Rescuing my grass?
Last summer, between August and October, there was a tarpaulin covering part of the garden as we re-did the bathroom. That killed off all the grass that was there.
After uncovering it, over the last few months, some of the grass has come back, however much of that space is now covered in moss.
I'd like it to look good again for summer, but I am nervous about putting down grass seed as I cannot remember which brand I used, and I wouldn't want a totally different type of grass to grow and for it to be really obvious, when the rest of the garden looks really nice.
Surely two months isn't enough to kill the grass properly, and the bits that have come through means the whole thing could come back? Is there anything I can do to revive the grass? Should I go ahead with the grass seeds now? We had heavy snows a week ago (north Scotland here), but it's been a warm-ish week this week.
Below is a picture of the nice surrounding grass and the patch that was covered.
Thanks!
Posts
I think I'd just scarify that area and sow some seed. A patch repair kit would do it. Brand of seed doesn't matter.
I think you can restore that. We had a similar problem after three builder's skips spent the summer on our lawn a few years ago. Now you'd never know!
Use a lawn moss killer (according to the pack instructions) to kill the moss - when the moss is black rake it hard with a lawn rake to get rid of it and put it in the bin (not compost heap). Give the surface of the area a good roughing up with a rake and spike it all over several inches deep with a fork to get rid of any compaction.
Then rake the whole lawn - sow grass seed on the bare patch and sprinkle some of the same all over the rest of the lawn. When it grows it'll all blend in together and not look so much like a patch.
Sow the grass when the soil temperature has reached 9C - grass seed germinates between 9 and 12 C.
Good luck - hope that helps.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
And I didn't see either of you
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks guys. One of you is saying that I need to use a lawn moss killer, another just rake it lightly and then seed. Which would be best? I had to look up scarifying actually is - haha. But I guess I can do that by hand by just using a rake in that area, get rid of the moss that is thrown up by the rake, and then seed there and nearby? I guess I can't/don't need to avoid the bits of grass that have grown again in that area, and I just rake all over the place there?
I see an Evergreen lawn patch repair kit on Amazon, but I think I just bought a box of normal grass seed. Does it make much of a difference which one I use? I can always use my seed that I bought, and then sprinkle some lawn food over it a few days later or something?
The next 10 days are around 5-8 degrees or so, so I should probably get this done soon.
Thanks for the tips. Am a total garden novice!
Daniel, no need to worry about being a novice: we've all been there.
After raking and sprinkling new seed all over, can I use this product safely? It would kill any moss that is left while also feeding the rest of the grass and the new seeds.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/EverGreen-Complete-Lawn-Killer-Spreader/dp/B000TAU6Q4/ref=pd_sim_86_3/277-5685449-2830633?ie=UTF8&dpID=51LVGCceUvL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR106,160_&refRID=1RN11DS27MZSAFPA0H04
If you don't want to rake it manually, use that first, leave it a bit, then seed would be my advice