Rotovate and seed or renovate

All,

My lawn seems very compacted and pulling out some plugs with the aerator confirmed this. I need to move the path which will result in a mess where the previous path was and additionally about 1/3 of the area - all off to the right hand side is soil, weeds and some uncut grass. The grass that I have on the left hand side looks nice at the moment but also has a lot of weeds though as they're green they blend in. Some (grassy) areas towards the back of the lawn are quite bumpy/undulating.

So should I rotovate and start again or try to repair, reseed, weed and aerate?

 

Its quite a long haul to re-seed.

Last year we filled a pond and widened the drive (taking up some lawn) at the same time. I hired a turf-stripper (or whatever they were called). The turf from the front was stacked (in August, and for about two weeks) whilst the pond was "sorted". It was a lovely shade of yellow when we put it down! but this year you wouldn't know where the pond had been.

I don't like weeds in my lawn ... they get sprayed off ... but chemicals are not for everyone of course.

 

As theyl be a lot of disturbance with the path etc then id spray off with roundup leave for 2 weeks then rotovate, rake and seed.

 

roundup kills the grass as well?

 

If I rotovate and rake do I need to compact the soil afterwards?

 

"roundup kills the grass as well?"

Definitely. You should assume it will kill anything it comes into contact with(*) - including drifting spray, and any that has made contact with the soles of your shoes! It will be neutralised once it has come into contact with the soil.

(*) Except Mares Tails :(

 

How long would it take one person (me) to do my lawn about 50m^2.

Is there a good comprehensive guide to laying a new lawn.

What pre-seed fertiliser is recommended? - how/when do you use it?

Should I mix sharp sand with my slightly clay soil? (can it do any harm) - how much for the 50m^2

What seed types are recommended? The lawn will be walked on - I would prefer a deep green color (I think everyone would..?) I am thinking about installing sprinklers (very easy for me to do) to water it daily/regularly - will this affect the choice.

The turf here http://www.rolawndirect.co.uk/index...=&length[3]=&unit=M&del_pc=cv35gr&add_extra=1 looks perfect would it look like that if you used it? Have I got a much better chance of a successful lawn if I use turf rather than seed? the £200 is not too bad for me.

Thanks again

 

"How long would it take one person (me) to do my lawn about 50m^2. "

Its going to take you a good day to cultivate the soil, and get it nicely level (well, I really mean Smooth, you may not have a flat site).

Borrow / hire a seed sowing machine - you'll never get the sowing even by hand. Use it in opposite directions to make sure you don't miss any bits. (I run it over a plastic sack, that I have cut open, say 10 times, then gather up the seed and weigh it, then work out what rate the sowing machine is applying [i.e. divide by 10!!] - and from there how many "passes" I need to make over the seed bed.

"Is there a good comprehensive guide to laying a new lawn. "

Dr D G Hessayon has a "Lawn expert" which would give you plenty of information in an easy-to-digest format

"What pre-seed fertiliser is recommended? - how/when do you use it?"

A general fertiliser should do the trick. I would apply, and rake in, a week or two before sowing.

"Should I mix sharp sand with my slightly clay soil? (can it do any harm) - how much for the 50m^2"

Yes, can't do any harm. Make sure you get sharp sand. It may rather disappear if you rotavate it in though

"What seed types are recommended?"

If you are not going to have kids knocking nine-bells out of it playing footie and cycle-cross then I would choose something WITHOUT Rye grass. That will give you a finer lawn, and having mates round for a party and all walking on it is fine.

"I am thinking about installing sprinklers (very easy for me to do) to water it daily/regularly - will this affect the choice. "

Don't plan to water often, only when the grass is starting to get stressed, and then give it a good soaking and leave it a week or so before watering again.

Installing the pipes for irrigation BEFORE you make the lawn is definitely a good idea! And a proper irrigation system will use less water than an indiscriminate sprinkler which waters all the paths etc. too!

"The turf here http://www.rolawndirect.co.uk/index....gr&add_extra=1 looks perfect would it look like that if you used it?"

Rolawn have a very good reputation. If the cost doesn't put you off you would be better having turf rather than seed [Instant, no weeds, no patchy germination, etc]. Soil preparation is the same, and I would delay until early autumn before you turve [you can do it now, if you want, but you will have to water well to get it established, so more risk of putting the turf under stress compared to the autumn].

You will need a reasonably decent cylinder mower if you are going to have a nice smart fine-grass lawn. And to get some pretty stripes you'll need a roller, and I would aim for something as wide as is sensible - taking into account that 50sq.m is not all that big (so a 24" mower is probably too wide, but a 12" mower with, say, 1-2" overlap is not going to make "generous looking" stripes)

You might want to consider having it Fed and [Chemical] Weeded by an outfit like http::/www.greenthumb.co.uk/ - worth getting a quote anyway, I have heard that their cost is similar to the cost of the chemicals alone bought at Retail prices. And one likes to think that they know what they are doing!!

 

"If I rotovate and rake do I need to compact the soil afterwards?"

Sorry, didn't see that.

Yes, the normal method is to put on your big boots / wellies, and thread with feet side-by-side moving forwards half-a-foot at a time - i.e. with one foot 1/2 foot ahead the toe of the back foot will be in the curve of the front-foot, and vice-verse as you step forward. Do that cross-ways too. This will also break down the clods, and you can then rake (with a rigid-tined rake) to create a fine seed bed. You don't need to compress it with a 10 ton vibrating roller though!

 

Personally i could do it in about six hours a cammon c8 cultivator however allow a weekend for yourself.

As for compaction, for small jobslike yours I use a roller.

Large areas I use a differnt method and use a digger and grading bucket and for tennis courts or very level areas a powered roller and hand lute.

if the ground is very dry then leave a sprinkler going for a day around 2 days before you run the cultivator over.

personally i use a ridgid rake to knock out any clods the machine has missed then a spring tine rake to get it perfect.