Building a new lawn

It's still got a nice colour and no doubt the rain has knocked out the pre seed fert.
If you apply it this will green it up and add growth towards the root structure. Apply and water in but don't cut then apply straight away, leave it a few days after a cut.
Let the grass remain at a higher than normal cut and monitor it.
Once applied let it water in nicely, let the fert do its job before the next cut, say a week.
You should see the grass green up after about 7 days but you will still see odd growth rates.

 

How do I make it spread out more and throw new shoots?
Overall it's ok but it's not as thick as it should be in places.

 

2 things I can see. One I think you are cutting your lawn close. Looks like that from the pictures. So I may be wrong.

Secondly, Shade ? Mine looks like that in some places where there is shade. I bought plenty of seed to have some spare so I put more seed down in those patches. Though in hindsight I should have bought a shade mixture.

But I think it will look like that till it spreads out in a season or two. I think it takes at least one full season cycle for a lawn to fully mature.

 

The mower is on its highest setting.
Also it's not a shaded area. The only part that may have partial shade would be next to the fence where it's thriving.

 

I also have some thin areas like yours. I just put more seed down there. See img

I don't think a full assessment can be made of the fully bare patches till spring to be perfectly honest. That is why I am not getting too bothered about it yet.

If I remember correctly your seed mixture had Kentucky bluegrass, bentgrass and Red fescue in there. They are supposed to fill out over time. Ryegrass and chewings will grow in a bunch and wont spread.

 

So there's nothing I can do to speed up or encourage the process as I'm worried the weeds will take advantage of the bare patches

 

I don't know if you can. Maybe more experienced heads can advise you better.

As I said earlier I just put more seed down in the areas that looked bare. That seemed like the simplest solution to me. I also know grass will thicken up over time.

I am also prepared to live with the fact that the lawn cannot be completely weed free. Not yet anyway. Disadvantage of seeding compared to laying sod. A lot of patience is required. Letting the grass do its own thing.

I plan to visit the problem next spring/summer with a selective weed killer after the lawn has had time to establish itself. And overseed to cover any patches still leftover.

 

Just let the grass develop through Autumn and winter. Weeds are not a problem, they can be dealt with starting next spring. You may find its developed quite well by then.

 

Now's a perfect time to overseed.

Have you got two mowers Car Crash? A roller mower and a rotary four wheeled?

 

Yes I have two mowers.
Both are on highest settings right now

I will order some more seed as I've used it all now.

 

I always thought a newly seeded lawn looks thin till the next season and then only you can judge where it actually needs seeding. One seed equals one blade and over time with tillers and rhizomes it bunches out to thicken up.

Adding more seed only ads more competition for nutrients amongst grass.

 

A newly and evenly seeded lawn should be thick and lush with no gaps.

If there are large gaps at this stage they need filling in with grass, no point leaving bare when the time now is perfect to overseed.

You can put too much grass seed down but you have to really cover an area so it's smothered for it to be a problem. Car crash has come this far so he'll know how much to put down.

 

I always thought, seed 70 gm/m2 and it will come up nicely. Everything I have read says newly seeded lawn matures overtime and it wont be thick till the next season after winter dormancy, root establishment and further new growth during the spring.

So looking at the pictures on the previous page, would you over seed in those conditions. Because if that is the case I might over seed mine too.

 

I can't find a way to link an individual post but the second photo shows a much sparser area. I'd overseed any areas that are similar density to that. Get the grass up now so it's got more time to get it's roots down ready for spring.

 

Different grass types grow and spread at different rates. there are also different rates of coverage for grass seeds which are normally found on the packet or as a rough guide will be 35 grams per m2 or and again as a rough guide 25 grams per m2 for over seeding depending on seed used.
it is however dependant on the form of delivery so for example seed drilling would be 20g, spreader 35g and hand 45g for general landscape work on new areas but this is just a rough guide and depends on the prevailing site.
In the old days seed rates were much higher but with the new certified seeds and a general higher standard of production the older seed rates are no longer justified.
Applying too much seed often leads to failure caused by damping off disease which is why it's good practise to use the correct rate depending on conditions and weather.