Let's restore my lawn

Hi guys,

Been in this position before and kind of neglected the lawn for a good year or so. As you can see from the picture, I've worked pretty hard to get the grass cut but now is my turn to get this lawn PERFECT!

I have just purchased some verdone extra to put down when the weather dries up. I have lots of different grasses on my lawn however, I am guessing verdone won't get rid of the thick grasses (middle left of picture).

I hat can I do to get rid of these types and just have one main type of grass? It's a pain and I am going to spend all summer getting this right!

I also have an issue at the bottom of the garden beside the shed. You can see its all brown. That is mud. No grass grows there no matter how hard I try, so potentially going to put some gravel down there unless there are other suggestions?

Ideally if anyone could give me advice about the grass types and if anything other than verdone will help with the weeds and moss, that would be brilliant.

Thank you, have a good day




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Trigger, could we have a few close up shots of the grasses and problem areas please? It's difficult to tell with the picture above.

 

Hi Sheal,

I actually just took some so here they are...


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Those grasses are going to spread and it's unlikely that Verdone will kill them. I think you have a few choices here, none of which are easy, sorry!
1. Dig the bad patches of grass out and then re-seed or replace with turf.
2. Kill the grass with a glyphosate based, systemic weed killer like Round-Up and then re-seed. If you go with this option then be aware that glyphosate will kill just about anything it touches but neutralises on contact with soil.
3. Bearing in mind the rest of the lawn needs treatment as well, lay a new lawn.

If you intend to dig the bad patches out then it would be best to use a weed, feed and mosskiller on the rest of the lawn before laying seed or new turf. It would also be a good idea to go over the whole lawn with a garden fork to aerate it. Dig it in every foot or so and give it a wiggle to open the soil up.

The problem with the bare patch by the shed is either down to drainage or shade. If you have clay soil then I'd get some sand and gravel dug into the soil to open it up and help drainage. If the grass is dying because of shade, there is a grass seed available for shady areas.

 

Hi Sheal,

Thanks for the advice. I think I am going to dig them out and seed and cover with lawn dressing.

It's rent d accommodation but want it to start to become more of a garden because we will have kids buzzing around there in a couple of years. So need to prepare it now.

We have clay soil and it is on top of a bit of rubble as well so am thinking that digging the bottom out and filling with some gravel so it becomes a place to use, maybe have some bbq down there. At lest gives me a bit more area to not worry about.

Thinking about putting a border all the way down the left hand side as well and get some nice flowers in there...

Got to take shape, I have the landlords consent to make some changes if I want to as well


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When you dig out the bad grass take it beyond what you can see, this type of grass tends to put out runners so you need to get as much out as possible.

The border's a good idea and that will stretch down into that far corner beside your shed. You could solve your issues there by curving it out and round to meet the side of your shed. The bbq would have to go elsewhere of course.

 

As an update to this thread, here is the lawn after being mowed today. I cut up the bad patches of lawn backfilled with a bit of topsoil, topped with a compost and lawn dressing mix with seed mixed in too. It took quite well, but its pretty patchy.

Also, the grass that I originally cut out is coming back in evenb more places.

I am now thinking that I am going to wait until after the summer and kill the whole lawn. That will give me a chance to dig up the left border and lay the gravel at the bottom of the garden.

Here is a mockup of what it currently looks like and what i intend on it looking like once complete.

Whats the best killer for a lawn?

Another question - As you can see from the fence to the left, it has holes throughout the upright panels. My neighbour places her cut grass up against the fence and it blowes through and i get loads of it coming through. As I will soon have a border along that fence, what would be the best way to stop it coming through? I am thinking a raised border but at the same time,. I'd need quite a bit of extra topsoil for that....Any ideas?

 

There's every possibility that the same grass is in your neighbours lawn and the runners are coming through to yours. It wont help that she puts her mowings against the fence, any seeds will blow through and I don't think you'll be able to stop that.

If you decide to kill the lawn a systemic weed killer is what you need, something that contains glyphosate that will kill the roots. Don't use it on a windy day because of drift as it kills just about everything it touches.