlings
are about 2-3 ins. high, probably in about mid to late April.
Traditional advice was to do it by hand with a scythe, but if a mower is
used it should be very sharp and a light cut taken. That is to prevent
new seedlings from being pulled out of the soft soil.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.

In message , "keith ;-)"
writes
Just to add to what Alan says I would use a rotary or hover mower ,don't use
a cylinder mower.I turfed some years ago and was eagar for the strips and
first cut, I only had a cylinder mower at the time & was inexperienced .It
made a right mess of the lawn,I will only use a rotary mower with rear
roller now.Take a bit of height off at a time and be patient,I would start
feeding early summer & throughout .Then finish off with a autumn
feed.(follow instructions of fertilizer)!
If you have patches,just seed the patchy areas when the weather warms up
spring/early summer.

Cylinder mowers give a much better cut than rotary, just make sure the
blades are sharp and correctly set. Otherwise same rules apply on new
grass - no too short and not when the ground is wet.
--
hugh
Reply to address is valid at the time of posting

How short should grass be - I think I am cutting mine too close to be
honest.

David

"hugh" ] wrote in message
...
In message , "keith ;-)"
writes
Just to add to what Alan says I would use a rotary or hover mower ,don't
use
a cylinder mower.I turfed some years ago and was eagar for the strips and
first cut, I only had a cylinder mower at the time & was inexperienced .It
made a right mess of the lawn,I will only use a rotary mower with rear
roller now.Take a bit of height off at a time and be patient,I would start
feeding early summer & throughout .Then finish off with a autumn
feed.(follow instructions of fertilizer)!
If you have patches,just seed the patchy areas when the weather warms up
spring/early summer.

Cylinder mowers give a much better cut than rotary, just make sure the
blades are sharp and correctly set. Otherwise same rules apply on new
grass - no too short and not when the ground is wet.
--
hugh
Reply to address is valid at the time of posting

David Cleland wrote:
How short should grass be - I think I am cutting mine too close to
be
honest.
[...]

It depends a lot on what seed mixture you've got: if you've got the
packet, or can remember what you had so you can read it at the garden
centre, that'll tell you.

Once the ground's firmed round the roots, I personally would go for
about 3/4 inch to start with. But even that will scalp some patches
if there are any bumps left: don't worry much if this happens a bit,
as nature will usually sort it out. (Help nature along by scratching
in a bit of seed if necessary.) You may later on be able to lower the
blades to about 1/2 inch, but some varieties won't like this.

Too short can encourage moss to out-compete the grass in certain
conditions, because it doesn't leave enough leaf there to keep the
grass plant growing; too long means you won't get the nice dense
sward you're after. If it looks all right, you're doing the right
thing: there's a fair margin of error in most gardening. Encourage
density by mowing as often as you can bear to, though: at places like
Wembley Stadium it's about three times a day!

[you too xx. Oops!! that bit belongs to a messenger chat I've been
having with one of my daughters simultaneously!]

Mike.

In article , David Cleland
writes
How short should grass be - I think I am cutting mine too close to be
honest.

Interesting question. The height of lawn grass will decide the type of
lawn as others have already said in this thread. We are quite happy to
see a good sprinkling of lawn tolerant wild-flowers in our lawn, so we
keep it at a higher level than if we wanted a bigger proportion of
grass. It still develops some moss patches, mostly in spring and autumn.
We don't mind that because the lawn is moss free in summertime when the
lawn is in regular use for family leisure and relaxation.

What is vital IMHO, is that once a lawn style and a grass height has
been decided, it should be maintained with regular mowing. If lawn grass
is left untended too long, then a very deep cut is taken, the desired
aspect will be spoiled. The frequency of mowing will depend on several
factors, but the aim should be cut sooner rather than later.
--
Alan & Joan Gould - North Lincs.