Lawns

I did say 'if we're lucky' Tim. I've got similar weather to you here and I don't think it's going to improve either. Today the island has fog, rain and 13C.....that's not summer!Book the good weather for me please, I'm in Scotland in September!

I'm sorry, but the seed isn't buried, it's lightly covered with some compost or topsoil which I believe aids germination and in most cases if it isn't covered then birds will thieve it before it has a chance to get that far. Many seeds as all gardeners will tell you are started off in pots and...

I heard of using plastic bottles as well,but filling them with water and laying them on the garden.Never tried it myself but I've was told that the birds and cats see their images in the water and it scares them off.

Merit will obtain better results if you do suffer from either chafer or leather jackets but it's a chemical and should only be used if you do have a history or are suffering the side effects of the above. I very rarely use it but I've seen a well known company use it where it's not needed. A...

How big is the hole across, I know the talk is of drainage, my first thought was rotary clothes line.

Okay thanks again, that's great. I think I now have a better understanding of how things work and what's involved. The weather's starting to become miserable and it's off to work I go for this week, so hopefully we'll see what lies beneath before the next weekend starts where I can start making...

There's every possibility that the same grass is in your neighbours lawn and the runners are coming through to yours. It wont help that she puts her mowings against the fence, any seeds will blow through and I don't think you'll be able to stop that.If you decide to kill the lawn a systemic...

While all fertilisers have a shelf life the yellowing is a sign of a problem developing. Last 2 years has seen a great deal of red thread for example, did you have signs of this in previous years? Was there patches of increased growth which left the yellowing spots sticking out?

Ive not got round to using my riddle yet but thought i would see how good the soil was by planting some of the seed in a tray full of the soil i have been working on, very pleased with how fast it has grown. This is a photo i took 10 days after sowing the seeds

Adam I sometimes have this when I haven't been able to cut my grass for several weeks if the weather has been damp and I think your long pieces of grass like mine are actually grass that has gone to seed especially if the plant has been stressed due to hot weather.Most utility lawns are made up...

August 2014? That would suggest it's 10 months out of date. If this is the case then it's unlikely to germinate.Your lawn looks quite long Passport1 I suggest you give it a cut, it won't hurt for the mower to run over the bare patches until the new grass comes through. Sadly it does look...

Thanks for the info John.

Thank you @ Mr Green. I'm beginning to think I should invest in some astro turf! There is no way I could trim back the branches. This tree is massive being well over 100 years old. The power company had to bring in professional tree surgeons to lop bits off it a few years ago. They wanted to...

Hi GYO, The gardening bit scares me to death, but as for your lawn, here's my take on it, you have two choices, it would appear your garden slopes slightly down to the bottom where the clay is and it's going to be a nightmare to do anything worth while with that part of your lawn, so here's what...

Hi Matt, From what you said I would say that most of the nutrients in the soil have washed away so I would fertilize just before rain to wash it in and get it activated, then your lawn should look a lot better. Mr Green

Enjoy your weekend!

Thanks for thatI'll look into aerator and, hopefully, the sun will show itself at some point :-)

Some great advice here @fa1con - I have the option of using the tines or the blades on my scarifier; my lawn is in poor shape too (been neglected for goodness knows how many years before I got here), and feels very hard underfoot, so I am reckoning that I need to use the blades to get things...

Thanks guys - yeah, will keep on with the watering and hope it come through in the end, just wasnt sure how to long before giving it up as a not going to happen.

Yes I can see it now, if it bothers you too much you could dig out those areas and re-turf or lay grass seed, but the grass seed would be a different type and possibly wouldn't blend in.I can't see any weeds or moss in the lawn but if you have patches then you could treat those with a separate...