General Lawn Maintenance Advice

Snorky85 · Apr 17, 2018

Ooh that looks lovely @Notty1975 I love the idea of the roundup in a hyperdermic needle! I've got a syringe so might be able to use that.

Mike Allen · Apr 18, 2018

Liz the pot said: ↑
Red thread is contagious so it can be spread but normally you will see patches of grass that fades in colour and if you look at the tips of the grass blade you will often see a red tip. Around here it’s the most common disease I see. Patches can increase in size leaving the lawn looking very sad.
Normally it’s when it’s wet and warm this tends to show and often if you have one disease there will be another.
It’s a pain to treat as it will return but the grass normally recovers which is good news and there are some types of grass that are more at risk to red thread.
I’m hoping when they seeded the lawn they top dressed it as well which was included in the price.
Did they take a ph level in several areas and remove a plug section to see what is under the turf?

Your lawn looks good for a starting point to the year and normally if it’s not too bad with moss I would scarify then treat the lawn with a fertiliser. A good spring/autumn feed with iron will kill of some of the moss and strengthen the turf. What you can’t do is remove all the moss when you scarify and it’s a common mistake that trying to remove the moss on multiple passes leaves the lawn looking poor and needing a seed.
If they took a plug they will have been able to check thatch levels and again when scarifying you don’t want to go crazy as you need some thatch remaining.

Did they aerate the lawn?

Your lawn is nice and open so the moss problem could be related to drainage as you mention the lawn holding water. While it’s nice to aerate it depends on the soil content as it’s pointlest if the sub level is the issue as that’s holding the water. Normally aerating is good for compact ground conditions and the process also removes a percentage of thatch but if the water is trapped under the top soil content then aerating will not solve the issue.

It can be hard to eliminate moss and there are different types but it’s possible to keep it at bay. The treatment of iron in a controlled way will deter moss as will dressing the lawn and improving the soil content.

I can’t say why you have moss as I can’t see first hand your lawn but very few companies will dive down to try and see what’s the issue by some of the methods mentioned above.
If you don’t have tools for maintaining your lawn it could be the case of finding another company or individual who can help. Some times you strike lucky and find them rather than a company that does the standard practice on each and every lawn.

I also notice you are in Bucks which is where I’m based.
Click to expand...

Red Thread, ' Laetisaria fuciformis' is a fungus. It can at times spoil the look of a lawn if it is a heavy attack. It rarely kills the grass completely, the latter usually recovers. Carbendazim is a good treatment.

Liz the pot · Apr 19, 2018

Mike Allen said: ↑
Red Thread, ' Laetisaria fuciformis' is a fungus. It can at times spoil the look of a lawn if it is a heavy attack. It rarely kills the grass completely, the latter usually recovers. Carbendazim is a good treatment.
Click to expand...

Was also good at worm cast control but it’s now banned Mike so can’t be used.
There are other products that can be used but the price for applications and repeat treatment is expensive and so not an option for most domestic properties.
1250m2 would cost if I was to apply one I use a nice £250 per treatment for a lawn that size and repeat treatment would be needed.
That’s way out of the scope for most people.

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General Lawn Maintenance Advice

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