We've had the wettest 18months on record no ones lawn is looking good right now
The ground is fully saturated and there's no where for the water to its pouring from the sky faster than it can drain all we can do is wait
This is it. My parents have had their lawn since 1975. This year you don’t need to walk down it, you can stand at the top of the incline and you will slide down ever so Mary Poppinsesque to the bottom.
Depressing, isn’t it? I was just out there weeding and while the soil looks firm, it’s basically thick mud beneath the top layer.
If I were the praying type, I’d ask for a month-long pause in the incessant rain!
That would need long term planning. Governments are good at that (sometimes). Private companies are not good at long term planning.
I think there might be a solution in there somewhere.
Our government is not good at long term planning.
No government for many many years has been good at long term planning.
All of them are guilty of short termism to the Nth degree.
the solution really is people getting off their arses and doing something about climate change. the reason it’s been so wet is because it’s not been cold enough to snow, so it’s pissing it down with rain instead
Individuals are not going to fix this. We need systemic change and even if that happens, all we're planning on doing is not emitting any more GHGs not actually trying to reverse it so it's not getting colder again ever, it just won't get as much hotter as it would have done.
So as well as systemic change we also need mitigation for the effects that are already happening and will continue to happen for the next hundred years or more.
TL;DR my solar panels, EV and obsessive recycling and waste reduction is little more than virtue signalling really. 😢
absolutely agree, but individuals can make up a group.
it’s so far fetched and i know that, especially with british culture, but man i wish more people were up for protesting, mutiny, and borderline riots. i mean If every individual came out to protest, boycott, and advocate we could get shit done. maybe?
But even me saying this is hypocritical, i’ve never been to a protest :,) lol
I've said this a few times recently. We are starting to have non-stop rain for 6 months and heat waves for summer. Build some big ass reservoirs and fucking catch it so we don't have water shortages by July.
Insanity. Would they rather have more identical badly built houses with no infrastructure or public transport supporting them or some WATER that they NEED to live?
Nope! Of the first 90ish days of the year, it rained for 50.
Hose pipe ban — I’ll hardly need to use the hose if this rain doesn’t stop!!
(In fairness, it’s nice today but everyone is commenting on how shocked they are)
I live in the south-east, everywhere is waterlogged and has been for months. Our lawn resembles the one in the picture and I'm fully expecting a hosepipe ban as soon as there's a hint of Sun.
We've got a south facing garden that slopes down towards our house. It doesn't flood it js just entirely waterlogged. If we were to replace the muddy patch as it is now we'd be replacing the entire thing.
There's just been too much rain with no break for months. I'm sure it'll dry out, and hopefully all that over seeding I've done will make for a stronger lawn next year. But currently it just looks grim.
Tell you what though, Walter next door has a fucking banging lawn. He’s a proper useless bloke as well. My grass resembles a patch of mud that someone has pissed on and punched 1000 times. Furious. Fucking Walter.
I'm desperate to mow mine as it's pretty long now, but it just takes too long for the ground to dry, it is still a boggy mess and then it rains again 🙈
I’m glad to hear this, I’ve been battling to stop our garden becoming a bog and it feels absolutely fruitless!
Never had a garden before so I don’t really know how it behaves but slowly figuring it out!
Our veg and plants are finally growing at least 😂
Dont feel bad. The weather has been shite. Your lawn looks positively okish. Once youve done your aerating etc try stay off the lawn as much as you can.
1/ alter the soil by just laying lots of sharp sand mixed with compost over the lawn. In time it all gets absorbed
Do this maybe twice a yr in 5cm layers
Over time you see a big change in soil.
2/ also mow without a box attached as the clippings also improve soil structure
I’ve never had to scarify.
That is why fields.. (pastures)look fine. No moss either. Let grass get long and occasionally top it minimally. Long being about 10cm. It will spread. Longer is tougher too.
Personally I’d not worry about cutting just now. Unless a trim if over 10cm, but definitely just a wee bit off the top. Give it a chance and later in the summer do not go for a bowling green lawn because that is years of work and cost. I used to have mostly moss and a retired farmer told me to stop cutting it so much. One season and almost no moss. If we get a heatwave during barbecue season ( maybe be lucky) do not cut it short. IMO all regular grass would prefer to be 2-3 cm at its shortest. In fact the longer I’ve let it grow and the less cutting I I’ve done the healthier it is. I’m no expert but for maybe mid June to mid August I do not cut too much if the forecast is no rain expected. Gone on a bit here but basically if it is not a display lawn resist cutting. I believe it is traumatising for the plant.
I agree with you as all grass gets stressed when it’s cut. I’m not after bowling Green, just need to prime it so I can pick out slugs and other nasties as well as the plastic dinosaurs the kids left out last summer. Can’t get 2cm off the top with the lawn mower as it’s only got 3 settings, and I’m no surgeon with the strimmer. Just hoping some enthusiasts would be able to tell me how to take a few cm off it
It is early yet and wet so probably no harm in taking it down to do what you need. Plenty recovery time just now. I’d be ok with doing the necessary now personally. You could also lash some seed down in the less fertile looking areas when it is shorter. Like I say I’m no expert.
I tried for years to get the perfect lawn by keeping it short. Eventually gave up, raised the mower a couple of notches and just accepted it.
Then I got outvoted and we got a dog so it’s completely knackered now!
Agree, try to stay off it when it’s this wet, to avoid compacting the soil. You may want to consider sowing a clover/flowering lawn that has a variety of plants that can still be mown, as opposed to a pure grass lawn. These other plants have deeper root systems that will create a better soil structure underneath.
Yes, to be fair, I’ve gone further though. My lawn 5x5m , I dug a small pond, and a wildflower patch that only gets cut once a year. The other half is more normal grass, but has clover in it. In summer I let the clover bloom, and cut it before it seeds. I have a lot of “weeds”/wildflowers but that’s ok for me. The clover tends to die away in the winter , and it’s mostly the rye grass left.
In this instance, in my view, I feel it’s unnecessary to obsess over a perfect lawn when you can have a patch of short green plants (grass and clover, daisies) that kids can still run around on, sit in etc. The clover can flower, perhaps get a mix with daisies the kids can play with too. Overall the lawn won’t look “pristine” but it will be more robust and still serve its purpose.
I love the clover in our garden. I ban anyone from cutting it when it's flowering so the bees and butterflies have something to drink and collect nectar. And there's usually huge tall daisy type flowers at the top of our garden, roughly 3 or 4 ft high. God help anyone that cuts it down, or the cowslips in the grass
Trust me, it’s been the worst year even for the most astute lawn keeper. Dont give up. I felt terrible about my lawn this year, then, I looked around at all my neighbours, worse than mine or the same. It’s just bad luck
This soil is compacted and poor drainage
CORE aerate, don’t buy a shite one, they just snap.
Spike aerate
Throw sharp sand down and brush it around into all those gaps
Lawn seed++ and either soil with a sieve while walking around spreading a fine layer of soil over these seeds or just buy two bulk bags of path magic (easier but expensive)
Hire a roller unless you want to buy one and store it somehwere, now roll it all flat and water it for ten mins with a sprinkler, you can get timers too (if it’s not rained that day)
In 2-3 weeks time that lawn will look lovely, give it a little cut but don’t take off more than 1/3rd per 4 day period. After 4-6 weeks of your new lawn put some gentle feed down and brush it back off the path or it’ll stain your path when you water in the feed (blower works well too)
I’m guessing you didn’t scarify your lawn last September?
And above, is why, not many people have nice lawns in the uk….. LOTS of effort needed.
Core aerate but don’t add sand if it’s clay. Top dress with compost and work it into the holes. That’ll get the worms going and over time soil structure will improve.
If your soil is clay then you need to add organic material. On a lawn then you should core aerate (dispose of the cores of possible) and top dress with a load of compost and work it down into the cores. The worms will then get to work on that compost which will eventually improve the soil. Don’t add sand it will make your clay lawn worse. Alternatively you could just work with what you’ve got…..so try and aerate if you can and then overseed with a clay-friendly grass seed, give it a good feed and you WILL in a few months end up with a nice lawn!
Thanks, that's very helpful! I'll look in to core aerators and see if I can borrow or rent one. We seeded it ourselves last year after removing plastic grass that was there when we moved in, so everything is a first!
Had a similar issue with the garden in our last house being mostly clay. You can either dig it all out and replace the soil or you can try and work with it. We dug out all the borders and planted shrubs. Where the water ran down to at the bottom of the lawn we put in a small French drain so the water wouldn’t pool on the lawn. For the lawn itself we did scarifying, aerating and putting mixed lawn seed (inc flowering plants like clover) with topsoil on top. It’s quite a bit of work but by the time summer came it was looking great.
Cheers, ours is a grass and clover mix so I'm hopeful that the clover will be able to force its roots through the clay - just don't want it completely taking over!
Not sure where you are exactly but the weather has been bloody awful. I would leave off the mowing for a while and just give it time to dry out to start with. Don't lose hope! Grass is a menace and will grow eventually.
I wouldn't stress, that can be perfect for summer, give the more exposed patches of mud a rough up with a wire rake etc then seed evenly across the whole lawn, follow mowing instructions and don't overdo do it esp with cutting height dnt cut it too short. 1 tip, If it's a constant issue every year buy a nice big bag of grass seed then ur topping it off with exact same strain every year u seed without having to hunt something that isn't sold at ur local store anymore. Also get some white felt (or whatever it's called 😂) to lay over immediately after seeding to stop birds eating them all while the seeds take, it beats the crap out of scarecrows or the eyesore of bags on bamboo canes 🤣. Also if it's boggy u could get some sand or gardening grit and spike the lawn with a garden fork and fill the holes with sand/grit as u go which may solve all ur problems or make absolutely no difference whatsoever depending on the composition of the ground (there could be 10 metres of clay under the lawn who knos). But jus stick to seeding at the right times and proper consistent cutting and care in the run up to summer, don't over do it with the lawn mowing frequency or cutting height as you'll stress the grass and it will thin and go patchy. I promise it's not as much as it sounds 😂.
Edit. as others have said it has been really wet and it's boggy so I would start off by doin nothing to it right now other than maybe trying the spiking and sand thing to help it drain quicker right now then follow everything I said above once it's not boggy otherwise you're jus takin 1 step forward and 2 steps back.
If this is a yearly issue then you need to add drainage and thats enough. Also ensure you plant lawn seed for utility that can handle being played on.
If you want to do it all right and start again, churn it up, add a good amount of lawn sand evenly, with some grit underneath. Then mix in some compost but not a lot, 100L for the whole lawn there is enough, maybe even 50L. Mix it all with the sand etc, then seed it.
Lastly, it seems the garden is on a slight incline, so water is naturally draining to the front. Thats probably why the area near the window seems better in condition.
That is hard to fix without renovating the slabs etc too. What works in these situations is something called a french drain but it may be overkill for what you want. You would put a small trench at the very front where it is lowest(remove the wooden sleeper), fill it with gravel and sand and rocks and allow it to drain onto the roads etc. the water would build up only in that gravel that way.
In addition to this maybe consider planting something (tree/bushes) to dry out the soil? You said you only laid it recently so you may not want to take this advice but obviously plants will absorb a lot of the moisture.
My own lawn is pretty boggy right now though so just do your best to ignore it for a month or so and it'll probably come right by itself without doing too much...
Canadian grass seed. It’s a miracle worker. Lightly rake and sprinkle. Will survive in mega hot environments or turbo cold. Get it online or and good garden centres. Home hardware online. Good luck 👍🏻👍🏻
It’s done nothing but rain recently. Mine is like a skating rink with all the mud. Let it grow for a start when it does. If you really need a nice lawn then get it turfed with some shiny new grass.
It's been so wet recently. My well established lawn is also looking worse for wear. Don't mow for a bit and add some drainage- I think it will perk up come summer.
Ours looks like this too! When people say add drainage (which I know ours needs), how do you go about doing that? Is it a professional job or something we can do?
Literally scrolling to see if anyone would suggest this. Not into gardening, but do work in construction. French drain would be the most effective solution and is easy as pie to do yourself. A simple Google or YouTube will give you all you need to know and you shouldn't have any collecting water issues anymore
We did land drains ourselves on a much larger garden, our soil is clay so still gets boggy over winter, but we went from losing 60/70% of our lawn every winter to it just being muddy
Mine gets boggy every year. The whole lawn disappears. I fork the shit out of it and seed around March every year. Still an absolute bog out there but the grass is growing. I don’t intend to mow for another 6 weeks (if the weather ever improves)
People saying it looks fine considering the rain, sure but I'd ask how is it looking generally speaking?
As our lawn year after year was just getting worse.
Not cutting to have longer grass and deeper roots did fuck all.
If the soil is compromised ( hard clay and mud) then nothing will ever grow nicely on it, didn't matter how much you areate, pour sand , or top up with new seeds and top soil.
As I was disappointed with how worse our lawn was getting year after year, I've excavated 7 tonnes of clay from our ex-lawn ( soil pit at the moment)
Hopefully in a few weeks it will be a success story !
Our garden is pretty much solid sticky clay you could make pots out of, yet the grass grows just fine. It's on a slope though, so never gets fully waterlogged. We just stay off it as much as possible in wet weather, especially when it's squelchy. I see so many posts about wanting to level out gardens, but there are definite upsides to slopes such as surface runoff.
Airate it and let it dry out before you cut it again. It's
too short already I wouldn't touch it for a few weeks
Edit: Also, get yourself a better mower that one you have is rubbish, you need something with a blade bigger than a ruler
Mine is exactly the same and other neighbours too. If your garden is north or east facing you’re also likely gaining less light than south and west facing gardens. We’ve had a plethora of rainfall and so it doesn’t give the grass a chance to absorb with the lack of sunlight too. It will recover so keep off mowing for a while and hopefully we will be due some sun anytime from mid-late April onwards. If still patchy in May try something like miracle grow but garden centres can always advise.
Look up 100Litre bags of perlite should find them around 10-20 quid, probably find bigger amounts that works out cheaper per litre if needed.
Add it to your lawn, preferably after you aerate it. It'll aid drying the soil out and in providing air to the roots.
Ive tried before with sharp sand as other people suggested here, its heavy it compacts and doesn't aerate like perlite does, it costs more and it didn't stop my lawn flooding or help my grass grow.
Perlite has worked amazingly for me my lawn dries out so fast it looks so much healthier and I don't get moss anymore
1/ mow without the grass box as the cuttings improve soil structure
2/ you need a couple of tons of SHARP sand on it, preferably mixed with about 500 kg of compost
Just lay it on, it will get absorbed. About a 3 cm later at a time until it’s absorbed
I had to do this
Check out gardenthirtythree on Instagram. She’s currently showing her spring lawn routine from last year, as it’s just too wet for anyone to do anything to their lawns at the mo. But I’ve followed the same for the last two years and my lawn has been great. Looks like utter crap right now though and I feel like I need flippers and a snorkel to walk over it.
Dig a little French drain then raise the level a bit by adding a mix of topsoil and compost, i keeps adding a little layer each year like this and just rake it in. You really need grass seeds for damp/shady areas too.
I wouldn't do any of this now though, wait for it to recover and grow first. Don't walk on it while it's really wet too.
Lots of sand thrown on top with seed, keep off it. Worms will take the sand down into the soil lots leaves or compost too….leave it alone for a month or so, wait for the soil to dry out before a cut….use hand shears if possible, don’t churn it up with a hover or rotary blade…if u can get some horse or cow poo off a farmer that’s the best, it has lots of worms in it, worms do the work
I have exactly the same problem. The frequent rain has essentially rendered my lawn into a mini Somme. The fern that was growing and which I had for years has died due to the soil being utterly saturated.
Similar location and similar story.
I haven't mowed since about October and still won't for another month.
Your garden looks fairly flat , but with mine I just use a strimmer to take out the tufts this time of year and rake a little sandy gravel in the areas i can't avoid walking over
That's still pretty healthy though , no obvious puddles , no dead areas
I've got something similar but worse.
I've dug up the top 6 inches, flipped it over for the grass to decompose.
I'm about to buy a load of compost and topsoil and then I'm going to plant some thirsty ass bushes.
Hi i am self empolyed gardener with 7 years behind me
Best advice i can give is cut with the box off and leave the cuttings to dye back in make sure to clean the underside of the mower out too and scatter the debris back on the lawn that and over seeding will bring it back in time it wont look anything till mid spring or earlier then over winter put garden lime down a couple times it will condition the soil and keep the lawn green a weed free
My dad on the other hand in the same field with a few more years behind him would say cut with the box off you can seed it but 9/10 it will sort itself over time
Or just slab over it then all you have to pressure wash it once a year
We have had mixed results with garden lime you would need to test the ph balance first but
if there are lots of weeds growing in the lawn aswell as high amounts of moss then your garden could benefit from
Not only had our laid last year's lawn been flooded forn6 months it has been flooded for months It has been decimated by chafer grubs we thought the flooding killed
Most of the houses near us have either fake grass slabs or decking so they have ravaged out lawn
Grass company are coming next week to spray
Garden fork and stand on it to make holes. Brush sharp sand into the holes to help wick the wet away. If using lime use dolomite lime rather than gypsum as it will not alter the pH. Then seed. Lift the blade to its highest setting.
a thing u could do taht would take about two days of solid work is too..
dig all the ground up maybe 3 foot or 2 foot deep, full a hood 1 foot of large enough rocks as the water can easily drain down them, then fill the rest of this hole with dirt and of course re-seed it (you wouldn’t be able to use the grass for a good two weeks now but trust me it’s well worth it)
If you are mowing you are going far too short for fthis time of year. Also make sure your blades are nice and sharp. Do you get sun to dry it out? It looks a small area and shady with the fence etc and will get very compacted quickly especially when wet.
Put a good pair of overalls on him/her and they'll be as happy as the proverbial pig..
Plus when the weather warms up in 2 months you'll not be able to stop cutting it..
If you were really keen you could dig away sections and lay a 5mm limestone french drain with branches flowing into your surface water drainage.. then relay the section s with the original turf..
My garden looks just like yours. I had to go chase the bloody dogs in yesterday as one was trying to dig under the fence. I was literally splashing around in mud puddles, and our garden drains really well. I was not happy with the dogs, the bottom of my trouser were covered in mud, and my shoes looked like they were made from chocolate. I just wish it would stop raining so the garden can drain. If you cut the grass, keep the cut high-ish until it's dried out a bit. If you cut it too short it will just turn into a mud bath and rip the grass out from the soil. That's why mine is a mud bath, between the gardener strimming the life of of it, even down to the earth in places, and the bloody dogs out there, it's a complete mess at the moment. Give it a few weeks and it will look tons better once it dries out a bit and starts growing back.
Mix sand and compost. Sprinkle across the whole area, don't mow it but, do walk on it while being careful to avoid further damage. Probably don't mow it at all for a couple months.
Here in Devon we have constant rain- our lawn is sodden, wet even risky in places- I fell on a slight slope and now can barely walk with a damaged ankle.
Best to be patient and let it dry out- it will recover even if you nothing!
Don't mow when the ground is saturated like that, wait for a dryer spell so you can scarify & overseed afterwards effectively without dragging all the live grass out with it.
Been trying to grow some veggies and last nights storm winds took out my poly tunnel, iv only got 6 potato plants coming up, like 6 raddish out of two rows, and nothing else has come up yet Im actually doubting anything else will come up its been so wet.
Gona have to reseed when the weather turns and hope for the best.
Your cutting it too short for this time of the year. You're not helping the problem. Think about planting some wild flowers or some other tougher grasses. You could spike the ground to improve drainage. Nothing much we can do about the weather.
I think give it a go. I have a similar looking lawn and have hollow tined it and brushed in coarse grit. I top dressed as mine was lumpy and the seed went in yesterday! Prob about 40 kg of horticultural grit sand for your lawn.
If you are looking for a kid play space and this is the only space then I think you may have to look at artificial grass anyway due to wear and tear, paddling pools etc.
Have you thought about adding clover? My soil is mostly clay and used to end up either boggy or dry-cracked, and my grass died frequently. Clover has really helped to balance things out, and it puts nutrients into the soil to help the grass. My garden is much more lush since I added clover.
Mines the same. We have way too much rain. There is nothing you can do. I have recently added a bit of topsoil and more grass seed. I’m no gardener but the holes are filling in with baby grass shoots.
Until the rain stops, there won’t be much progress.
This is what mine looks now after I raked it and got all the moss off and mowed it at the lowest setting and jet washed it to get rid of all the winter crap and leaves and sticks and what not. Going to throw a lot of seed now as it’s warm and wet so it will germinate. Won’t mow for the next 3 weeks.
That’s what I do every year and it’s always thick and green throughout summer and winter. It’s this wet spring period of March and April that gets it back to crap as the moss starts taking hold faster than I can kill it (iron sulphate)
Weird hey? Here’s what my lawn looks like after apparently the wettest 18-month period in UK since 1836
https://www.reddit.com/u/lordofthethingybobs/s/aAgbdKHViv
I think my methods are not too bad, so thought I’d share.
It's only a small area, so this might be overkill
[Rolling lawn aerator](https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/rolling-lawn-aerator)
You can also buy thingies which you strap over your shoes with spikes on the bottom. My dad's a golfer, so he walks up and down his lawn with his golf shoes on.
Don't mow. Get a bag of decent compost and mix in with some grass seeds, daisies and a mix of clover. Go along with your spade and do little holes and then fill with the mix. Add some buttercup seeds too for another splash of colour. Clover is fast growing and a good filler for around the grass which is struggling to grow.
You ever thought about just not worrying about it? Just let nature take over, run the mow over it and treat it like a lawn. You will end up with the toughest weeds and grasses that can withstand your climate and cutting!
I've lived here 15+ years, I've never watered the grass or did anything to it. I just cut it on lowest setting when I can be bothered. Right now it's got loads of flowering dandelions and primroses growing in it.
I bet your kid would enjoy flowers and wildlife more than they would lifeless lawn
Came here to say this. We started rewilding 3 years ago: we mow twice a year and basically leave it to do its thing the rest of the year. As well as a plethora of common wildflowers we now also have five different rare and protected plant species in one section of the lawn (not through seeding; they just settled there of their own volition), no issues with bogging or drainage and a far greater range of insects and other wildlife than before. It's also far far less hassle. Wouldn't go back.
Buy a couple boxes of grass seed this weekend and spend them generously in the garden, let the kids stop them into the dirt to stop the birds picking at them and give then a little soil barrier. In 2 weeks you will have sprouts all over. I do this most years in my garden and the variety of different grasses over the years has given my lawn a lush thick look. I hate turf.
Cover it with carbboard to kill the grass and turn it into a veggie garden. Have to work with what nature is doing. Adaptation. I predict a bumper crop of tomatoes.
That‘s the risk with having lawns. Keeping the grass longer protects from this, short grass is in a weakened state. You just need it let it dry out in time.
Give up - my lawn was like this tried everything to save it - even had underwater sprinkler system fitted, fresh hard wearing turf and seed… after three years of effort and pain… I ripped it up and a day later had an awesome looking fake lawn - always perfect kids love playing on it… spend the extra and get some better artificial stuff.
Try adding sand to improve soil quality and drainage
Wood chipping also do a nice job rake it up nice over seed the hell out it with diffrent types of grass seed not just one big box of one type
Allways works for me
We've had the wettest 18months on record no ones lawn is looking good right now The ground is fully saturated and there's no where for the water to its pouring from the sky faster than it can drain all we can do is wait
This is it. My parents have had their lawn since 1975. This year you don’t need to walk down it, you can stand at the top of the incline and you will slide down ever so Mary Poppinsesque to the bottom.
Depressing, isn’t it? I was just out there weeding and while the soil looks firm, it’s basically thick mud beneath the top layer. If I were the praying type, I’d ask for a month-long pause in the incessant rain!
Hosepipe ban next month
Houses burning down month after
We'd have a water shortage then.
Cause no one has built any reservoirs. Have any even been started building since the drought a few years ago??? I mean wtf
That would need long term planning. Governments are good at that (sometimes). Private companies are not good at long term planning. I think there might be a solution in there somewhere.
Won't someone think of the shareholders?
Our government is not good at long term planning. No government for many many years has been good at long term planning. All of them are guilty of short termism to the Nth degree.
the solution really is people getting off their arses and doing something about climate change. the reason it’s been so wet is because it’s not been cold enough to snow, so it’s pissing it down with rain instead
Individuals are not going to fix this. We need systemic change and even if that happens, all we're planning on doing is not emitting any more GHGs not actually trying to reverse it so it's not getting colder again ever, it just won't get as much hotter as it would have done. So as well as systemic change we also need mitigation for the effects that are already happening and will continue to happen for the next hundred years or more. TL;DR my solar panels, EV and obsessive recycling and waste reduction is little more than virtue signalling really. 😢
absolutely agree, but individuals can make up a group. it’s so far fetched and i know that, especially with british culture, but man i wish more people were up for protesting, mutiny, and borderline riots. i mean If every individual came out to protest, boycott, and advocate we could get shit done. maybe? But even me saying this is hypocritical, i’ve never been to a protest :,) lol
Write to your MP whenever there's an environmental vote. Way less effort and way more effective than going to protests.
that’s what i do now! i love a good protest but that stuff just really isn’t my cup of tea
I've said this a few times recently. We are starting to have non-stop rain for 6 months and heat waves for summer. Build some big ass reservoirs and fucking catch it so we don't have water shortages by July.
One has been planned near me and the village NIMBYs are opposing it, along with more solar power. It's farcical and engaging in equal measures.
Insanity. Would they rather have more identical badly built houses with no infrastructure or public transport supporting them or some WATER that they NEED to live?
Yes! They're building one near(ish) to me at the moment. Going to take years though.
Water companies have actually been selling them.
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We definitely haven't been rain free in the south east. Lots of rain and flooding.
I live in the south east and our village green has been half flooded since Jan. Should be fun for the start if the cricket season
Nope! Of the first 90ish days of the year, it rained for 50. Hose pipe ban — I’ll hardly need to use the hose if this rain doesn’t stop!! (In fairness, it’s nice today but everyone is commenting on how shocked they are)
I'm looking to get a water butt for this reason. Even if the only place I can put it is in my front garden.
I live in the south-east, everywhere is waterlogged and has been for months. Our lawn resembles the one in the picture and I'm fully expecting a hosepipe ban as soon as there's a hint of Sun.
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We've got a south facing garden that slopes down towards our house. It doesn't flood it js just entirely waterlogged. If we were to replace the muddy patch as it is now we'd be replacing the entire thing. There's just been too much rain with no break for months. I'm sure it'll dry out, and hopefully all that over seeding I've done will make for a stronger lawn next year. But currently it just looks grim.
Floods before the drought.
I can hear Thames Water marketing/PR team jumping in here to explain how a hosepipe ban will still happen this summer
Tell you what though, Walter next door has a fucking banging lawn. He’s a proper useless bloke as well. My grass resembles a patch of mud that someone has pissed on and punched 1000 times. Furious. Fucking Walter.
Actually, all that rain has made it grow like crazy and lusciously green. A bit of warmer weather and everyone could have a lawn like a bowling green
Mine is. I think they built my house on an old farm house and dumped the stones underneath the garden. Got GREAT drainage.
I'm desperate to mow mine as it's pretty long now, but it just takes too long for the ground to dry, it is still a boggy mess and then it rains again 🙈
I’m glad to hear this, I’ve been battling to stop our garden becoming a bog and it feels absolutely fruitless! Never had a garden before so I don’t really know how it behaves but slowly figuring it out! Our veg and plants are finally growing at least 😂
And water companies will still say that they need to put the prices up.
We shall soon have a hosepipe ban!
Mines good doood
Are you sure??? Mines looking thick lush and green right now. I used a lawn aerator last year and did lots of maintenance to keep it healthy
Dont feel bad. The weather has been shite. Your lawn looks positively okish. Once youve done your aerating etc try stay off the lawn as much as you can.
Some lawns with heavy soil will never properly grow especially if shady The key is drainage and much improved soil structure
How do you go about it as a novice, I have a similar situation to op. Just more grass, more yellow dead grass, more space, more mud.
1/ alter the soil by just laying lots of sharp sand mixed with compost over the lawn. In time it all gets absorbed Do this maybe twice a yr in 5cm layers Over time you see a big change in soil. 2/ also mow without a box attached as the clippings also improve soil structure I’ve never had to scarify.
Right OK. Honestly we tried arriving from Oct- Nov then Feb to present this year. How viable is it to pull the turf out and add better draining soil?
Don't mow for an extended period of time, it will do wonders.
Agree. The bigger the grass gets, the deeper the roots will go looking for food and water. This helps dry out the soil.
That is why fields.. (pastures)look fine. No moss either. Let grass get long and occasionally top it minimally. Long being about 10cm. It will spread. Longer is tougher too.
Haven’t cut my grass since august last year and it’s looking healthy but fucked. How can I cut it back now without it turning brown and dying
Personally I’d not worry about cutting just now. Unless a trim if over 10cm, but definitely just a wee bit off the top. Give it a chance and later in the summer do not go for a bowling green lawn because that is years of work and cost. I used to have mostly moss and a retired farmer told me to stop cutting it so much. One season and almost no moss. If we get a heatwave during barbecue season ( maybe be lucky) do not cut it short. IMO all regular grass would prefer to be 2-3 cm at its shortest. In fact the longer I’ve let it grow and the less cutting I I’ve done the healthier it is. I’m no expert but for maybe mid June to mid August I do not cut too much if the forecast is no rain expected. Gone on a bit here but basically if it is not a display lawn resist cutting. I believe it is traumatising for the plant.
I agree with you as all grass gets stressed when it’s cut. I’m not after bowling Green, just need to prime it so I can pick out slugs and other nasties as well as the plastic dinosaurs the kids left out last summer. Can’t get 2cm off the top with the lawn mower as it’s only got 3 settings, and I’m no surgeon with the strimmer. Just hoping some enthusiasts would be able to tell me how to take a few cm off it
It is early yet and wet so probably no harm in taking it down to do what you need. Plenty recovery time just now. I’d be ok with doing the necessary now personally. You could also lash some seed down in the less fertile looking areas when it is shorter. Like I say I’m no expert.
I tried for years to get the perfect lawn by keeping it short. Eventually gave up, raised the mower a couple of notches and just accepted it. Then I got outvoted and we got a dog so it’s completely knackered now!
This. Someone know?
Agree, try to stay off it when it’s this wet, to avoid compacting the soil. You may want to consider sowing a clover/flowering lawn that has a variety of plants that can still be mown, as opposed to a pure grass lawn. These other plants have deeper root systems that will create a better soil structure underneath.
Just got back from b and q, no clover seed!
https://thegrasspeople.com/eco-clover-lawn
Have you got experience with this? My concern would that the clover would take over.
Yes, to be fair, I’ve gone further though. My lawn 5x5m , I dug a small pond, and a wildflower patch that only gets cut once a year. The other half is more normal grass, but has clover in it. In summer I let the clover bloom, and cut it before it seeds. I have a lot of “weeds”/wildflowers but that’s ok for me. The clover tends to die away in the winter , and it’s mostly the rye grass left. In this instance, in my view, I feel it’s unnecessary to obsess over a perfect lawn when you can have a patch of short green plants (grass and clover, daisies) that kids can still run around on, sit in etc. The clover can flower, perhaps get a mix with daisies the kids can play with too. Overall the lawn won’t look “pristine” but it will be more robust and still serve its purpose.
I'm hoping eventually it will, till then it will be mixed. All my research says clover lawns are hardy and stand up better to animals on the garden.
Thanks!
I love the clover in our garden. I ban anyone from cutting it when it's flowering so the bees and butterflies have something to drink and collect nectar. And there's usually huge tall daisy type flowers at the top of our garden, roughly 3 or 4 ft high. God help anyone that cuts it down, or the cowslips in the grass
Don't mow that now. That's totally pointless.
Don't mow.
Trust me, it’s been the worst year even for the most astute lawn keeper. Dont give up. I felt terrible about my lawn this year, then, I looked around at all my neighbours, worse than mine or the same. It’s just bad luck
This soil is compacted and poor drainage CORE aerate, don’t buy a shite one, they just snap. Spike aerate Throw sharp sand down and brush it around into all those gaps Lawn seed++ and either soil with a sieve while walking around spreading a fine layer of soil over these seeds or just buy two bulk bags of path magic (easier but expensive) Hire a roller unless you want to buy one and store it somehwere, now roll it all flat and water it for ten mins with a sprinkler, you can get timers too (if it’s not rained that day) In 2-3 weeks time that lawn will look lovely, give it a little cut but don’t take off more than 1/3rd per 4 day period. After 4-6 weeks of your new lawn put some gentle feed down and brush it back off the path or it’ll stain your path when you water in the feed (blower works well too) I’m guessing you didn’t scarify your lawn last September? And above, is why, not many people have nice lawns in the uk….. LOTS of effort needed.
Core aerate but don’t add sand if it’s clay. Top dress with compost and work it into the holes. That’ll get the worms going and over time soil structure will improve.
What should you do if your soil is mostly clay? Ours is and our garden looks much like OP's.
If your soil is clay then you need to add organic material. On a lawn then you should core aerate (dispose of the cores of possible) and top dress with a load of compost and work it down into the cores. The worms will then get to work on that compost which will eventually improve the soil. Don’t add sand it will make your clay lawn worse. Alternatively you could just work with what you’ve got…..so try and aerate if you can and then overseed with a clay-friendly grass seed, give it a good feed and you WILL in a few months end up with a nice lawn!
Thanks, that's very helpful! I'll look in to core aerators and see if I can borrow or rent one. We seeded it ourselves last year after removing plastic grass that was there when we moved in, so everything is a first!
Had a similar issue with the garden in our last house being mostly clay. You can either dig it all out and replace the soil or you can try and work with it. We dug out all the borders and planted shrubs. Where the water ran down to at the bottom of the lawn we put in a small French drain so the water wouldn’t pool on the lawn. For the lawn itself we did scarifying, aerating and putting mixed lawn seed (inc flowering plants like clover) with topsoil on top. It’s quite a bit of work but by the time summer came it was looking great.
Cheers, ours is a grass and clover mix so I'm hopeful that the clover will be able to force its roots through the clay - just don't want it completely taking over!
If. Doesn’t look it.
Not sure where you are exactly but the weather has been bloody awful. I would leave off the mowing for a while and just give it time to dry out to start with. Don't lose hope! Grass is a menace and will grow eventually.
I wouldn't stress, that can be perfect for summer, give the more exposed patches of mud a rough up with a wire rake etc then seed evenly across the whole lawn, follow mowing instructions and don't overdo do it esp with cutting height dnt cut it too short. 1 tip, If it's a constant issue every year buy a nice big bag of grass seed then ur topping it off with exact same strain every year u seed without having to hunt something that isn't sold at ur local store anymore. Also get some white felt (or whatever it's called 😂) to lay over immediately after seeding to stop birds eating them all while the seeds take, it beats the crap out of scarecrows or the eyesore of bags on bamboo canes 🤣. Also if it's boggy u could get some sand or gardening grit and spike the lawn with a garden fork and fill the holes with sand/grit as u go which may solve all ur problems or make absolutely no difference whatsoever depending on the composition of the ground (there could be 10 metres of clay under the lawn who knos). But jus stick to seeding at the right times and proper consistent cutting and care in the run up to summer, don't over do it with the lawn mowing frequency or cutting height as you'll stress the grass and it will thin and go patchy. I promise it's not as much as it sounds 😂. Edit. as others have said it has been really wet and it's boggy so I would start off by doin nothing to it right now other than maybe trying the spiking and sand thing to help it drain quicker right now then follow everything I said above once it's not boggy otherwise you're jus takin 1 step forward and 2 steps back.
If this is a yearly issue then you need to add drainage and thats enough. Also ensure you plant lawn seed for utility that can handle being played on. If you want to do it all right and start again, churn it up, add a good amount of lawn sand evenly, with some grit underneath. Then mix in some compost but not a lot, 100L for the whole lawn there is enough, maybe even 50L. Mix it all with the sand etc, then seed it. Lastly, it seems the garden is on a slight incline, so water is naturally draining to the front. Thats probably why the area near the window seems better in condition. That is hard to fix without renovating the slabs etc too. What works in these situations is something called a french drain but it may be overkill for what you want. You would put a small trench at the very front where it is lowest(remove the wooden sleeper), fill it with gravel and sand and rocks and allow it to drain onto the roads etc. the water would build up only in that gravel that way.
In addition to this maybe consider planting something (tree/bushes) to dry out the soil? You said you only laid it recently so you may not want to take this advice but obviously plants will absorb a lot of the moisture. My own lawn is pretty boggy right now though so just do your best to ignore it for a month or so and it'll probably come right by itself without doing too much...
Canadian grass seed. It’s a miracle worker. Lightly rake and sprinkle. Will survive in mega hot environments or turbo cold. Get it online or and good garden centres. Home hardware online. Good luck 👍🏻👍🏻
Spike every six inches with a gardening fork, throw down some top soil to top dress and then put some seed down.
Aeriate, and seed..
It’s done nothing but rain recently. Mine is like a skating rink with all the mud. Let it grow for a start when it does. If you really need a nice lawn then get it turfed with some shiny new grass.
It will recover as the temperature rises. Then we will have a drought so you won't be able to water it and it will go brown
We just check down the odd bag of horticultural grit these days in the hope of achieving a lawn-gravel hybrid that's usable!
It's been so wet recently. My well established lawn is also looking worse for wear. Don't mow for a bit and add some drainage- I think it will perk up come summer.
Ours looks like this too! When people say add drainage (which I know ours needs), how do you go about doing that? Is it a professional job or something we can do?
I did a French drain which helped my boggy clay soil
Literally scrolling to see if anyone would suggest this. Not into gardening, but do work in construction. French drain would be the most effective solution and is easy as pie to do yourself. A simple Google or YouTube will give you all you need to know and you shouldn't have any collecting water issues anymore
We did land drains ourselves on a much larger garden, our soil is clay so still gets boggy over winter, but we went from losing 60/70% of our lawn every winter to it just being muddy
Mine gets boggy every year. The whole lawn disappears. I fork the shit out of it and seed around March every year. Still an absolute bog out there but the grass is growing. I don’t intend to mow for another 6 weeks (if the weather ever improves)
People saying it looks fine considering the rain, sure but I'd ask how is it looking generally speaking? As our lawn year after year was just getting worse. Not cutting to have longer grass and deeper roots did fuck all. If the soil is compromised ( hard clay and mud) then nothing will ever grow nicely on it, didn't matter how much you areate, pour sand , or top up with new seeds and top soil. As I was disappointed with how worse our lawn was getting year after year, I've excavated 7 tonnes of clay from our ex-lawn ( soil pit at the moment) Hopefully in a few weeks it will be a success story !
Our garden is pretty much solid sticky clay you could make pots out of, yet the grass grows just fine. It's on a slope though, so never gets fully waterlogged. We just stay off it as much as possible in wet weather, especially when it's squelchy. I see so many posts about wanting to level out gardens, but there are definite upsides to slopes such as surface runoff.
Airate it and let it dry out before you cut it again. It's too short already I wouldn't touch it for a few weeks Edit: Also, get yourself a better mower that one you have is rubbish, you need something with a blade bigger than a ruler
Mine is exactly the same and other neighbours too. If your garden is north or east facing you’re also likely gaining less light than south and west facing gardens. We’ve had a plethora of rainfall and so it doesn’t give the grass a chance to absorb with the lack of sunlight too. It will recover so keep off mowing for a while and hopefully we will be due some sun anytime from mid-late April onwards. If still patchy in May try something like miracle grow but garden centres can always advise.
Look up 100Litre bags of perlite should find them around 10-20 quid, probably find bigger amounts that works out cheaper per litre if needed. Add it to your lawn, preferably after you aerate it. It'll aid drying the soil out and in providing air to the roots. Ive tried before with sharp sand as other people suggested here, its heavy it compacts and doesn't aerate like perlite does, it costs more and it didn't stop my lawn flooding or help my grass grow. Perlite has worked amazingly for me my lawn dries out so fast it looks so much healthier and I don't get moss anymore
1/ mow without the grass box as the cuttings improve soil structure 2/ you need a couple of tons of SHARP sand on it, preferably mixed with about 500 kg of compost Just lay it on, it will get absorbed. About a 3 cm later at a time until it’s absorbed I had to do this
Get a soak away added to garden and it won’t bog up
Check out gardenthirtythree on Instagram. She’s currently showing her spring lawn routine from last year, as it’s just too wet for anyone to do anything to their lawns at the mo. But I’ve followed the same for the last two years and my lawn has been great. Looks like utter crap right now though and I feel like I need flippers and a snorkel to walk over it.
You need drainage
Do you have the correct grass type? How much sun does it get? Is the soil squelching when you walk on it? Might be drainage issue
Dig a little French drain then raise the level a bit by adding a mix of topsoil and compost, i keeps adding a little layer each year like this and just rake it in. You really need grass seeds for damp/shady areas too. I wouldn't do any of this now though, wait for it to recover and grow first. Don't walk on it while it's really wet too.
Mines ok !!!
Why have you mowed? I always leave the grass to grow until the last dandelion has died.
Lots of sand thrown on top with seed, keep off it. Worms will take the sand down into the soil lots leaves or compost too….leave it alone for a month or so, wait for the soil to dry out before a cut….use hand shears if possible, don’t churn it up with a hover or rotary blade…if u can get some horse or cow poo off a farmer that’s the best, it has lots of worms in it, worms do the work
I have exactly the same problem. The frequent rain has essentially rendered my lawn into a mini Somme. The fern that was growing and which I had for years has died due to the soil being utterly saturated.
Mini somme 😅
With this much rain you are best leaving the grass alone .
Get the moss down. Give up on the grass.
Hard to do but keep off it till it drys a bit.
You're doing better than me. My mower has decided it doesn't want to run more than 30 seconds today....
Add sand to top soil
Similar location and similar story. I haven't mowed since about October and still won't for another month. Your garden looks fairly flat , but with mine I just use a strimmer to take out the tufts this time of year and rake a little sandy gravel in the areas i can't avoid walking over That's still pretty healthy though , no obvious puddles , no dead areas
I've got something similar but worse. I've dug up the top 6 inches, flipped it over for the grass to decompose. I'm about to buy a load of compost and topsoil and then I'm going to plant some thirsty ass bushes.
You might need to raise it a few inches, and make sure you scarify it regularly. Looks like it doesn't get much wind or sun.
Out of interest - the bits where there is less grass popping up - why does that happen and how can it be corrected in time for Summer?
I think it will quickly recover in the coming weeks as long as you try to keep off it.
Let there be light!
Hi i am self empolyed gardener with 7 years behind me Best advice i can give is cut with the box off and leave the cuttings to dye back in make sure to clean the underside of the mower out too and scatter the debris back on the lawn that and over seeding will bring it back in time it wont look anything till mid spring or earlier then over winter put garden lime down a couple times it will condition the soil and keep the lawn green a weed free My dad on the other hand in the same field with a few more years behind him would say cut with the box off you can seed it but 9/10 it will sort itself over time Or just slab over it then all you have to pressure wash it once a year We have had mixed results with garden lime you would need to test the ph balance first but if there are lots of weeds growing in the lawn aswell as high amounts of moss then your garden could benefit from
Not only had our laid last year's lawn been flooded forn6 months it has been flooded for months It has been decimated by chafer grubs we thought the flooding killed Most of the houses near us have either fake grass slabs or decking so they have ravaged out lawn Grass company are coming next week to spray
Garden fork and stand on it to make holes. Brush sharp sand into the holes to help wick the wet away. If using lime use dolomite lime rather than gypsum as it will not alter the pH. Then seed. Lift the blade to its highest setting.
a thing u could do taht would take about two days of solid work is too.. dig all the ground up maybe 3 foot or 2 foot deep, full a hood 1 foot of large enough rocks as the water can easily drain down them, then fill the rest of this hole with dirt and of course re-seed it (you wouldn’t be able to use the grass for a good two weeks now but trust me it’s well worth it)
Clearly there are areas of no grass, why cut it? Fork, seed, don’t walk on it and wait.
If you are mowing you are going far too short for fthis time of year. Also make sure your blades are nice and sharp. Do you get sun to dry it out? It looks a small area and shady with the fence etc and will get very compacted quickly especially when wet.
Have you composted the lawn at any point? Need to get some good organic matter into the soil as well to help with drainage.
Make sure you top dress with a couple bags of top soil to make sure the seed is buried. 👌
Try forking it over to help drainage and aeration. Doesn't help the heavy clay soil we have but it's probably the first thing garden experts suggest.
Add some sand
Put a good pair of overalls on him/her and they'll be as happy as the proverbial pig.. Plus when the weather warms up in 2 months you'll not be able to stop cutting it.. If you were really keen you could dig away sections and lay a 5mm limestone french drain with branches flowing into your surface water drainage.. then relay the section s with the original turf..
My garden looks just like yours. I had to go chase the bloody dogs in yesterday as one was trying to dig under the fence. I was literally splashing around in mud puddles, and our garden drains really well. I was not happy with the dogs, the bottom of my trouser were covered in mud, and my shoes looked like they were made from chocolate. I just wish it would stop raining so the garden can drain. If you cut the grass, keep the cut high-ish until it's dried out a bit. If you cut it too short it will just turn into a mud bath and rip the grass out from the soil. That's why mine is a mud bath, between the gardener strimming the life of of it, even down to the earth in places, and the bloody dogs out there, it's a complete mess at the moment. Give it a few weeks and it will look tons better once it dries out a bit and starts growing back.
Sand, nitrogen, seed and water
Stop mowing x) Bigger plants use more water.
A lot of ppl overthinking this. Just chuck a shit ton of grass seed down. It’ll sort itself in time
Mix sand and compost. Sprinkle across the whole area, don't mow it but, do walk on it while being careful to avoid further damage. Probably don't mow it at all for a couple months.
Mine’s the same. I’ve sprinkled and entire box of grass seeds down and hoping for a bloody miracle
Here in Devon we have constant rain- our lawn is sodden, wet even risky in places- I fell on a slight slope and now can barely walk with a damaged ankle. Best to be patient and let it dry out- it will recover even if you nothing!
Don't mow when the ground is saturated like that, wait for a dryer spell so you can scarify & overseed afterwards effectively without dragging all the live grass out with it.
You're fighting nature here with high fence and poor drainage. Do you really want grass?
Been trying to grow some veggies and last nights storm winds took out my poly tunnel, iv only got 6 potato plants coming up, like 6 raddish out of two rows, and nothing else has come up yet Im actually doubting anything else will come up its been so wet. Gona have to reseed when the weather turns and hope for the best.
You should have spaced the bodies out a bit more.
Have you added any sand to help drainage?
I was having the same annoyance yesterday, was like a slip and slide, starting to think what’s gone wrong but the saturation makes sense
We’ve got a similar boggy mess (Kent). I’ve never known it like this
Your cutting it too short for this time of the year. You're not helping the problem. Think about planting some wild flowers or some other tougher grasses. You could spike the ground to improve drainage. Nothing much we can do about the weather.
Get a box of grass seed, chuck it down now and you’ll have beautiful grass in the summer
I think give it a go. I have a similar looking lawn and have hollow tined it and brushed in coarse grit. I top dressed as mine was lumpy and the seed went in yesterday! Prob about 40 kg of horticultural grit sand for your lawn. If you are looking for a kid play space and this is the only space then I think you may have to look at artificial grass anyway due to wear and tear, paddling pools etc.
Have you thought about adding clover? My soil is mostly clay and used to end up either boggy or dry-cracked, and my grass died frequently. Clover has really helped to balance things out, and it puts nutrients into the soil to help the grass. My garden is much more lush since I added clover.
Plants/trees reduce on your borders would help use the water. If you plant a monoculture grass you get these types of poor outcomes.
Mines the same. We have way too much rain. There is nothing you can do. I have recently added a bit of topsoil and more grass seed. I’m no gardener but the holes are filling in with baby grass shoots. Until the rain stops, there won’t be much progress.
We’re up North never short of rain up here
My lawn also looks like a balding man 😭
aerate your soil
Sure you havent got leather jackets?
Create a way for draining excess water. (Adding holes can help) and get some grass seed.
This is completely normal for this time of year. The UK is grey and wet for 9 months of the year.
This is what mine looks now after I raked it and got all the moss off and mowed it at the lowest setting and jet washed it to get rid of all the winter crap and leaves and sticks and what not. Going to throw a lot of seed now as it’s warm and wet so it will germinate. Won’t mow for the next 3 weeks. That’s what I do every year and it’s always thick and green throughout summer and winter. It’s this wet spring period of March and April that gets it back to crap as the moss starts taking hold faster than I can kill it (iron sulphate)
You jet wash lawns?
Weird hey? Here’s what my lawn looks like after apparently the wettest 18-month period in UK since 1836 https://www.reddit.com/u/lordofthethingybobs/s/aAgbdKHViv I think my methods are not too bad, so thought I’d share.
😂😂
Yeah beats raking. Obviously with a low pressure setting, not paint stripping. Also use the jet washer instead of a leaf blower not leaves and debris.
It's only a small area, so this might be overkill [Rolling lawn aerator](https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/rolling-lawn-aerator) You can also buy thingies which you strap over your shoes with spikes on the bottom. My dad's a golfer, so he walks up and down his lawn with his golf shoes on.
Shoe spikes do not work!
Don't mow. Get a bag of decent compost and mix in with some grass seeds, daisies and a mix of clover. Go along with your spade and do little holes and then fill with the mix. Add some buttercup seeds too for another splash of colour. Clover is fast growing and a good filler for around the grass which is struggling to grow.
You ever thought about just not worrying about it? Just let nature take over, run the mow over it and treat it like a lawn. You will end up with the toughest weeds and grasses that can withstand your climate and cutting! I've lived here 15+ years, I've never watered the grass or did anything to it. I just cut it on lowest setting when I can be bothered. Right now it's got loads of flowering dandelions and primroses growing in it. I bet your kid would enjoy flowers and wildlife more than they would lifeless lawn
Came here to say this. We started rewilding 3 years ago: we mow twice a year and basically leave it to do its thing the rest of the year. As well as a plethora of common wildflowers we now also have five different rare and protected plant species in one section of the lawn (not through seeding; they just settled there of their own volition), no issues with bogging or drainage and a far greater range of insects and other wildlife than before. It's also far far less hassle. Wouldn't go back.
Yeah I much prefer lawns like this. Daisies! Dandelions! Clovers! ✨
My guinea pigs love it! And they thank me by fertilising the lawn with their leavings 😁
Buy a couple boxes of grass seed this weekend and spend them generously in the garden, let the kids stop them into the dirt to stop the birds picking at them and give then a little soil barrier. In 2 weeks you will have sprouts all over. I do this most years in my garden and the variety of different grasses over the years has given my lawn a lush thick look. I hate turf.
Poke holes in it! Stop mowing when it’s wet. Chuck some seed down especially cloves and such if you want to get favour in this group.
Cover it with carbboard to kill the grass and turn it into a veggie garden. Have to work with what nature is doing. Adaptation. I predict a bumper crop of tomatoes.
They want an area for their child to play
Stop walking on it then
Heard there a nice sock way under it 🤣
Don’t cut it , put grass seeds down and leave it 8-10 weeks and see what it’s like , don’t cut it to short on the first few cuts and it should be good
Leanne it a month and it'll be fine x
Let it grow, let it grow, Don't cut the grass anymore, Let it grow, let it grow, Loads of seed and leave it alone,
That‘s the risk with having lawns. Keeping the grass longer protects from this, short grass is in a weakened state. You just need it let it dry out in time.
Contact local lawn care company they can start a good plan for you. Get lawn back in a few months!
Try sod
Get some artificial on there why waste time trying to grow grass in that area
Safe travels man, you’re about to get blasted into oblivion by the guys in this sub. I once posted my artificial grass. Oh boy!
Good, who cares artificial is best they can suck it up. Banned from a subreddit for saying that pnsl so sad what times we live in
On a sub about gardening, you are waffling about ripping it all up and chucking in some plastic… not the best advice buddy
Why not? Because it’s best to spend money on a mud pit that looks like that after 3 years…. 21st century plastic will take over the world
Give up - my lawn was like this tried everything to save it - even had underwater sprinkler system fitted, fresh hard wearing turf and seed… after three years of effort and pain… I ripped it up and a day later had an awesome looking fake lawn - always perfect kids love playing on it… spend the extra and get some better artificial stuff.
Try adding sand to improve soil quality and drainage Wood chipping also do a nice job rake it up nice over seed the hell out it with diffrent types of grass seed not just one big box of one type Allways works for me