[3759allen]

i sowed my lawn from seed last year. it all came up pretty well, it did seem to have a few larger patches that looked a little thin.

in autumn these patches seem to pick up, but over winter the whole lawn is looking a little sparse. seems as though a lot of the grass seems to be turning yellow, but turning yellow evenly (not so patch, but everywhere). there is still green grass, and not horrendous.

do i leave it and see what the warmer temperatures bring and keep it watered? or do i try some sort of fertilizer? i have some rabbit dropping tea thats been brewing over winter, would this be advisable, may be watered down?

[8doubles]

A scattering of growmore would probably be better !

[Kristen]

All my lawns look "tired" from the winter, normal for this time of year.  They pick up when the weather improves - I suspect they try to grow at this time, and then get some frosts etc. and the tender growth they made is knocked back, or just the winter growth gets "sour" and it isn't until new growth comes that it looks green again.

I agree, fertiliser will help. I don't bother with Growmore (i.e. balanced) fertiliser on my lawn at this time of the year, I just give it 100% Nitrogen - not to say that's a good idea! but I think it works out cheaper.  For a small lawn its probably No Odds either way.

[chrissie B]

Lawn is a nice green at the moment except for the patches left by the dog, last weekend we had 2 extra dogs and this week 1 extra dog to make little patches .
chrissie b

[Goosegirl]

 I'm not sure about using 100% nitrogen as it could make the grass a bit too "soft" and more prone to diseases. Farmers use Till to feed their fields which has the nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus (NPK) ratios of N20, K10, P10 or N25, K5, P5, depending on the land conditions. Either way, you need K and P to feed the root system etc. What about putting some chicken manure pellets in a bucket to make a liquid feed? Its NPK ratio is 4.5, 3.5, 2.5 which isn't too far off and it would also be quite cheap to do. Just as a thought, is the lawn reasonably fre--draining and also not built on top of builders' rubble?

[3759allen]

to be honest i'm looking for the cheapest way to give it a boost, if this is common i'll just wait and let nature do it's thing.

the soil is well draining, there is the footings of an old wall that runs across the middle of it but that is the only building material there. i can't see any difference where the wall is.

it seems a bit thicker towards the hedge so may it doesn't get as effected by frost or maybe hasn't tried to grow there over winter as it's in shade most of the time.

[Kristen]

I think if newly sown it would be best to give it some help, this first spring.  I would roll it too to get the grass to tiller.

[Goosegirl]

Dissolving chicken manure pellets in water to get a straw coloured liquid is, to me, your cheapest and best option. As your soil is free-draining, rolling may also help. Grass tends to produce tillers (side-ways growth) mainly in the autumn but maybe does it more gradually all year round. It won't do any harm to try and see what happens.

[3759allen]

is it best to roll it now or when it's picked up a bit? would it benefit from regular rolling?

i'll get some chicken manure pellets when i go to the garden centre next.

[Goosegirl]

is it best to roll it now or when it's picked up a bit? would it benefit from regular rolling? i'll get some chicken manure pellets when i go to the garden centre next.

Best to roll it when the ground is slightly soft (but not wet through) so it levels the ground but doesn't compact the soil, and it may only need doing once a year.