lawn help clay

hello all just come across this site and im well chuffed,
anyway i live in stoke on trent and have heavy clay im on my 3rd lawn in 10 yrs due to extensions conservatorys ect been built ,
we layed new turf last may and its looking really pants this yr bald patches and what looks like bright orange blades of grass here and there ( not come across that before ),

well like i said im on heavy clay and due to the amount of rain just lately i have an area by my shed that is just c**p the grass is growing in small tufts and its a bare as i don't know what rest of the lawn is patchy too !

last yr about amonth after putting the turf down next doors left her hose pipe on and the area by the shed well i could of gone swimming in it my question is has she killed it by doing that ?

sorry this is abit long but im getting really stressed out that my lawn is'nt brill i have re-seeded it and the rain washed most of it under my shed ! i really don't want to re-turf but am in need of a genral quick fix and was looking at canada green has anyone used this is it as good as they advertise ?

i did put a good top soil down when i layed it

any help would be fab and if your still awake thanks for reading

a stressed out lisa who so wants a bowling green effect lawn !

[ 30. April 2006, 09:31 PM: Message edited by: michaelmasdaisy ]

 

Wall you got two choices - either continue as you are doing, weed, feed, and sow - and in time your lawn will be fine - or re turf. I would go for the former - a little aeration, a little top dressing and a little patience, and all will be fine.

Doubt your neighbours hose will have done any harm - the biggest problem with lawns on clay, is compaction. Aeration and dressing should resolve that.

AND just relax -

 

In case you don't know what to do about aeration, Lisa, it's usually done by using a border fork systematically across your lawn, pushing it right in with your foot, wiggling it a little and bringing it back out, so you've opened up the soil uner the grass. Some people say to raise the ground slightly when you do this too - up to you! There are things called "hollow-tine-aerators" - but in my experience they clog up badly and take much more time to use. Once you've done it, brush sand or top-dressing (which they sell in garden centres, and probably B+Q already mixed)into the holes. This will help your drainage. Good luck! :D

 

hi fran & dendrobium

thankyou for your replys i have been doing aeration the clay is that solid that its near impossible to get all the way down with the fork !

but after 2 cans of larger and reading on the internet that my grass will starve of air if submerged for to long i ran out and jumped like a nutter on the fork and managed to get it all the way in (nightmare trying to get it out !)

im off out in a bit and am 50/50 if to get some of that canada green and i better get some sand/top dressing as i have never used this before .

thanks again
lisa not so stressed oh and its raining here again !!!

 

I know the feeling about getting forks into clay in my previous garden. I found that "furkling" the fork will get it to penetrate - get your foot on the fork, but instead of driving it straight down wiggle it down - takes longer but works.

My late father didn't believe me when I told him that I had to wait for rain before I could change lawn into beds. I handed him the fork - and much enjoyed it, as he tried to throw the fork in - and it bounced straigh off the surface. :D

 

hi fran

funny enough thats how i managed to do it the other day i've got no chance just jumping on it i got no where apart from on my backside !

lisa

 

I agree with all that's been said here - the soil unde rmy lawn is almost pure clay and I have to 'furkle' the fork (funny word - not come across that before bu I knew immediately what it meant!!) in order to areate.

Grass is generally quite hardy, catwoman, and given a little TLC will regenerate. You should see the stresses my lawn has gone through in the past 5-6 years!!

Welcome aboard GC - hope you enjoy your excursions here!

[ 30. April 2006, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: michaelmasdaisy ]

 

hi michael

i think i will end up digging it all out in a couple of years ,
when we moved in the garden was about 4 foot lower we built it up with the clay we dug out for the extension and conservatory silly i know but it saved on skips at the time .
this is my 3rd lawn in 10 yrs and i really hoped this would be ok it is coming back at a snails pace but ! i hav'nt give up yet.

before i put this lawn down i wanted to put some hardcore and sand down to give better drainage and then put the top soil on top but the place i had the turf from said that i did'nt need to do that and the turf would die if i did so ..........
thinking they knew what they were on about and i did'nt i wish i had done it now ( drainage is crap )
but eh! practice makes purrrrrrrrfect i will prob get a bowling green 1 day and then move house and have to start all over again !!!!!

lisa

 

A really good tip here is to aerate the entire lawn, then go over the area with the following mixture:

Grass clippings
Compost
Sand/Silt mix

This will lighten the clay content of your soil, and and allow nutrients to get to your grass.

Hope this helps..