Fertiliser burn patches....

Hi All

After having nurtured the lawn for several weeks since scarifying/raking/overseeding/watering - I applied some Spring & Summer 14-5-10 granular fertiliser on Monday evening, which has burnt patches across the lawn. Some are where I have spread it too thickly and a couple of patches where I foolishly spilt granules when over filling the spreader.

I'm so annoyed with myself - the lawn has gone from pretty much outstanding to looking rough and as if I've had a litter of puppies using it all week.

So onto fixing the mess - am I right in thinking I need to rake up the burnt dry areas and to remove the top layer of the soil, then replace with new top, seed and top dressing. Or do I have some alternatives, or will I be lucky and the lush green return to the grass?

I have assumed that the grass has been killed - is this correct or could the roots still be alive and it's just the blades of grass that have discoloured only?

Many thanks in advance, Spider

 

I know how much you have nurtured your lawn Spider and to have this happen is a nightmare!

There is a possibility that the damage is only on the top growth. Have you tried drenching the burnt areas with water over a week or so to flush any chemicals through the soil? If this doesn't promote any new growth within two to three weeks then I'd consider it dead.

I wouldn't bother raking the area but dig out the dead spots down to four or five inches and then replace the soil and re-seed. Don't feed the new grass this year but keep it watered until it's established. Grass roots only grow to a depth of four to five inches so removing the soil this deep will take away the risk of any chemicals left in the ground damaging the new grass.

 

I feel for you, I did the same on a 9 month old seeded lawn, it took me a month to get it back into shape, I just gently loosened the soil were the problems was (about 18 patches) and reseeded with a low nutrient compost, looks great again now.

 

Thank you Sheal and Martin - so far I have drenched the lawn to try to dilute the effects, I suppose being 6 days since the fertiliser went down it is too early to see any recovery yet.

I am going to order more seed though so next weekend will dig out the areas as you recommend and top soil, seed, dress - and will probably overseed the whole lawn for good measure...

We live and learn by these experiences though....

p.s. Martin your lawn looks spectacular! Are you sure this isn't photo-shopped it looks that good..

p.p.s on a recent Gardeners World, there was a feature on lawn care where a retired gentleman had the most amazing lawn, and Martin your's isn't too different from his!