lawns

My lawn is in a bad way too, Ernie but I've got to get rid of all the weeds before even contemplating anything else other than mowing it.

Why did your turf die? If turf is laid and kept well watered, it should be fine. More expensive than seed, I know, but much easier too. If you seed it, you'll have to net it or something otherwise the birds'll have a feast.

I do water the garden, this has never been a problem.Over time the turf just got thinner and thinner and then the soil just shows. Ive even re turfed an area again. This also died. Is it possible to have too much soil from the start. Ive read that the soil can become compacted. so aerating is an option.Ive made an appointment with a garden expert.

The garden was rotivated, all rocks removed. Drainage put under the top soil but I never covered the drainage pipe. It will now be full of soil through watering. The lawn is on a incline and theres no drainage problems.

Well, I'm certainly no expert on lawns, Ernie, if I was, mine wouldn't be such a mess, but...I do know that very compacted soil can be a problem even for grass.

It sounds like you do have a problem there. Hopefully, one of GOY's experts will be along soon and help you out.

I don't know how big an area you're talking about, but would it not be better to consider making the area over to something else? Presumably it's in a shady area and not getting much nutrients, maybe nearby trees sucking all the goodness out?

Will come back with ideas if you need any.

The area is about 4 metres by about 10 metres. its not in a shaded area, in fact the sun is on it, the best part of the day. I know to put the sprinkler on it at the begging of the day or at the end.This is so the sun doesnt evaporate the water. so the ground gets a chance of absorbing the water. ive always used weed and feed and sprinkled by hand.Greens it up nicely

Well, it's a bit of a mystery then Ernie, maybe your garden expert will be able to solve it for you, :-)

When you cut the grass, did you leave it to grow long(ish) and then cut it very short? The reason I'm asking is because I did this with my very tiny lawn and killed the grass completely. Before this I had no idea you could kill grass by doing this.

I have a pond and had a batch of froglets leaving in the summer. I kept the grass on the lawn at about 4 - 5 inches in height as the minis could hide in it easier and it attracted more food for them. When they went away for the winter I took the shears out and trimmed the grass very short. Within a month I was left with bare earth where the grass had been.

I ended up phoning a turf supplier in early spring and he told me you should only cut 1/3 to 1/2 of the grass leaf at a time. He said that I had cut the grass too short, and this had caused it all to die.

I'm afraid other than this I have no idea what could have caused your grass to deteriorate and how to keep your grass healthy once you have reseeded it.

Thanks for the reply. I do cut the lawn quite short but not so it scalps it. I keep it short just for one reason, so it doesnt take me too long to cut next time. You might have a point that i cut it to short but I only cut it to the same length as the front lawn and the front lawn hasn't died. you could be right though.