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Lawn help .......

winger

By Winger

Lancashire, United Kingdom Gb

Arrggghhh Have just cleaned up the garden and got carried away . Now left with gapping holes in beds up to the lawn. The lawn is now a boggy mess. Is it too late to lay new lawn?




Answers

 

any times good for laying a lawn.now is realy good as no one is realy going to run about all over it

24 Nov, 2008

 

I say no, even though one local T.V. garden expert said yeah to go. So did another garden editor for a local newspaper. I say no, once again.

First a boggy lawn is not going to be receptive to grass seed.
The weather is too cold for good germination for most grass varieties.
Oct would have been good. Depends on your weather climate situation. Cold wet Novembers and Decembers are not ideal time for seed germination.
Soil temperature is a factor.

When you say your lawn is boggy. Perhaps you might consider an aerator and run that over it first. Sprinkle sand and rake it in.
Now is not a bad time to apply a winter fertilizer, one with low N. and high potash and phosphorus. Trace minerals such as Manganese. A must is Sulpher. It will help disease resistance esp. amongst the festucas.

Grass species are particular. Bluegrass certainly won't germinate at this time of the year, so if it is in your mix, kiss of that part of your investment.
The courser ryegrasses will germinate anytime so will Pao annua, but is that the lawn you want.

Look for named cultivar dwf. Prennial Ryegrasses and a mix of tall and dwf. fescues. The latter will do better in more shady lawns. Creeping fescues also help repair lawns that have weak areas in them.

I would ask a reputable nurserperson about their advice ... and look at the ingredients on the package. Disregard the price. Sometimes the higher priced box may be the better bargain (just in cost) certainly in what they give you.
The better grasses, dwfs. and creeping festuca are smaller seeds that the coarse reg. Perennial Rye. So the lb. you buy of the bargain brand will cover say 200 ft. The lb. of the more expensive brand may cover 500 ft.

Not only is it a better lawn seed, it actually is CHEAPER!
This is one area you should do your own research on. Our own local stores carry over 15 brands of lawn seeds. One even includes ANNUAL RYE! Out of all these 15 brands I would only have purchased one! Sadly we are loosing our good nurserypersons in the States. It is all box stores! -- and box store buying of crap and having no-one competent or ethical enough to give you good advice.

26 Nov, 2008

 

i agree with sorting out the boggyness first thats common sense but as for now .well i cant see why not.bye nature grass is verry tough.part of its life cycle is to be eaten.todden on,burned not to mention the weather and other eliments.its not that cold ,quite mild i always rely on the old common sense myself

26 Nov, 2008

 

Can I answer you as Nosey?
Hi, Noseypotter

Natural grass is one thing, I agree with you, but what is in a farm or orchard is not the same stuff in a lawn. Some of the natural grasses, Rye, Bromegrass etc. are not suitable for lawns. Being In WA. State US. I cannot suggest what lawnseed varieties you should be looking for in the U.K.

My guess remains, a good mix of fextuca, both tall and dwarf and good cultivar dwf. Perennial Rye. If bluegrass works in your neck of the woods, definately wait untl late spring. Sowing it now would be throwing your money away.

26 Nov, 2008

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