Look at the state of my lawn!! Advice needed

Hey lovelies,

I normally aerate, top dress and re-seed bald bits on my lawn every year, but last autumn I had a baby and it never got done. Compared to my neighbours, my grass looks terrible!

I have a tonne of worm casts, and the ground seems to be really bumpy and uneven (my neighbours have none btw) I'm wondering if this is due to my 2 x bunnies and their droppings - would that have an effect on the worms?

I've added some pics as I need advice on how to restore it to a lucious green state! Also I can't put any kind of chemicals on the grass because of my bunnies & cats.

Advice most gratefully appreciated!!!

 

Hmmmm. Your lawn looks a bit hungry and a bit neglected at the moment but nothing serious.

I assume you've given it at least one cut this year? I suggest now giving it a good raking. That will help to level any lumps, bumps and worm casts. The exercise is also great for the stomach muscles! I wouldn't worry about the worms which are essential to keeping the soil healthy. You could then give your lawn an early feed, maybe half strength, and see how it reacts. I know you don't want to use chemicals but your grass does need some food to perk it up - maybe something organic?

I think your rabbits may be cropping the grass too close and encouraging the growth of moss. I suggest moving their pen more often.

 

Thanks for your reply. No I haven't cut the grass yet this year. I've had my buns for about 3 yrs, and this has never happened before. They don't have a run - they have free run of the garden and so the grass munching should be even - but I know they can't munch that much grass, as I have to mow it every 2 weeks in the summer!

Do you think I should aerate it now, and topdress etc? Or is it too late/not needed?

I will give your suggestions a go Flinty.

In the meantime more advice welcome!

 

Aeratng can be done at most times of the year (unless there's a drought, in which case the ground is like concrete and you want to conserve moisture) so it's still OK to do it. I was aerating a soggy patch of my lawn only last weekend. Also top dressing is still OK and useful because the grass should be growing strongly at this time of the year. Mine is! But if your rabbits have the run of the garden, won't they scatter any top dressing you put down? And don't they eat all your other plants?!

 

They should be ok, they have passed their digging stage for now.

& yes they have eaten all my plants :( (see my other thread in General for pot protection ideas!)

 

A good feed to get it growing and then a good rake/scarify, but I would wait until we have some rain as the ground (round here anyway) is very dry

Worm casts are a pain aand if squashed-in they form a nice bare bit of earth for the weeds to grow. Remove them before mowing. It could be that the rabbits produce to much organic matter and that encourages the worms.

I would also rake more often to discouragethe build up of worm casts and rabbit dropings - would be good for the compost heap.