The age old question

Yes, cut it short first. Seed quality is up to you. If it gets a lot of traffic get something hard wearing, if you want a bowling green then go for something with on fine grasses in it, and if it is in shade then choose a shade mix. Whatever the garden centre have will be fine (although if you are going for bowling green I would seek out a specialist supplier, and if its a large area your garden centre will probably work out more expensive than online).

When you are at the garden centre have a look at "The Lawn Expert" by Dr D.G. Hessayon (you can buy it if you like, but a read of the relevant bits will probably be sufficient).

 

I use one of these hollow tine aerator £13, it is a doddle to use

http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...-NSNT4SNKsbw8QOZ65zGCw&sqi=2&ved=0CJsBEPMCMAM#

Jack McH

 

I like the look of that , one last stupid question , is there a easy way to get the sand in the holes and does it need sand in the holes ?

 

No, waste of time, forget it; it would be a minor miracle if you managed to get the sand into the holes as it will just get "lost" in the grass - unless you've got a lawn with a billiard-table finish

Cutting the grass short before you aerate would make it easier to do the next step.

Hollow-tine will either remove the cores into a "bucket" or drop them on the lawn, if the later you can collect them ([flat] back of a rake is easiest), "pile" them, and then use them to top-dress the lawn at another time, or run a rotary mower over them to smash them up and spread them over the lawn surface - watch out for where any stones go! and the dust if its dry. Don't just leave the "cores" where they fall or they will, in time, make the surface uneven.

If you are just spiking the lawn (with a fork or shoes-with-nails-on-the-bottom) then that's it "job done", nothing else that you need to do although the nail-sole-shoes don't go in very deep, so it would be a good idea to do that as often as feel like it during the Summer.

 

I have one like this, similar but it "collects" the cores. But it tends to get blocked by our sticky clay - whether wet, or bone dry :(

 

Thank you kindly people , you will all be invited round for a game of snooker on my lawn in the summer


Blade

 

If you can afford it, rent proper equipment

I aerated and scarified a lawn in autumn last year .... I used a garden rake and a garden fork .... the lawn is only approx 100 square meters

I ended up having blisters on my hands ...

prices to rent are reasonable:
http://www.hss.com/g/62316/Lawn-Scarifier.html

http://www.hss.com/g/62326/Powered-Lawn-Aerator-Petrol.html

 

bit late in the thread but looking at the completely baldie patches, its not your dogs causing the problem.

i have a dog, and in my previous house he peed on the lawn (as dogs do) and although there were a few brown patches from the excess nitrogen (to be expected) the grass never died.

i would say with yours (as the rest of the lawn is nice and green and healthy), you are suffering from compaction, and like the advice above, you need to aerate. also if your soil has too much acid, then that will cause bald spots. iirc, adding lime will help the acid problem.

if it were my lawn, the first thing i'd is to aerate, give a good rake over the grass surrounding the patches and the patch themselves, and a good drink with (dare i say it) miracle grow. do this a few times a week and hopefully, you will see the patches grow some nice green grass instead of bare compacted earth.

 

thanks Al , ive not been able to anything because of all the rain weve had ! so should i seed the bald spots or just do as you say , how will grass grow on bald patches without seeding , or am i mising something ? thanks again