Starting lawn from scratch

that’s due to most of the work and samples they do are for the sports industry where the ground is properly looked after. It’s pretty rare for home owners to have soil samples tested.

Progreen are trying to get your ph level to where the plant will be able to take in nutrients. If say you don’t apply lime you would have to add supplements to act against the low levels.
By creating a better platform treatments will be easier in the long run but if the ph levels drop again then the fun starts as lime burns so it must be done in cool conditions.

Having the ph levels correct also helps against diseases as does potassium, Fe, magnesium, not using high N feeds and so on. These are quite hard to manage unlike the height of a cut for example where we can control that easier. It’s why I very rarely apply high N to lawns as it does more harm than good.

Getting the ph right is great, let’s say you went crazy and raised the ph level way too much then you will start to suffer from chlorosis or some know it as iron chlorosis. Above a ph level of 7 iron changes it’s form and chlorosis can develop. A typical example would be a plant struggling to keep its green appearance even when iron is applied. Chlorosis also shows up when magnesium is low.

this is where sand creates issues and relates to your CEC reading. Sand when it’s built up is often low in magnesium so golf courses for example will monitor that. If your CEC is low then adding sand will lower it more thus creating issues.

This is why adding iron to green up grass may not always be the right action to take and why you see lawns with issues like diseases even though they have been treated with a feed.
Off course in your case you know what’s there but without that test it’s very hard to say why the plant is suffering so most treat the lawns and from there if the response is poor you look at what the treatment was then it gives a clue on what’s the next action to take.

 

It's starting to take shape. The last couple of days I've spent 3 hours in the evenings rotovating/tilling the area to a good depth. Proper horse work of a job. I've also run my 48" lawn lute over it to get it fairly flat so the next job is to put the lime and fertiliser on it then till it into the top couple of inches.

The lawn lute is a fantastic bit of kit. It really does a great job in double quick time.

 

Is there any rush to trod the area? I have six weeks or so to prepare before seeding, can I do it in stages as I go or will it get harder to trod if left any length of time?

 

I was just treading mine as i was seeding, then after i seeded, i went back over lightely with a rake

 

You didn't rotovate yours though mate, I've got 8 inches of fluffy soil under mine.


Been doing mine on and off all day, 75m2 in the baking sun. I can feel it giving way under my heals in certain places so I know i'm going to have to do it over and over if I want to make sure the jobs done right, and I haven't done all the work I've already done just to miss out a critical bit at the end.

 

Didnt rotavate a single bit……i killed all the top layer with glysophate, scarified it all off once dead, then soaked it thuroughly, added the topsoil, sand and compost. Levelled it all as good as possible by eye and then i seeded it, walking it in as i went….then i raked it, added more seed and then watered it all again…….then i didnt stand it for the next 2wks making sure it was kept well watered…..6wks on and you see where im at in my pictures above

 

I suppose it's "horses for courses" and you do as much or as little as you want depending on the desired end result. Mine gets cut once a month, bare spots get filled in with a mix of grass seed and compost after the surface has been loosened and then trodden down and watered. Minimal, but I don't want to play football, tennis, golf or bowls and nor do I want it to as a centerpiece to set off the borders.
To me the interest is in the plants growing in the beds and their continually changing patterns of colour and texture.

 

That's how I would do it if I ever did it again. Both of my lawns have now either been dug or rotovated by me so I know what's down there. Only really invasive work from now on will be aeration.

 

Mine might be the same 5 years from now. I'm fairly new to gardening and my likes and dislikes might change as I ease further in. My thoughts are do it properly now while I'm still young and fit enough to do it because if I leave it I might never get the chance again.

 

I suppose its all according what you want to call it….a lawn or a field. I want a lawn, so it gets cut twice a week to ensure thats what i got.

 

Nice early start this morning and it's all looking nearly ready to go. Just a waiting game now, hopefully a bit of rain end of next week to bring any weeds up and help settle it all down. I've trod it all twice and will probably do it again before I seed it.



My only regret/mistake is that I very carefully put the lime and fertiliser on right at the end of rotovating, all weighed out and applied in tidy 1m2 areas, but since then the soil has all been dragged backwards and forwards so I have no idea where all the amendments are. I'm worried some areas will have none and other areas have twice the amounts they should.

Should I put another 50g of fert down before seeding? More lime next year?

 

@hoofy From spreading fertiliser and seed on the vegetable plot and then raking it around I would think it has pretty much averaged out, you might have a little more here and a bit less there, but not enough to make a difference.

cor blimey: that would be an extra 16 hrs of pushing the lawn mower a month.

 

You need a mower that pulls you, then it becomes a pleasure.

 

Its not exactly hardwork is it, to be fair

 

Unfortunately although I can no longer cut the grass at trot I can still walk faster than most powered mowers and I don't think they would cope with the terrain. So for the moment I will be carrying on with the 40+ year old Mountfield Princess.