Horticulture advise on growing grass! LOL

[Rabb]

I've been trying to get my lawn looking good for years. I feed and water it and at the end of the summer it looks great. By mid autumn it looks awful and it's down to some bloody Leylandii trees sucking all the moisture out of the ground. I've written to the council and got no reply.
Anyone got a chainsaw?

Yep - got two!
And a license

Advice - phone the council and ask to speak to their Tree Officer

Explain the problem to him / her and ask what they are going to do about it.

In Autumn you need to scarify, rake and feed.
How close are these to your house foundations? You can guess where I'm going with this?
Take it from there.....

[Roxy]

Growing from seed is the best, cheapest but also the most labour intensive.
I have used all methods and in my opinion if something is worth doing it's worth doing well - therefore grass seed all the way!
1. Rotovate - hire for the weekend.
2. Take all stones / rocks & clay out.
3. Break down top 4 inches to a fine tilth.
4. Roll top with roller.
5. Seed & water.
6. Water every evening with a sprinkler.
7. Within a couple of weeks it will start to cover and within 4 weeks it will be a nice green mass.
8. Fill in gaps with seed & water daily.
9. Hey presto - your own lawn that YOU have grown.

Seeded is a much better option than turf - the rewards far outweigh the efforts!
Best of luck - whatever you decide to go with!

Cheers Rabb, I think I would prefer to seed it, I know its probably a longer slower process but early spring the bike prob wont be out riding over it so should give it a few weeks to bed in and settle.

G, thanks for the link, looks Good ..the other one people seem to rave about is that Canada grass stuff??

Roxy x

[Rossio]

I've been trying to get my lawn looking good for years. I feed and water it and at the end of the summer it looks great. By mid autumn it looks awful and it's down to some bloody Leylandii trees sucking all the moisture out of the ground. I've written to the council and got no reply.
Anyone got a chainsaw?

yeh!a big one! lets go bush wacking!

[Scotty]

If you want to grow good grass, you need to watch Trailer Park Boys for some tips.... 8-) 8-) 8-)

[Rossio]

growing grass is easy roxy, spray off what grass is already there is the most important bit...keeps the new stuff weed free,good dose of cow "fertiliser", rotivate, for lawn grass you dont need to make tilth that deep,grass is very shallow rooting 2 or 3" will be fine, stick ur seed on n roll it down, when its dry obv otherwise your seed will stick to your roller,easy!and if you want to be really clever use an agricultural italian rye seed mix for where your bike goes over, its alot tougher and more durable compared to proper"lawn grass"

how big is your garden gate??? il bring the plough and the combi drill round.....be much faster ;D

[Roxy]

growing grass is easy roxy, spray off what grass is already there is the most important bit...keeps the new stuff weed free,good dose of cow "fertiliser", rotivate, for lawn grass you dont need to make tilth that deep,grass is very shallow rooting 2 or 3" will be fine, stick ur seed on n roll it down, when its dry obv otherwise your seed will stick to your roller,easy!and if you want to be really clever use an agricultural italian rye seed mix for where your bike goes over, its alot tougher and more durable compared to proper"lawn grass"

how big is your garden gate??? il bring the plough and the combi drill round.....be much faster ;D

LMAO - It's big but not that big!! ;D ;D but thanks for the offer [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

The trouble I have is that as the top 4" of soil has already been removed, I have only a couple of inches (2-4&quot left of good soil then its pretty much clay . The ground can't be any higher or the 'sloping bend' would be too steep for the bike and I would end up on my arse on the ars6! ;D But if all I really need is 2-3" for the roots I'm hoping I may get away with it from what you have said ...we will see! I'll prep some more, buy some seed, throw it down, water it, and watch for the bowling green to appear!!! LOL

If all else fails...concrete!!!!!!!!!!! ;D

Roxy x