lawn care

last year i re turfed my back lawn but for some reason its like straw after i cut it i did lay it on top of a bed of sand but only about 1 inc if that just to level it of. I did My daughters at the same time but with top soil and both lawns look like straw.Is there anything we can do to inprove the look this year?Is there anywhere i can post a photo to show you what its like? any info would be great

gary

 

Hi Gary,

If you look in the Members Gallery section, you'll see how to post pics. I wouldn't advise laying turf on a bed of sand, but if you used topspoil on your daughters lawn and hers is the same, the sand probably isn't the problem.

When you say straw, do you mean straw coloured, or that it is very dry? It may be that it is just very dry, particuarly if you have a dry wind, but I'm wondering if it might also be a disease called Red Thread, which gives the grass a straw like colour. If you can see pinkish fungal mycellium in the mornings, that's a very good indicator. If it is Red Thread, you only need an application of fertiliser to take care of it, because it is generally a sign of low nutrient content within the soil

 

My back lawn test

 

Well that did not work try again

 

It's a bit hard to tell from that photo - I don't suppose you have any close ups do you?

This is a picture of the Red Thread that I mentioned - not all of it would look that pink, but it might help.

Other than that I guess it might be just generally hungry, or dry (it's hard to tell from a photo, but if it's hard to push a fork in, that's a sign that the soil is dry).

I have seen problems with new turf before where it just doesn't seem to take very well. At the worst, you could always contact your turf supplier, as they would be aware of any problems in their own turf.

 

Thanks Will

No been out and had a look seems fine to me did try fork in it and was not to hard but the other thing that i notice is where a cat has done its business it kills the lawn but the surrounding area say 5inc right round it seems to grown at a better pace than the rest of the lawn and its always nice and green why is that?

 

Well, urine contains a high percentage of ammonia, which in low concentrations is a good fertiliser, but in high concentrations will scorch vegetation. What's happening there is that where the cat has done its business, the concentration is so high that it has scorched the turf, but further out, where the concentration is lower, it is acting as a good fertiliser and helping the grass to grow.

Foxes seem to be the worst, but I guess it works for cats as well

 

So can you buy liquid fertiliser with ammonia in ?
maybe thats what this lawn need to kick start it

 

Will, it works with dogs aswell

 

Well you'd be better off going for an evenly balanced fertiliser - all you are getting from ammonia is a readily available source of Nitrate. The green areas around the dead patches may look healthy, but over feeding causes lush, sappy growth which is susceptible to other diseases - on top of which you'd be mowing 4 times a week

You can buy good liqiud fertilisers, but if you don't have a sprayer to apply them with, you'd be better with a granular.

Yes, exactly the same - apparently you can reduce the effect by adding a spoonful of tomato juice into their food, but I've never tried it. I'd give a tenner to anyone that managed to do the same to a fox or a cat though :D

 

Thats great I will buy some tommorrow is there a brand you would suggest I buy?

 

No particular brand Gary, any balanced lawn feed will do - you need to make sure that it's a summer feed and not an autumn one, but if you go to a garden centre, that's probably all they have in stock at the minute anyway.

Sorry for the late reply - only just noticed

 

Ok Will thanks for all your help