How to get the grass greener

Hi

I have some brown bits on my lawn. What is the best thing to use to get the lawn greener than green? I have heard that lager is supposed to be good for it. Also, when is the best time to do the first cut of the year?

Thanks

 

a lawn fertilizer with a high nitogen content makes it green up ...

but its best to use a balanced lawn fertilizer ....

Scotts lawn builder has a NPK of 22-2.2-2.4
a bag that covers 400 sq meters costs approx £25 from places such as B&Q and homebase

if you want something stronger, try this (£60 but bear in mind that it is a 25kg bag):
http://www.bshamenity.com/product-detail.php?product=floranid_eagle

 

What are the "Brown Bits"? Dead moss? Dead weeds? or just poorly-looking grass?

If you have Weeds or Moss in the lawn you ought to treat that, otherwise just fertilize it. If the weeds are bad then use a combined "Weed and Feed" granular compound, all sorted in one application. If the weeds are only here & there it will be cheaper to fertilize first and then a couple of weeks ;later (when its nice and green and growing well) to use a special selective-weedkiller for lawns to kill off the weeds.

If you have moss then you need to treat that. You can get moss killer, which is effective, but moss tends to imply that the lawn is compacted, so the solution will normally also include aerating the lawn to improve drainage.

If you have lots of matted grass ("Thatch") then you need to "scarify" to get rid of that (raking hard will do it, if its a small area and you are fit - or want to be! Cheaper than gym membership!)

"I have heard that lager is supposed to be good for it"

Yeah, and you should bury a dead cat under and all sorts of other tall-tales ...

"Also, when is the best time to do the first cut of the year?"

There is no "first-cut", keep cutting it during the winter if it gets a bit long, and the weather is not too cold. Never cut more than 1/3rd of the height of the grass off - so if your lawn ever gets shaggy its 'coz you ain't cutting it often enough

 

I read:

'greener than green' ...

most of my new clients always ask the very same question ... this is important to many people, and even if there are weeds/problems, if the grass is green it looks fairly decent irrespective

so what I normally do is first green it up fast, then mow it to the correct height ....

only then, do I tend to the other issues such as aerating/scarifying and sorting weeds, the diseases/brown spots

so, its a different approach but one that keeps people happy (and works)

 

The Lager sounds like a good idea.
Follow Dim's idea regarding Feeding - and sit down with the Lager to wait for the results.
You may need more than 1 can though!

 

From the way I read the title my first suggestion would have been "get on the other side of the fence"

 

You should drink the lager first and enjoy it and THEN put it on the lawn as it comes out the other end. If nothing else you will enjoy the lager.

 

better than "nothing else" as it will contain Nitrogen

 

The end product of Lager, is Nitrogen which will turn your grass green

Dogs and Cats do not follow this scientific rule

Jack McHammocklashing

 

I have always thought that you cannot cut the grass when it is wet/damp as it doesn't cut properly and can damage and "chew" it up.

Are you telling me this is not the case and you can cut it when it is damp/wet??????

 

I try not to because it all sticks to the mower and the shoot to the collecting bag, so tends to "block" more. But it won;t hurt the grass (but best not to cutr the grass when frost is forecast, as the newly cut tips may get "burnt" by the frost which will make the lawn look a bit brown - but the grass will recover from that)