Best approach to planting grass seed after removing weeds

Hi,
Previously posted on here, we have a small lawn (seeded a year ag by builder), over the winter some amount of creeping buttercup and clover have taken over the small lawn.

Following advice here I put some weed and feed down last week, I can see some of the weeds have gone black but not all.

I plan to get down on my hands and knees and remove as much as possible of the creeping buttercup and clover. However, as some of the creeping buttercup is rooted quite deep when I take some out it disrupts the soil and leaves a fairly obvious bare patch. In addition parts of the garden would be kind of bare with a not great head of grass. I have bought some lawn seed. Two questions:
1) What is the best approach to backfilling the bare patch after I remove the creeping buttercup? Do I simply drop some seed onto the area & water or should I be putting some lawn and turf dressing (like in link below) down on the patch before adding seed on top of the dressing?
2) For the general other areas where grass growth is now great, should I just spread seed throughtout ,water and walk over it?

Westland Lawn & Turf Dressing 25 Litre

Thank you

 

Creeping buttercup is typically successful on damp and poorly draining soil. It has below ground 'runners' and is invasive.
Try and aereate areas after killing buttercup to improve drainage. It may be desirable to concentrate on this, including treating with 2-4d weedkiller, only proceeding to replanting grass when you have done this work and eliminated the buttercup
Consider patching with plugs of turf, or grow grass in a seed tray to transplant as a mat.

 

Thank you.
Correct the soil is damp/poorly draining (although dont see puddles of water when we had heavy rains) and the neighbouring houses say the same about their soil. Soil most likely compacted from builders machinery before a slither of top soil was thrown on top by them.
I have tried to aerate the garden in general, quite simply by sticking a garden fork in the lawn at various intervals, not sure is there something better to use but the lawn is only about in 4.5m in width x 5.5m in length
Are you suggesting I manually remove buttercup or treat the buttercup with 2-4d weedkiller then remove?

On the grass in a seed tray, interesting idea, would you just cut off a bit from the tray to backfill any bare patch left by removal of creeping buttercup?

 

You can improve drainage by top dressing with sharp sand. Lawns love it.

I wouldn't worry so much about the weeds. Get conditions right for the grass and the weeds will just go. That means aerating, top dress with sharp sand, possible a lawn feed although the weed and feed mix might have done that bit. Then normal lawn care making sure it doesn't dry out in summer, giving it occasional high nitrogen feed, regular mowing.

If the grass has the conditions to grow strong, then it will out perform the weeds, and with regular mowing, the weeds will be further weakened while grass actually likes being mowed. And if conditions aren't right for the grass to thrive, then no amount of weeding is going to fix it.

Or in short, the weeds aren't a threat to your lawn. Focus on the grass, and the weeds will just go away.

 

Thank you, I presume something like this type of sand will do?
Horticultural Sand For Sale in Ireland at Best Prices. Shop Now
I guess just spread it across the lawn and rake in? Does brushing it in not negatively impact the existing grass?

I take your point about getting ground conditions right and the weeds will just go, but I will still need to drop some grass seed to help the grass grow especially in the patchy/bare spots. So would you put grass seed down after applying sharp sand or would you need to add something else to mix in with the grass seed.

Thanks

 

Thank you, definitely sounds like something different to do, so I will look into growing grass in a seed tray.

 

I see that you used a weed and feed a week ago. That can still be active for quite a while, so don't start seeding as it can affect that.
Usually, once the buttercups are removed -and there are various ways of doing that as others have said, it just depends on how poor the remaining soil, and soil level is. You can often just spread some compost/soil and either mix seed in with it if it's not too deep an area, or sow on top and firm it in. Regular cutting, not taking too much off at one time, will keep it looking decent after that. A feed now and again through summer if you want will also help.
Improving the structure [as described] will help with drainage, but again - it depends on how concerned you are with the eventual look of the lawn. Remember that weed seeds will also come in from surrounding gardens and verges/fields etc too, so you'll still have to look out for those and treat as necessary if you want nothing but grass.

 

I've never bought 'horticultural sand'. As far as I can tell, it is just expensive sharp sand.

If the area is not already a lawn at all, then I retract my point about not worrying about the weeds. If you're starting from scratch then weed free is best.

For spreading grass seed and top dressing with sharp sand, you make your life easier by mixing seed into the sharp sand in a bucket, then simply chucking the mix where you need it. Just grab it by the handful and throw it. You get the added bonus that it's far easier to see where you've done and where you've missed. Grass seed alone is quite hard to see when spread thin on the ground so it's easy to miss patches or accidentally double up. Whereas mixing with sand, it's very easy to see where you've been.

 

Can you pm me if possible?

 

What is it concerning @NoviceGardener2023 ? I'd rather help on the open forum if possible, and it also means others can offer very good advice, based on their own experience.

I agree with @Clueless 1 v2 re the sand too. It helps a good bit when sowing new seed, for the reasons given, especially for getting a more even coverage. Some weeds will spread more readily if conditions suit - buttercups spread very easily here, but I rarely worry too much about them, and just pull them out or spot weed if they're getting too vigorous, but I'm not that bothered about a perfect bowling green, so a few weeds aren't a problem for me. Our ground here is always pretty damp, so it's just how it is. I occasionally do a bit of spiking if I've had to be on it for a specific reason, but otherwise, I'm only on the grass to cut it.

 

Do what @fairygirl and @Clueless 1 v2 say and don't use 2-4d weedkiller. It has been banned in Europe for a long time now.

 

I'd never heard of that weedkiller @Busy-Lizzie . I've just looked it up.
I only use the bog standard makes of weedkiller, and I use them pretty rarely. A small bottle lasts me for years.
The newer types can take more applications on perennial, persistent weeds, but I just keep an eye out for any new invaders, and hoe or dig out whenever possible.

 

Thanks for your reply.

I think the intention of the 2-4d weedkiller recommendation by another poster was to get rid of the creeping buttercup which is quite prevalent in the lawn, as I dont think any other regular weedkiller kills it off.
Removing it manually (which I dont mind) just seems to leave a fair bare patch as the roots go quite deep and the fact it is covering a lot of space.

With so much helpful but at times differing advice, I find myself not knowing which approach to take or where to start.

Does this make sense for next steps:
1) Manually removing any weeds (clover,creeping buttercup) from the lawn
2) Aerate the lawn with a garden fork. Walk up and down the lawn in straight lines so I dont miss a patch, stamping the fork in every half metre? Or would it need to be in more regular intervals.
3) Buy the following bag of dressing, which says it contains sand aswell as fertiliser actually.
Westland Lawn & Turf Dressing 25 Litre
Spread across lawn and add some grass seed on top and water after.

Thanks

 

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