help please - new lawn

We purchased a house back in 8 months....

Lawn has not been looked after for years and seems was used in past to grow vegetables.

Area is around 80 feet by 40 feet.

We are going to tidy up and remove the mess and then planning to grow grass.


Would you please suggest what should be the best way to achieve the best lawn:

Also any recommended lawn seeds?

Do I need to put any fertiliser firs and how to ensure birds stay away from seeds?

Thanks for all help

 

Lawnseed choice is determined by your proposed lawns use and its position first.
Will it be a fine lawn thats just for looking at or a lawn for a family that will be playing football on it.
Is it in full sun or partial shade etc.

 

Family lawn as I have kids so they will be playing there.

Full sun. No shade. South Facing.

Thanks

 

It sounds like you need a utility lawn seed mix.

You would be best to seed first and rake over the seed with loam, or if that's too expensive (it's definitely not cheap!), a good quality, screened topsoil should do the trick i.e. hide it from the birds. A thin layer should be sufficient.

I find the bigger the rake, the easier the job and use the rake upside down to spread the loam/soil over the seed otherwise you'll just end up with a patchy mess as the rake teeth will dig in and drag the seed away.

Once the grass is established it may grow very quickly for the first couple of years so a fertilizer may not be needed. Whichever way, you ideally shouldn't fertilize it for at least 6 weeks or so once it has set. The main thing is the keep it well watered for a few weeks, although Mother Nature seems to be taking care of that side of things at present.

 

Agree with Mowerman. Re birds eating the seed; it's generally not a problem but you could get the kids to make a scarecrow. It'll be fun and will make them feel useful.

 

@Redwing - Regrettably, I haven't got any kids to make a scarecrow and wondered where all the first box of seed dissapeared to after spreading late last summer. Looked out of the window early one morning and a pair of blackbirds were noncholently hopping around the garden pecking up the last of the seeds left, so the next box was buried under a layer of topsoil and it grew.

But then came along Mr & Mrs Leatherjacket and a brood of kids. I wish someone would invent a scarecrow for leatherjackets

 

You can buy a nematode treatment for leather jackets more permanent than a scarecrow but more expensive.

 

@NigelJ

I've been itching to buy some nematodes for months but finances have been dire over the winter and still are. Thankfully the garden isn't very big anyway so one bottle should be enough for a year.