Scarifying and patch magic.

Excellent hoofy

Seed sown now without top dressing will still produce a decent lawn next spring.

Actually more important than top dressing, cheaper too, is to raise the cutting height ....I think you will be surprised how good the grass looks when it is a little longer

 

I might still do the top dressing, depends if I have the time to go and get a ton after I finish work on Friday. I've decided if I'm going to do it, I'm going to do it properly with the right quality soil. The lawn is pretty flat apart from a dip at the bottom, near the flower bed.

One other job I'm going to do first is aerate the lawn.

 

Sounds ideal hoofy

 

Wee bit hard but it’s done.
Seed needs good contact with soil and seeds can be placed under soil. The larger the seed the deeper they can be placed.
In the wild grass produces many seeds as the law of averages dictate only a percentage survive, when we prep an area germination levels increase as we provide the perfect growing area.
To gain the best results you need dress and seed and then it’s all down to if the weather keeps damp and warm for a few weeks.
As for aerating, I only do this if there’s compaction. I know it’s a spin of from sports turf management and many companies do it as it’s a good earner but a golf, cricket or football pitch is completely different to a home owners lawn. It’s also another mechanical process that requires time for the lawn to recover.
Scarifying is more than enough for most domestic lawns along with some basic lawn feeds that match the lawn.

 

OK, I'll skip the aeration. The plan is now to top dress and seed on Saturday when the forecast says dry. Then heavy rain for Sunday and fine with no rain for around 5 days starting Monday.

Am I right thinking seed goes on top of dressing? Do I just leave it or should I roller it in with my mower? Should I water on Saturday or will the rain on Sunday do the job? Will I need to water next week with no rain in the forecast, assuming heavy rain on Sunday?

 

Seed need good contact with soil, if the dressing is thin it can be applied over seed but many will dress, seed then rake in the seed gently. It’s one of those questions that has various answers and all are correct and depend on the job. It’s just making sure the seed has good soil contact.
Some even grow grass in containers and plug but I prefer to add seed to soil as it’s normally ok.

If you roll and it’s wet you may find it makes a mess but again some simply rake and some lightly roll or use other forms to apply gentle pressure to make sure the seed is making good contact with the soil.
Seed needs to be kept damp, not water logged, and as our temps are now at a nice level dampness will hold so just insure it’s not allowed to completely dry out. It’s when it’s germinating and popping out that dryness will kill it off.

 

Well that was hard work, but job done.

Half way through.



And job done.



It looks a bit thick at this end, but that's not how it looks on the ground.

I used about 85% of a 1 ton grab bag over 80m2.

I seeded over the top with my drop spreader but found it very slow at dispersing the seeds, which was probably a good thing because I ended up walking up, down and around the lawn time and time again which hopefully pushed the seeds into the dressing.

I gave it a light water when I'd finished and that's it. Took me about 4 hours and it was pretty hard work.

The weather forecast has changed in the last few days so now there's no rain forecast for a week. Temperatures are good though.

I'm thinking of giving it a light water every couple of days. That will mean I do have to walk on it to get to the places unreachable by hosing from the path. Good idea/bad idea?

 

It’s lashing down here, weather shows a dry but cooler week ahead, just keep an eye on it and water when needed if it looks like it could dry out.
Let’s see what happens in about 7 days.

 

I've revised my watering
schedule to 2 or 3 times a day. I gave it a very light water at 6.30 this morning but it's been sunny and windy here, so the top had dried out, so I just gave it another surface wetting and I'm planning on doing it again this evening.

I'm having to walk on it to reach with the hose and I'm assuming that will be ok until it starts to germinate, but what then if it doesn't rain? Should I get a sprinkler? And if so, which one would cover that area from one position?

 

There’s loads of sprinklers out there.
I got this one for my better half when Amazon stocked them.
Gardena ZoomMaxx Oscillating Sprinkler on Weighted Sled Base: Amazon.co.uk: Garden & Outdoors

It’s best to keep off if possible.

 

7 days today and nothing as yet. I've given it a light water every morning and evening and managed to stay off walking on it.

I know the seed is good because I put some in a pot in my kitchen and that took 4 days to sprout.

We have had some pretty cold nights though. Temps down to about 5.

 

Yep, it’s been chilly here. It’s always weather dependant when you seed. Some grass types can germinate at 5 while other need a higher temp but a good average is 10.
I seeded some spots on my better half’s lawn last week and they are just showing.

 

I think I have germination.

I've been going round to look every day and getting very despondent but tonight I ran the palm of my hand an inch above the seeds and I could feel bristles on my palm.

I can't think that could be anything other than new shoots of grass. The patches I tried were the totally bare patches, so just top dressing with seeds on.

 

Just been to check again this morning with a torch and a magnifying glass but I didn't need them, I can see clear enough that it's up and growing. I'm so relieved, I figured if it didn't grow I wouldn't get another chance before the spring and even then, it's much better to seed in the autumn.

I've ordered a brand new blade for my mower, so sharp as can be for the first cut.

 

So bearing in mind that I put a weed and feed down in the last week of August, should I be thinking of putting an autumn feed down and if so, when should I put it down?