Repairing a lawn.

Those of you that have been reading my thread "I have started.....", will know that I have been making quite a few changes to my garden.

Problem is that with all the work going on, the grass has suffered a lot of foot traffic, heavy sleepers stacked on it, piles of materials left on it etc.

I am now getting to the point where there is not much heavy work to do and cannot help notice how much damage has been done and how many weeds there are.

I spoke to someone at the local garden centre and he says that autumn is a good time to sow a lawn or do repairs. We are getting a bit late, so I am wondering if it would be best to leave the lawn as it is, until the spring.

I have several smallish patches that need to be levelled out. I have some good topsoil that I can use and some netting to protect the seed from the birds and cats. One of the patches also has a hell of a lot of moss.

What would be my best course of action?

Chopper.

 

Where the lawn is OK, but has become compacted, then stick a fork in to make some drainage holes and just to loosen it a bit - you're not trying to actually dig the lawn though!

If the lawn is a bit bumpy you could spread some topsoil thinly and the grass will grow through. If you drag something over the topsoil, once spread - e.g. a ladder with some rope around the first/last rungs, with a few blocks on top if you need more weight - then dragging that North-South and East-West will level out the topsoil into the hollows.

The grass will grow through if the soil is not too thick, but normally you would "overseed" the soil too - the seed you put down is of known quality, and will help to ensure that good grass is in the majority :thumb: but I think its getting a late to be sowing grass seed - dunno how mild Somerset is though? Overseeding should be at a rate much less than for a new lawn (I forget the exact amount, but someone here will know or a quick Google will find the answer I am sure)

You can seed in the Spring, but the weeds are kicking off then too, so Autumn is my preference as the grass gets started when the weeds are shutting down for the winter, and so has a headstart the following Spring.

For a more major job then prepare the ground - rotavate or dig - firm back down (put your wellies on. First foot down, heel of other foot in the little curve of your instep, right up against your first foot - so sort of like a half-step - then move the first foot forward half a step with the heel in the curve of the other foot's instep - keep waddling :D across the plot like that, then move along a strip and come back the other way. Then rake a nice seedbed and sow the grass seed. My preference is to Autumn sow as described above.

 

Hadn't thought of turf. That a good idea. Probably best to avoid that too in frosty weather, but if you can get it prep'd soon / before the bad weather comes that would be a good answer. Bit more expensive than seed, but you won't be fighting the weeds next year, and grass seed isn't cheap, so might be six-of-one and half-a-dozen of the other anyway