Desperate help For my lawn

I've tried to get a decent pic of my soil it's very fine grain

 

buy bulk, not bags. It will be cheaper. I'm sure you'll have a supplier near you.

More often than not it is also because underneath the top soil there is rubble, especially with the new build houses.

Dig a little and see what you actually have for soil.

edit-That is indeed very sandy, also lots and lots of stones.

 

It's like this all the way down for at least 2 ft.... I dug my porch foundations in about an hour
600 deep 450 wide
And it was 1m long 1.8 wide from old wall...it's was extremely easy to dig it was like sculpting with wet sand

It is rather stoney though...big and small

 

I am looking at bulk buying top soil seems to be around the £70 a bulk bag (750/850kg)

 

Yeah it will be something around that price.. 60-70.

I think manure may also help. You basically need organic matter in your soil if you want a lawn.

I would rake the stones up as much as I could and add organic matter and rotovate the soil.

It will also help if you add organic fertiliser to enhance the soil nutrients.

Only you can decided the cost/benefit of what you want to do with your backyard.

 

You need to weigh up what you want. While it's nice to have turf your dog and children will just keep damaging the turf in an area that size and you will be back to square one.
So say you have it turfed, the dog soon sets about digging again if not supervised plus peeing and you have wear from the children and you have a poor lawn after a short period. Do you relay again, then again, then again after each failed attempt.
If you where asking me as a customer I would not recommend turf as its just money wasted.
Your biggest issue is the size of the area as the damage is concentrated.

 

The kids and the dog didn't do the damage to the grass...it was dying before that...

There is something going on....I think it's the ground and poor grass that was laid...and the fact that no top soil was put down

So if not grass then what to put in its place

 

As lovely as lawn is for that small of a space think artificial grass is the way to go.. and you can get it much cheaper than 1k, parents in laws just done over a concrete yard that's about the same size for around 600 quid, drainage mats and sand included.. the "grass" is lovely, thick and is really soft to lie on

 

But with regret if artificial was laid and the dog dug at it or chewed it..he is only 8 months old...it wouldnt be covered by the 10 year warranty


And I've just finished paying for my new lawn mower ...lol

 

oh no's :( ...hmm lots of organic matter and dog walking for the next few months/year?

 

He's a husky /German Shepard cross...he has loads of walks....

I just can't work out why it's gone like it has....and this is before the dog arrived...

 

What's bark chippings like for pets?

 

Bark breaks down over time, fine for borders but not a play area. You can get play bark which is rubber instead but if you have any type of leaf drop it's hard to clear that up.
Sand holds no nutrients for the turf type you had. Poor root development, along with environment factors is why it died back.
Ive seen a fair few artificial lawns with pets including some used by breeders and dog walkers and none have had damage done by the dogs chewing away.
It's very simple, you supervise the dog to start with and deter him from bad habits as you do.

 

Had a few people round to quote on garden work....

One was perplexed by my soil..."it's very sandy" ....."but it doesn't drain like it should"
One said it was purely the turf
However they all said dig it up, top soil new turf.....

I've also had some rough online quotes..and one company said to remove a good 6" of soil and replace with a heavy set clay soil which will hold water/nutrients much better

Which I like the sound of...

What are your thoughts ?

 

He has only dug mud..he never has ever dug lawn....and he's dug where I made digging holes so I could test how quickly water drained away...