When and what to re-seed my lawn with for next year.

Peeps

a Bit of History.

moved home in March this year and one of the first jobs i had was to take up the chips in the back garden and lay turf for the kids. Turf went down well and bedded in rather good. Now its winter and it looks really bad. Big bits of it are dead and the grass is gone. It think the cats have been at it. Now i know its a bit early, but i am planning to reseed it as soon as possible so it can grow in good for the summer.

i have googled when to do it but i am looking for some pointers from those who have maybe done this themselves.

Anything advice would be great

You may find the grass will grow back in the spring, Then you can just re-seed the bare bits. I think the recommended way is to rake the bare bits, scatter seed on it, then lightly cover it. You may need to protect it from birds though until the seeds have stated sprouting. It will take a while before it is good enough to use though. The other option is to by a little bit of turf and replace the worn bits, but the problem then is making sure it is level. It will give you a quicker result though.

preparation is all with a lawn

the dead grass under the top green stuff is called "thatch" and it's not great news.. it actually stops water getting down to the soil in some bad cases.. that's what "scarifying" is all about.. it's free.. it's just back braking work with a spring tined rake. You'll be shocked how much dead grass comes out... and it might look .. a bit bald after.

then there is aeration.. soil needs air in it and lawns get compacted. so you need to aerate them...

once again.. free with the use of you garden fork and REALLY hard work. Spiking a lawn with a fork is a KILLER job.. I find I spike it rapidly with my fork to a depth of an inch.. and every 3 feet I stand on the fork and push it in deeper.. then pull it out and go shallow for the next 3 feet.

once this is all done you might find it grows well with no additional seed

one thing i never done was spike the lawn. maybe i should have done it. Going to invest in some of those spikey boot thingys

i am hoping it does grow back, but i don't want to take the chance and i need to be proactive about it.

Any particular type off seed to use???

Quote:

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Originally Posted by deejayburnout

one thing i never done was spike the lawn. maybe i should have done it. Going to invest in some of those spikey boot thingys

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dont... just dont

It's along, comedic story involving me being stuck to my own lawn .. but they're not worthy

Firstly wait - seeding over winter is just putting out bird food ;)

When the rest of it starts growing in Spring then you can think about reseeding - there will be plenty of time before summer.

What kind of seed depends on what conditions you have and the reasons for it going patchy in the first place - if shady you can buy grass for that. If wearing away through animal/human use you can buy tougher grass for that too etc. Most seeding kits contain a mix - if there's not too large an area then patch repair kits work wonders - combination of seeds, mosskiller and fertiliser.

From my own bad experience - buy a seed type that you'll be able to get again later. I bought some obscure brand stuff on special offer, then had to reseed some bits later and the lawn looks very patchy due to different types of seed. Might end up redoing the whole thing this spring as a result.

Your soil is probably to cool now for sowing so, as others have said, wait until spring. Type of seed will depend on a number of things - how much use (people walking, playing on it, etc.), degree of shade from other plants and is the ground reasonably drained.

Aerating will certainly help at this time of year but it might be too late to remove underlying thatch.

When you re-seed mix plenty of seed with finely sieved soil. Usual rule on seed is a handful for the birds, a handful to fail and a handful to grow. Water the seed well/don't let it dry out. Finally let is grow well before cutting and then cut it gently - you don't want to tear it out of the ground.

Good luck

I had a similar problem I found that the birds took all of the seeds that I put down and because they grow slow and the existing grass starts to grow quickly in the springtime the seeds are sucked up with the lawnmower. I found the best method was to buy some new turf and cut out the bad / dead parts and replace it..... you can cut out any size and fit a new piece of turf in there. I used a 3 inch decorators scraper to cut the new turf to size.

Instant repair!!!!

Poundland do a box of grass seed for erm £1......not for exhibition lawns but good enough for the average lawn...well I'm happy using it.

Looks like I will be sending in the next few weeks. Ariate the lawn, lay some seed and cover with some soil. My cat should keep the birds away but what to do to stop my cat crapping on the grass.???

... A dog is not the a answer. Lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by deejayburnout

Looks like I will be sending in the next few weeks. Ariate the lawn, lay some seed and cover with some soil. My cat should keep the birds away but what to do to stop my cat crapping on the grass.???

... A dog is not the a answer. Lol

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Most things will start growing when the soil is about 6c plus, so no point in sowing if the weather is going to remain cold.

I agree. It's snowing for me just now. Going to airiate the lawn first anyway so might do that this week.

We often sow wild flower seeds in with the grass, gives us a nice surprise come the warmer weather :)

I have used Wolf lawn seed from my local lawn mower shop, you can get different mixtures and its always grown well for me. Sow it around mid March or early April with a covering of compost and keep it watered.

Alternatively, you can get those "patch" kits that are an all in one, just sprinkle it down and water in. I have not tried these myself as I have always been OK with just seed and a bit of compost.

Good lick, hope it sprouts nice and green for you.

Just stuck down some Evergreen 4-in-1 stuff on the lawn to start killing off the moss and weeds. Debating to fork out for a Lawnraker/Scarifyer or not. Probably just hire one from HSS in the end for a day and its done for the year. Or use the metal rake in the shed.

Now to wait for the black moss and bare patches in the lawn! Oh well, its a work in progress.

I like the flowers in the lawn thing. I'll feel guilty when the time comes to mow em down!

I have a few patchy bits I need to clear up, tried to rake it but the turf I did my lawn with has plastic mesh (I assume to keep it together) - Grrrr!!

Sowed a little a week ago, but it's probably been too cold recently so I might have to do it again as nothing looks to be even thinking about sprouting!