I won't beat about the bush: this is actually a job a really don't enjoy! To bring back a great lawn is back breaking and the amount of effort required to get a good result is totally out of proportion. I usually convince the client to get a specialist in but at a push (if the lawn is tiny and I really like the client), I may do the job myself.
With work at Mrs Privet back garden on hold due to forthcoming building works, she got very frustrated about the lack of progress. The front however is a different story. A lawn the size of a postage stamp, but more moss and weed than grass, it also features more holes than my colander. On top of that it is prone to flooding.
Back in September I applied moss and weed killer. The big guns were needed as the main weed is self heal (prunella vulgaris), a pretty but invasive weed. Actually, self heal is quite difficult to eradicate and often needs another treatment a few months later. At this point it is vital to inform the client that before things get better, they get an awful lot worse. The herbicides will turn moos and weeds black and a few weeks later, I scarified the lawn and with weeds and moss eliminated, not much green was left:
See what I mean? There was more green before but it was moss and weeds. After raking up all the dead matter, I applied a mixture of topsoil/compost/sharp sand and levelled the lawn with it. Burying the existing grass is no problem as long as the tips are still showing. The ground needs to be rolled or in the absence of a roller, you can use boards.
I then raked very lightly over the surface, and applied a suitable lawn seed mix, followed by a thin sprinkle of the top dressing mix and another light roll.
Don't be fooled by then large expanse of soil, the remaining grass is buried with just the tips showing and of course the lawn seed is waiting to germinate.
It is then up to the client to ensure daily irrigation if there is not sufficient rainfall. New grass should appear within two weeks.
The renovated lawn had a couple of cuts at the end of autumn (blades set high), and then had frost and snow. I don't spend much time at Mrs Privet in the winter, so I think my warning about keeping leaves off the lawn went a bit unheeded, still by the end of February, we have proper grass again.
The front lawn has had a thorough rake and its first cut off the year (blades still high) and lawn edges trimmed, too. There are a few gaps which will require overseeding; they are the result of leaves being left on the lawn over winter; as they decompose, they kill off the grass underneath.
I am hoping that the drainage is improved but we have had so little rainfall in the last 18 months, so it is hard to tell.
Verdict: much improved, but not perfect.
Wow, certainly looks so much better! Gratifying I'm sure, after all your hard work. We have a similar patch of lawn, in a shady area, that's almost completely moss now! I'd assumed after removal, that replacement sod was the way to go. But I have wondered if you end up with a healthier, and a more hardy lawn, with seed versus sod. What do you think?
ReplyDeleteDear Niniknows, I don't think that replacing the soil is the answer. Shade invariably leads to moss as does compaction. I would try a spring lawn treatment that combines moss killer with a feed product but bear in mind that this will need irrigation if there is no rain within a certain number of days. Once the moss is dead it needs raking up. This can be done by hand or with a powered lawn rake/scarifyer. You then need to aerate the lawn. This is best down professionally as the machinery used will take out a soil plug. This helps with getting air to the roots and will reduce soil compaction. You can then prepare a mixture of new topsoil/compost and sharp sand (not builders sand!!!) which is brushed into the holes. Follow by applying lawn seed. This should be a mixture suitable for a shady lawn. A good merchant will advise depending not only on the aspect of your lawn (shady vs sunny) but also on usage (utility vs ornamental). The lawn seed again needs watering and then a gentle mowing regime. Initially blades set very high and then gradually reduce.
ReplyDeleteIf you do go down the lawn replacement route and get new turf laid, make sure you get turf suitable for aspect/usage, the ground should be dug and levelled to perfection. New turf also needs watering for weeks to come to ensure the roots bind to the soil.
Done properly either method would work; I'm afraid neither is cheap and none is a quickfix.
Dear Bienchen,
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your detailed reply, very thoughtful of you! Reading your description of the work needed to do it properly, I agree whole heartedly that professional help is required! Or perhaps we can learn to embrace the moss! I do love moss in the right place, just not where it currently is. The challenge is that this once sunny area now enjoys the lovely, cooling shade of tree canopies in the summer, and expecting a lush lawn to thrive may be unreasonable. We'll be cautious, and delay decision making, for now. I certainly don't want to invest in a lawn, if water rationing is looming! But glad to know that either seed or sod can (assuming proper preparation and choice of type) produce a hardy lawn. Thanks again!