RoF gardenators

Lawn help.

Relaid a lawn last April, by the end of May it had taken well, was growing very quickly and needed cutting every two weeks.

Watered it throughout the drought in June.

Most of it survived. Then we had constant rain for about 8 weeks. By October patches began to die and ever since there are holes in the turf and the whole thing looks like the side of a cheese grater.

I've used autumn and spring fertilizers (properly - no scorching), it has started growing again but the numerous holes in the lawn are still there.

Any ideas what's wrong with it?

Are there lots of trees? I have terrible trouble living downwind of a wood with the leaves coming down in the autumn and forming wet clumps on the lawn which kill the grass under them because it doesn't get any light. In the past have cleared them off with the early mowing and the grass has filled the gaps itself by the summer. Last year made a specific effort to either rake the leaves or mulch them and have fewer holes this spring.

May also be drainage and the patch on my lawn which is basically a small pond for most of the winter is looking a bit threadbare but should bounce back with some dry weather.

leaves start to rot in situ and the combo of no light and fungus does for the grass plant.

Best thing to do is to get a fork and spike the lawn all over, then add sand and some fertiliser /moss killer and then dress with seed and put some light topsoil over that, then wait. Air and drainage is really important.

Weird one.

The only thing I can think of is possible over-fertilization/4-in-1 - did you use one of those wheeled applicators which can be quite 'clumpy' in application?

Only suggestion would be to re-seed the bare patches with as close an equivalent to what you laid down.

Yes. Sprinkle a bit of seed and leave it well alone.

Do you have a dog?

You need a 50/30/20 mix of topsoil/sand/compost, mixed with some seed, apply using a proper sanding rake, compact.

Maintaining a lawn is a full time job.

If you've go no sun and the drainage is bad then you're going to struggle and putting down more seed or turf isn't going to help.

Do you really want a lawn? How about replacing it with parterre or something?

Not lots of trees, and the holes started to appear well before I put any fertiliser down.

But the point about leaves rotting does make me think that during the 8 week downpour I was unable to cut it. I think the lack of air caused by it being slightly overgrown might have something to do with it.

I have over seeded it and will see what it looks like by the end of April. Relaying it nearly finished me off. I will set fire to it if it doesn't come back.

This worked well.

https://thelawnpack.co.uk/products/the-lawn-pack

Your neighbours' wives (or husbands) will be desperate to know your secret. According to the marketing.

It's a west facing garden. We get sun from March to October. Sometimes too much. But because of neighbouring properties/fences/bushes etc, it gets very little over winter.

Oh and thanks for the advice all.

I'm afraid it sounds as if your lawn has Aids.

So sorry for your moss.

Also, are you sure it’s not dog pyss. I think you have said before you have a mutt

Definitely not the dog.

There are a couple of squirrels who frequent my garden. They bury their food and then come back to look for it. The daft things dig holes in the lawn. Annoying but I just fill them in (the holes, not the squirrels).

Grass grows really well in London

Wang - I'll take your word for it.

Larvae? (Leatherjackets(?))

I think you might be right. Just googled leatherjacket damage.

😞

You can get nnematodes to deal

The leatherjacket isnt the issue. It is the corvids which dig them up that make the holes.

Leather jackets are a clear option. Get nematodes to eat them.

Did you prepare the surface before laying the turf? It's hard to get it to root in, especially if you water too much. Grass needs to be somewhat starved of water after week 5 to force the roots down further. Otherwise you can end up with an air gap between the soil bed and the roots and then watering causes the roots to rot.

A phosphorus heavy NPK mix will encourage rooting more.

Unusually for me, my preparation was pretty good.

I see May is the time to bring on the nematodes. Will give it until mid-May and release the hounds if there’s been no improvement.

By May the leather jackets are near end of cycle and fat and thick skinned. V hard for nematodes to kill em. Really need to deploy them in October or as soon as you see patching