AskLawnsmith - Lawn care advice

I've over seeded my lawn after scarifying and have a few small bare patches. What should I do?

John, this is not unusual.

It is probable that either rain has washed the seed away or you still have some thatch left in these areas which is preventing the seed from rooting into the soil. Remedy by:

• Soaking the patches thoroughly
• Then densely prick the area with the garden fork about 1 to 2 cms deep
• Lightly sprinkle seed onto the area - 10 to 20 seeds per square inch
• Tread to firm
• Keep it lightly watered for the first month

If you are doing this at the back end of the year and the temperature gets low you may not get a result so be prepared to repeat the process in the spring.

Best of luck

Mrs Goode – this depends on whom you ask!

I’m not in favour because it can draw moisture away from the grass seed if things start getting dry; exactly the opposite of what you want. However, it can add valuable protection from damaging rain or perhaps birds. If you can keep the seeded area moist (enough water to stop it drying out) then the lightest covering (no more than ¼”) of peat or preferably a peat alternative would be fine. Straw is a good alternative but not hay as it contains a lot of weed seeds.

Richard  - Simple answer is pretty good!

It’s not so much that the grass is drought resistant but that it grows very deep roots. Deep roots means the grass taps into water much deeper down and in a typical summer can mean the difference between a green and a brown lawn. Unfortunately, there is a limit to how long it can keep going in dry weather but if you live in a dry county or have freely draining soil and don’t mind a slightly coarse lawn then you won’t be disappointed. See Lawnsmith ® STAYGREEN Lawn Grass Seed

Jonathan - There are perhaps five elements that affect seed price:

1/ The variety of grass; rye, bent, fescue etc. Not all cost the same.

2/ The cultivar.  This will give improved characteristics e.g. greener, drought tolerant, disease resistant etc. Look for STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute) rated seed.

3/ Purity is another determinant if you don’t want weed seeds in your grass seed. Look for the HVS Certification.

4/ The pricing structure of the retailer. You often see the same can of beans priced differently from one supermarket to the next.

5/ Packaging affects price – You can have fancy packaging or simple. My bags are strong but not very pretty polypropylene. The contents, however, are very good indeed! See Seed Advice.pdf

Hi Rachel

A very common problem particularly this year (2009) as it has been a very dry spring in many areas.

Assuming that it was not too cold (less than 8⁰C) the cause is the grass seed either not germinating or it has died after germinating. It can sometimes be hard to tell which it is. Your problem will have arisen for one of two reasons:

Not being watered sufficiently:

Grass seed needs moisture to germinate and then regular small quantities of water to grow. This means watering once or twice a day for the first month. Don't drown the area, all you have to do is stop it drying out. Unfortunately if the area is large and you have been relying on the April showers to do the watering then the dry spring will be the main cause of your problems.

In addition, if there is some thatch or moss left and the grass seed is not in contact with the soil it will be hard to keep damp enough to germinate and grow.

What to do....

Check the seed is in contact with the soil and consider whether or not you watered regularly enough. If there isn't any seed left or you think it germinated but died then add some more and look after it.

If the area is large and it is impossible to water I'm afraid you'll have to put up with a patchy lawn for a while. When things cool down towards the end of August you'll need to kill off any weeds and dig out any invading weed grasses. Re-scarify the area to expose the soil and over sow with grass seed again. If the area is dry let the rains soak the soil for awhile before seeding so that there is a reserve of water for the seedlings to tap into.

Hope that helps

Patrick – a very common situation

The answer is read the label on your weed killer. For Bayer Advanced give it 6 months before treating. For Verdone just 2 months is required.

Personally I’d treat around May for a lawn sown in autumn and I’d wait until August or September for a lawn sown in spring.

Hope this helps.

Jim – A tricky one this

Weed killer can seriously affect the germination of seeds so it’s going to depend on what you’ve used. If you’re renovating and  killing the whole lawn with a glyphosate product then you could in theory seed the next day though you’d get better germination of your new seed after the old grass has died and been scarified to clear the lawn surface.

If on the other hand you’re using a selective weed killer on your lawn it will depend on how thorough you’ve been and what you’ve used. As a general guide it would be best to leave it at least a month but if time is important leave it a day or two and go for it, the chances are a reasonable proportion will germinate.

My neighbour has spread Evergreen Complete 4 in 1 fertilizer on my lawn for me.  I have some bare patches: how soon can I sow new grass seed, please?  Thank you for your advice, which will be appreciated.

Hi Robert

If the bare patches are from the 4 in 1 then you may need to wait a few weeks before putting in seed. If not then go ahead straight away. If it is, don't let your neighbour use 4 in 1 again!

Hope that helps

Hello - found your lawn info very useful, especially watering - thanks.

Have recently (mid September) put down a new turf lawn which is all going fine except for a few areas (a few sq ft) that have not rooted. Some spare turf was laid provisionally over some gravel and that sent down roots about 3 in long over a couple of weeks!!

Any comments would be gratefully received.

Thanks and regards Patrick

Patrick

Though this is not uncommon the fact that turf laid on a gravel path seems to have faired OK does confuse the issue and without an inspection all I can do is give you the most common cause.

For localised poor rooting in 95% of instances it is caused by poor turf to soil contact. If the turf is not contacting the soil, perhaps due to a slight dip, then as roots are sent down they hit air then dry and shrivel. Alternatively there may be air pockets in the soil causing a very similar situation.

In addition, if by chance you live in the east or a part of the country that has been dry this year then even the slightest lack of water would exaggerate the problem. If you have had a dry summer then even if you have watered every day it still may not have been enough. Well firmed soil with no air pockets and good turf contact would more than likely not be too affected.

To remedy this, assuming the turf is still alive just requires you to tread up and down the affected patches to press the turf down and squeeze the air out of any air pockets. Soft soled shoes such as trainers will do and try not to twist or turn as you tread otherwise you'll move the turf. There is plenty of moisture around now so you shouldn't need to water.

Next time you come to turf you'll know to ensure good contact by treading and also adding a rooting fertiliser. These two treatments are rarely done but do ensure a much more successful result.

Hope that helps and thanks for your kind comments.