Patches of 'coarse' grass self seeded into an old and well established lawn.

I inherited three quite large lawns when I moved to my current home some 18 years ago. We have managed to keep them relatively weed free over the years and I am quite pleased with the general condition.
My main problem is a number of parches of coarse grass (broad leaved & fast growing) which have self seeded and developed. Most of the patches are not too big (perhaps about 6 to 8 inches) the largest being perhaps 2 to 3 feet in either direction.

I am considering 'repairing' of the smaller areas by cutting out the offending patches with the spade, refilling with loam and reseeding; and would probably wait now untill September to carry this out.

The bigger areas worry me though. I suppose I am correct in assuming that the only way is to dig them out and re-seed too?

Opinions / comments would be appreciated.


David

 

A very good idea, I will sleep on that one . . .

David

 

The problem with digging out areas of weed grass is that their roots can travel all over the place and unless you get every minuscule piece of root out, they will soon resurface.

Take couch grass for instance... it's roots are a nightmare to get rid of as they spead so far and wide, plus it seems to grow faster than most other grasses and when you mow your lawn, there often stubborn 'soldier' stems and with many weeds grasses, broader and unsightly base leaves are left behind, regardless of how sharp your mower's blade is.

I advocate @JWK 's avice of weedkilling the weed grass foliage to kill off the roots and later on, repatch the bare areas with new seed.