Filled in pond but grass keeps dying

Hello

When we first moved in there was a pond 5m x 2m and about 80cm deep. This had been part filled in with rocks and rubble with a tiny bit of soil on top.

We then added about 15-30cm more soil to bring it level with the rest of the garden.

The past two years its been extremely patchy grass. So this year we rotovated the whole garden as there were bumps all over the garden anyway. Sowed grass seed which took everywhere really well.

However, the area the pond was went from being green grass to dead grass. Its as if we have chucked a load of weed killer on it. You can wipe the grass with your hands and it just flicks up like dead grass trimmings.

Obviously we saw it beginning to die so I went and bought some lawn fertiliser and tried that. Which worked wonders around the area where the dead grass is but did nothing for the dead grass area.

We water the lawn every other night for 15 minutes with the sprinkler as the temp is about 26 degrees and we haven't had rain in weeks.

I've even tried when watering to leave it somewhat soggy, as I thought maybe the soil is draining too quick with the rubble underneath

Does anyone have any advice what to do with this patch of garden?

I am getting tempted to put the pond back in and be done with it or have a random bit of patio in the garden (which will look odd I think) as we have a large patio near the house.

Any advice or thoughts would be great please.

 

@Chantelle I'd think about removing the grass and replanting as a Mediterranean garden, with thymes, lavender, cistus, spring bulbs etc. See here for thread on these Mediterranean / Dry gardening
If you were to put a membrane down and plant through that and then mulch with gravel.
Presume you are lucky enough to reside in an area with no hosepipe ban.

 

Hi,

Sounds rather odd that despite your watering the grass is dying off.

Could there have been something in the soil you used ?

Would be tempted to try two things first, cut out some good grass from a far edge of the lawn, say about 1ft square and plant it in the middle of your old pond area and see if that grows ok over the next few weeks.
You could also get a packet of something fast growing like Radish seeds, any variety and sow them in the pond soil and see if they germiate and start growing ok which should indicate the soil is ok.

Might also be worthwhile doing some ph tests ( the liquid types are said to be better than the push in rod ones) and test the good area of your lawn and then your pond area at both the surface and then the deepest part of the soil, wonder if you used a lot of building rubbble with a lot of lime thats now coming up into the soil ?

Generally using a fertiliser on a newly seeded lawn is not recommended for a good few months as it risks burning the tender shoots.

With filling in such a big area you will get quiet a bit of settlement and dipping over the next year or so that will need some top dressings etc to keep the whole lawn looking even.

 

Has anyone seen those aerial photos taken during very dry conditions, they actually show up differences in soil types and foundations of buildings from hundreds of years ago.
I think filling an old pond with rubble and then putting top soil on top is always going to show up during dry times.

 

Maybe the liner or pond membrane was left in situ and the rocks and soil were chucked over it. Quick bad infill. .?

 

How mature was the grass when you added fertiliser? Many fertilisers will damage young grass.

Leaving the area 'somewhat soggy' would also not be beneficial, especially if the grass is young and hasn't developed a good root system yet.

Was the pond liner removed/punctured before it was filled in? What sort of soil did you put over the top? I'm wondering if it's either waterlogged because under the soil, the water is not draining because the liner is intact. This would prevent the proper movement of air in the soil (yes, soil has air in it, when you water, the water sinks down, creating a vacuum, which sucks air in. Beneficial soil microorganisms need this to happen or the soil become anaerobic).

There's also potential for the opposite problem. If the pond does drain freely, and it is mostly filled with rubble with soil on top, there's a chance there are significant cavities between the large lumps of rubble that any water you put on just drains away too fast, leaving the surface soil prone to drying rapidly through a combination of drainage and evaporation.