Starting lawn from scratch

Depends what the day job is.
Next time you are in Paignton you can have a go if you like.

 

Last time i was in paignton was around 20yrs ago, so doubt ill be there anytime soon lol

 

I think I'm going to go ahead and seed this Monday.



The bed is nice and flat and it has had lots of rain in the last few days. The only thing that's bothering me is that although it has been left for around three weeks for any weeds to show, most of that time it was bone dry so only had a few days of wet conditions for anything to germinate.

Is it a risk worth taking?

I'm also thinking of putting down an extra 50g m2 of the recommended fertiliser this afternoon on top of the 200g I already put down a few weeks ago. My reasoning is that I've run the lawn lute over it several times since the initial 200g and I'm concerned I might have left some areas without any.

 

Yes, I've trod the area several times, plus the extremely heavy rain we've had must have put some weight on the surface and helped to settle it.

 

Go for it hoofy……

 

Job done yesterday.

I measured out each m2 and put down 40g of seed in a very meticulous process. No doubt my efforts were totally unnecessary but in view of the work I had already put in I wanted to do the job properly.

I found 3 or 4 weeds in the area plus a few pieces of grass sprouting up which ideally should have been sorted in a longer fallowing time, but deciding on when to go is always going to be problematic because of the unpredictability of the weather etc.

Am I right in thinking an ornamental lawn should be easier to keep clear of undesirable grasses etc because of the shortness of the cut?

 

I cany answer on the weed front, but ive only had a handful try and pop up in the last few weeks and i just pull them out by hand, ensuring the root comes out too….

i triple cut mine over the weekend and its looking good

 

I like the sound of triple cut mate.

 

No all lawns suffer from unwanted plants, golf greens are a perfect example where even they can end up with problem grass types or other plants.
Tennis courts are another example.

Nature combats whatever we do, but we have some extra ways of dealing with it.

When you cut grass the knock on effect is it slows root growth down, the more you cut the more it effects growth below the surface. The shorter the grass the more care it needs when the environment is against the plant.

 

Day 6 today so I'm expecting to see some new shoots any time soon.

We've had some really heavy rain in the last few days and some of the seeds have pooled into clumps but overall most of the seeds look to have stayed put.

I went out and gave it a quick soak this morning but just as I'd finished it started raining lol. Rather safe than sorry though as I'll be away all day and even though the forecast gives rain I know it can't be trusted.

 

I was already expecting to have to over seed some areas so shouldn't be too much of a set back. Just makes me realise I did waste my time with the amount of care I took making sure each m2 got a perfect covering of 40g of seeds, I should have just used the drop spreader instead with the right weight of seeds for the entire area.

 

Did you rake the seeds in after putting them down??

 

I did, but there's always going to be some on the top. Maybe I should have rollered it after seeding? Some say you should and some say you shouldn't. I'm sure it will be fine. You can't really expect to get perfect weather conditions after seeding, I'm just glad it's been wet, but occasionally just a little bit too wet in short bursts. The good news is no standing water anywhere on the lawn.