Cutting the Grass

PTR said:
From the lawnsmith:

" If the weather remains cold through March hold off from a moss removal programme because the lawn will not recover until things warm up. If we get a mild spell and the long range forecast looks good then you may be able to start but only if you're in the midlands or south. "

I think this covers any thoughts of scarifying. I did it last year, and it really didn't help. If anything, it created bare patches, and the POA took over as it germinated before my seeds could.
Click to expand...
What the frig's the POA?

I was thinking of raking the moss out the back next weekend.
 


chriswallace85 said:
What the frig's the POA?

I was thinking of raking the moss out the back next weekend.
Click to expand...
AKA Annual Meadow Grass. The horrible thick stuff that spews seed out f***ing constantly and tried to take over. It can seed at about 1cm, so you when you scalp the lawn, it reacts by throwing out even more seeds - so if you create a bare patch, it can take over.
And there's no chemical treatment to get rid, you have to manually remove it, its awful stuff.
Logon or register to see this image


I did exactly what you're considering last year. I really regretted it & spent the whole year recovering from it. And now I'm back to square one.
How bad is your moss?
 
Last edited:
PTR said:
AKA Annual Meadow Grass. The horrible thick stuff that spews seed out f***ing constantly and tried to take over. It can seed at about 1cm, so you when you scalp the lawn, it reacts by throwing out even more seeds - so if you create a bare patch, it can take over.
And there's no chemical treatment to get rid, you have to manually remove it, its awful stuff.
Logon or register to see this image


I did exactly what you're considering last year. I really regretted it & spent the whole year recovering from it. And now I'm back to square one.
How bad is your moss?
Click to expand...
Its not too bad actually I don't think. I gave it a right going over last year so hoping it's more just spot maintenance in the a couple of problem areas.

I might hold off on the raking then, ta.

Buttercup seems more of an issue.
 
Cut the front lawn this weekend, just to tidy up the bits that had gone mental. The rest of it didn't need it but you can't just do one bit. The back will have to wait a bit longer. That'll take a few empties of the hopper when I get round to it.
Anyone compost their grass cuttings? I've wondered about it, but as we only cut the grass spring til maybe late Autumn I'm not sure whether there's much point in me investing in a compost bin. I'm bothered it'll attract rats etc
 
chriswallace85 said:
Its not too bad actually I don't think. I gave it a right going over last year so hoping it's more just spot maintenance in the a couple of problem areas.

I might hold off on the raking then, ta.

Buttercup seems more of an issue.
Click to expand...
If you have iron you can put that on now, and rake out in 3 weeks time when its done its stuff
Iron is good for the grass anyway.
I need to do mine - a combination of seaweed (trying to improve my soil so I add it to everything I spray) and iron in my spray bottle.

I wouldn't bother with weed-n-feed yet, as the weeds aren't growing yet, so it won't do owt.
Keawyeds said:
Cut the front lawn this weekend, just to tidy up the bits that had gone mental. The rest of it didn't need it but you can't just do one bit. The back will have to wait a bit longer. That'll take a few empties of the hopper when I get round to it.
Anyone compost their grass cuttings? I've wondered about it, but as we only cut the grass spring til maybe late Autumn I'm not sure whether there's much point in me investing in a compost bin. I'm bothered it'll attract rats etc
Click to expand...
I have one. You need to mix about half and half green waste with brown stuff (like carboard, paper etc). I've been filling mine for 2 years and its only just reached the top now, it seems to disappear away to nowt.
If you get a cheapo one like my plastic bin thing, you do need to lift it off, move it all to the side, then put it all back in - to mix it up and aerate - every 3 months or so, otherwise it just gets "stuck" and doesn't actually work.
I did have a mouse in there last time I did it. But its hardly the end of the world.

Must admit, I've never actually taken compost from it to use for anything - so far, its just been a magic box that makes garden clippings and paper shredding disappear so they don't fill my normal bin.
But I am hoping it to use it for growning food this year.
 
Last edited:
PTR said:
If you have iron you can put that on now, and rake out in 3 weeks time when its done its stuff
Iron is good for the grass anyway.
I need to do mine - a combination of seaweed (trying to improve my soil so I add it to everything I spray) and iron in my spray bottle.

I wouldn't bother with weed-n-feed yet, as the weeds aren't growing yet, so it won't do owt.
Click to expand...
I can't put owt down as me bunnies eat the grass. All manual labour for me.
 
PTR said:
If you have iron you can put that on now, and rake out in 3 weeks time when its done its stuff
Iron is good for the grass anyway.
I need to do mine - a combination of seaweed (trying to improve my soil so I add it to everything I spray) and iron in my spray bottle.

I wouldn't bother with weed-n-feed yet, as the weeds aren't growing yet, so it won't do owt.

I have one. You need to mix about half and half green waste with brown stuff (like carboard, paper etc). I've been filling mine for 2 years and its only just reached the top now, it seems to disappear away to nowt.
If you get a cheapo one like my plastic bin thing, you do need to lift it off, move it all to the side, then put it all back in - to mix it up and aerate - every 3 months or so, otherwise it just gets "stuck" and doesn't actually work.
I did have a mouse in there last time I did it. But its hardly the end of the world.

Must admit, I've never actually taken compost from it to use for anything - so far, its just been a magic box that makes garden clippings and paper shredding disappear so they don't fill my normal bin.
But I am hoping it to use it for growning food this year.
Click to expand...

I remember one of the ones my Dad had having a mouse in. I think we got it out as it was stuck and let it off down the line.
I think I'd have a bin but it feels like a bit of a ballache when the council come and empty our green bin every 2 weeks. I'll just get Mini-K to jump in it.
 
PTR said:
From the lawnsmith:

" If the weather remains cold through March hold off from a moss removal programme because the lawn will not recover until things warm up. If we get a mild spell and the long range forecast looks good then you may be able to start but only if you're in the midlands or south. "

I think this covers any thoughts of scarifying. I did it last year, and it really didn't help. If anything, it created bare patches, and the POA took over as it germinated before my seeds could.
Click to expand...
I’ll leave it til April at the earliest then.
PTR said:
From the lawnsmith site, this might help:

Moss Off Chemical free moss killer for lawns can be used where animals graze as it is chemical free and contains only natural substances.
Click to expand...
He still won’t put it down. They’ll be a panic if one of them gets bad :lol::lol:
 
Last edited:
Pants.
I didn't get round to spraying iron for the winter this year, and its been so wet I've been saying off the clay soil so that it doesn't compact to hell.
Finally got out yesterday and sprayed some iron (and seaweed) on it. But as I looked, there's annual meadow grass / POA seed heads all over the place. It certainly hasn't died out of the winter.

I'm going to have a hell of a job on my heads to encourage growth of new seeds in bare patches, whilst also not encouraging the growth of all the AMG seeds that are inevitably already lying in the soil.

I could kill the lot and use turf as a barrier I suppose, but the lawn is already too high compared to "the other side of the fence" on 2 sides already, so another 3" isn't a good idea.
Looks like I'll be putting some graft in again this year then.

I didn't quite get enough iron down (misjudged the concentration of the solution). So I'll do that again in 2 weeks time.
Then scarify the first good weather in April, and put new seed down and a spring fertiliser to help new growth.
Then fingers crossed I guess.
 
I am leaving the moss on our lawn as it is at least green and if you squint then it looks like grass.

I have realised that there’s more important things than a perfect front lawn, I used to spend ages on it but gave up when the roadside verges looked far better and they just get cut occasionally.

Good luck to everyone who is improving their lawn, I’m just going to cut mine weekly on the highest setting and drink beer instead.
 
Stevie Freestein II said:
I am leaving the moss on our lawn as it is at least green and if you squint then it looks like grass.

I have realised that there’s more important things than a perfect front lawn, I used to spend ages on it but gave up when the roadside verges looked far better and they just get cut occasionally.

Good luck to everyone who is improving their lawn, I’m just going to cut mine weekly on the highest setting and drink beer instead.
Click to expand...
Try the seaweed mosskiller/ lawn dressing on it. Put some down about three weeks ago and the moss has blackened and lifted and the new grass is flying through.
Gave it a cut last week and it needs doing again already. Never known a growing season like this before.
Don't leave the weeds, one years seed seven years of weeds.
 
Billy Fish said:
Try the seaweed mosskiller/ lawn dressing on it. Put some down about three weeks ago and the moss has blackened and lifted and the new grass is flying through.
Gave it a cut last week and it needs doing again already. Never known a growing season like this before.
Don't leave the weeds, one years seed seven years of weeds.
Click to expand...
The moss will suppress the weeds.
 
Keawyeds said:
Cut the front lawn this weekend, just to tidy up the bits that had gone mental. The rest of it didn't need it but you can't just do one bit. The back will have to wait a bit longer. That'll take a few empties of the hopper when I get round to it.
Anyone compost their grass cuttings? I've wondered about it, but as we only cut the grass spring til maybe late Autumn I'm not sure whether there's much point in me investing in a compost bin. I'm bothered it'll attract rats etc
Click to expand...
I've always used it as a mulch, chuck it into borders/under trees etc to prevent weed growth and add a bit of nourishment.
 
Phantom of mobs said:
Don't cut your grass - just let it grow, Monty Don says


Monty Don frowns on this sort of thing.
Click to expand...
Whilst I fully endorse the sentiment I don’t think he’ll get much uptake on it.
Having said that there’s plenty of scratters already doing it so maybe they’re not scratters but are in fact Enviromental Evangelicals.
With regards the burning fossil fuels but I use one small 5l can of petrol a year. Monty probably uses more than that driving his dog to the park for a walk. Having said that if millions of people a year saved that 5l it would make a difference and we’d all have hedgehogs and little furry long tailed mammals running around our gardens.
 

Back
Top