New Lawn! Need advice please asap!

Hi, Quick bit of info straight off ive got no experience with gardening more of a hired muscle type of gardener shovels and laying slabs no probs but growing new lawns, no chance. So here goes, my garden apx 40 msq was over run with moss so after attempts to fix it the whole garden was turned over and the moss binned, was left with a mud pile which was turned with a rototiller de weeded/stoned and left for a few days to relax, me that was not the mud. The mud was racked to a depth of apx 4 inches, evergreen multi-purpose seed went down which was racked in then flattened, its been watered as instructed and had no results for 7 days then in last 2 days its went crazy and growing quick but its patchy the bald spots have smaller shoots but some have none!! is this normal? should i just bide my time? should i treat or do repairs at this early stage?? Bottom line i could of told u the last part right at the start but thought u would need the background and its my first post so hello and best wishes to all who have the heart to read this. May the sun always shine on ur bald bits.
Nuttz.

 

i have never done a lawn from seed but i would suggest if you have big bare patches then they should be re seeded asap. the obvious problem for you atm is lack of rain so you will have to water loads

good luck and welcome to the forum!


loopy

 

Exactly as Loopy says, seed as soon as you can.

Technically now is not the best time to be seeding or over seeding but as long as you pay attention to moisture retention you won't go far wrong.

Soak the bare and patchy areas first. Then soak them again. Mix seed and water retaining granules with some good topsoil. Scatter the mix evenly over the areas. Give the areas a good watering whenever required and it won't be long before the patches will be history. Keep an eye on these areas for weeds prior to the grass establishing. Remove any that take hold.

Bear in mind that more moisture disappears on hot windy days than just hot days and check accordingly. If your lawn is a sun trap with a lot of breeze you can also throw some grass cuttings over the seeded areas to act as a mild water retaining mulch.

 

Sorry should of said im in not so sunny Glasgow we have had our fair share of rain and ive paid close attention to the moisture levels, someone said to me today it could be down to an uneven spread of the seed which i didnt fully agree with as once the seed was down, by hand. it was racked in evenly as per instructions. I know that low water levels are an issue with new lawns but ive really kept on top of it. Ive attached a picture if the advice is still re seed i will just wanted to check first. Cheers.

 

There's a "technical agricultural explanation" for one of the reasons why you can get bare patches or poor density of grass from seed sown.

"One for the rook,
One for the crow,
One to rot
And one to grow."

Mostly, it'll be, sparrows, blackbirds and pigeons in urban areas.

 

Ha ha! A picture speaks a thousand words!

Do nothing but wait. That grass is coming and if you're happy it was evenly raked then just sit back and let it come. If you see it everyday you can easily lose track of progress so take a photo one week from the date the above photo was taken and compare the two. If using the comparison you can identify any slow/non seeded areas then consider reseeding. If not just wait!