Renovate or maybe start from scratch.

I am being cautiously optimistic because I believe the grass will spread and fill out the gaps when it starts maturing as it is only one seed one blade right now and only looks thin because it is young. Or as I said earlier reseed it next spring till it becomes a thick lush carpet.

I know cutting grass will encourage tillers and rhizomes but I am waiting for the rain to stop. Also I was giving the seed I added last week extra time to germinate. I don't want them to vacuum up the mower.

 

The grass has been cut. Does not look half bad. It only took me ten minutes to mow it compared to the colossal amount of time it used to take me because of thick weeds and grasses. Though there are weeds coming up in this new lawn too. I do not know what to do with them yet.

I cannot wait to see what it will look like by next spring. Goes to show with hard work and some care you can get a grass patch done yourself with seed and save yourself some money.

 

I do not know how the front garden is going to turn out as it has not rained for the past week. Germination has been real slow as the temperatures have dropped and I have to walk over to water the back end as the water wont reach all the way.

Now the grass has sprouted I do not know how I am going to water the back end without rain. hmm

Plus cats have been digging up and fowling all over the place. Plenty in the corners, now even decided to add insult to injury and leave one right in the middle. Do not know what to do about them.

 

Update.

 

So, should I be putting more seed down in these areas ?

 

Sorry I deserted you Mosamahab, I've been away for a couple of weeks.

There's no reason why you shouldn't dig some of the larger weeds out if they bother you with a trowel or something similar. If it leaves a large gap then sprinkle some grass seed there and cover with a little compost or soil. Or you can leave the whole lawn until next spring and treat it then.

Water the garden at the back first and work your way forward so that you are not walking on the wet parts. It won't hurt if you walk on the lawn as long as you treat it gently. Yes unfortunately germination is a lot slower at this time of year and grass seed will struggle to germinate at 12C and under.

Cats are a nuisance in this respect, I have the same problems! There is one thing that works but it doesn't appeal to many people. Human male urine used round the edge of the garden is a very good deterrent. Obviously the effects will eventually wear off and the process has to be repeated. I'll leave that with you to think on.......

I would in the area in the first picture as there is quite sparse cover there. If it was my lawn I'd leave the others until next spring and see how it looks then after a winter establishing.

 

You helped a lot, there is absolutely no need to say sorry.

I've started mowing the grass real high, 9cm. Hoping that the bigger grass will hide the weeds from the sun, help the grass spread better with deeper roots and bigger leaves = better photosynthesis.

I walked over the back and watered with the thinking that if some die, they die. I'll just put more seed down if they die. It has come up okay, slower than the back garden and a lot more patchy. But I'll seed more.

Cats have made the gardens their own personal loo. Seen foxes too as they tend to not cover up their foul presents and just leave it like a sore in the middle. I am thinking about getting those sonar sensor things pestbye it is called I think. Do not know if it will help thought, seems like nothing stops the feline menaces from their activities.

I'll post some pictures of what the gardens look like tomorrow. The patchy areas in the back garden are only where there is very little to no sunlight. The patchy areas in the front is where the rain did the damage. I have still quite a lot of seed leftover. Do not know what I am going to do with it.

But it is a good thing I bought extra as I eventually realised the seeding rate of 50 g/m2 is not enough. More like 70 g/m2. Even then germination rates can be as low as 80% of the certified seed. So in actuality it is 87.5 g/m2 that you should put down.

Oh also a reminder, October is almost here. You gonna do that write up ?

 

I don't think this will make a difference, the weeds will grow anyway. Weeds are better cut short as it weakens their growth and some will eventually die off. Weeds like dandelions are difficult as they put down a tap root and will grow back from any little bits left in the ground.

I don't think the sonar sensors will work. A Jack Russell would, or any terrier for that matter!

October. I hadn't forgotten about the write up, but.......

 

Yeah, I pulled out as many as I could with the roots gently. But most of them just snap leaves off and grow a new one. So maybe a selective weed killer will have to do next year. Right now I am just happy that it does not look like it did in the beginning. Full off weeds and all sorts of rubbish.

I do not like pets to be honest, I have no problems with animals I just do not like the responsibility. However, we do have a Chinese dwarf hamster in the house. But that is for my young brother to play with/learn from or whatever purpose it serves.

Yeah, the write up. Though there are plenty of threads on here that you should not have to do a write up. You can always ask a mod to sticky a topic with links to threads like mine and several others that I have seen for all sorts of lawn activities. Whether it is starting from scratch, repairing, or just general lawn maintenance. Then again there are several YouTube videos that can also be linked to that topic. And after all that if you still have questions then there are always helpful members there to give support.

 

Your lawn is a great improvement on what it was before. It's a shame that the weeds have to be dealt with but it's impossible when their seeds can lay dormant for years.

Dogs in particular are a big responsibility and you are wise not to tie yourself to one if you are not interested. I haven't had one for a number of years now and in two minds whether I will ever have another one.

I intended to have the write up made a sticky. When new members join they tend not to look at the existing threads and post anew, which means the same problems have to be answered over and again and it can be quite time consuming as lawns tend to need in depth answers.

 

Latest update.

The front garden looks okay from a far but it has come up very patchy. Some parts have no grass at all. I think the slugs have also been having a party on my baby grass as the blades look mowed/chewed.

Germination has slowed right down due to the temperatures I guess. Today I put the last of the seed down. If it grows it grows.

So that is it for now . I'll tackle the rest next year spring if it is still not established because it will be folly wasting seed waiting for germination in two weeks and doing more patchwork in mid October when it already is not growing well.

 

It is quite patchy, such a shame Mosamahab. If you have any, cover it over with clear plastic overnight to keep some warmth in the soil, it'll give the seed a better chance of germination.

 

Do not have any clear plastic. It will just have to do and hope nature takes some sympathy for the little seedlings. hah!

I planted the front lawn 3 weeks after the back one on the 30th evening. I pot tested the seed and they seem to have germinated on time and growing quite well. This would seem to indicate the the temperature is too low outside for germination. The back one turned out okay but the front has struggled.

I think the thing I have learnt from this experience is that mid august is better to plant seed. It grows better in august as it is wet and warm. Our autumn is not mild enough for seed sprouting and the irony is it is only September. The leaves have only just started falling.

The original plan was to see if everything goes well by the end of September and if there is patchwork to be done I can do that in October but I do not think the weather will make allowances for that. So I've decided this is it till spring.

I have quite a bit of seed leftover and I was wondering what is the best way to store it.

 

I mean if you look at the before and after pictures it looks a lot better but still not where I had expected it to be compared to the back garden. The first one was at 13 days and the second one is 11 days later which I took today, so 23 days in total from seeding.

 

Grass seed doesn't usually germinate below 12C so when it gets close to that temperature particularly overnight then it's going to be slow. The same goes for growth and perhaps after a cut the grass in your front garden may branch out and thicken up a bit.

I think you're right leaving it until spring now, it will still continue to grow albeit slowly and perhaps establish itself more during the winter.

Seed should be stored in a dry place but grass seed isn't always viable the following year so you may find that germination is hit and miss.

Have you mowed the front lawn yet?