2023 Lawn Thread

Author
Discussion

Semmelweiss

1,208 posts

183 months

Saturday 25th February
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Alpha1 said:
Just been out to spray some iron sulphate and I've noticed that the squirrels have had a good go at tearing as much grass up as they can. Any good deterrents?
Bengal cats. Mine ate them all, within weeks of getting her garden visa.

McGee_22

5,865 posts

166 months

Saturday 25th February
quotequote all
Semmelweiss said:
Alpha1 said:
Just been out to spray some iron sulphate and I've noticed that the squirrels have had a good go at tearing as much grass up as they can. Any good deterrents?
Bengal cats. Mine ate them all, within weeks of getting her garden visa.
Got a reasonable size bog standard black cat here - but a murderous little assassin ninja he is - twice found eating squirrel for breakfast.

dhutch

Original Poster:

12,418 posts

184 months

Saturday 25th February
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Managed to get a cut a week ago, early days but it's certainly growing here.

GDL

69 posts

153 months

Sunday 26th February
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McGee_22 said:
Semmelweiss said:
Alpha1 said:
Just been out to spray some iron sulphate and I've noticed that the squirrels have had a good go at tearing as much grass up as they can. Any good deterrents?
Bengal cats. Mine ate them all, within weeks of getting her garden visa.
Got a reasonable size bog standard black cat here - but a murderous little assassin ninja he is - twice found eating squirrel for breakfast.
Couldn't get our old cat interested in chasing them.
Had to resort to a squirrel trap. Now up to 107 in 20 months. Got 5 in 24 hours earlier this month (3 in 45 minutes).

Turn7

22,139 posts

208 months

Sunday 26th February
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Came down to this today….

New turf laid late Autumn, so not really got going yet.

What’s done this ?

I’m thinking birds after chafer grubs maybe ?

Garden is secure on all sides so don’t believe it could be badger or random dog….


RichB

49,086 posts

271 months

Sunday 26th February
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Turn7 said:
<clip> What’s done this ?
That'll be a fox. They can jump/scramble up 6' fences and they'll dig just like that.

Turn7

22,139 posts

208 months

Sunday 26th February
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RichB said:
Turn7 said:
<clip> What’s done this ?
That'll be a fox. They can jump/scramble up 6' fences and they'll dig just like that.
Interesting, hadn’t considered that…..

If so, how do I stop that ?

RichB

49,086 posts

271 months

Sunday 26th February
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Turn7 said:
RichB said:
Turn7 said:
<clip> What’s done this ?
That'll be a fox. They can jump/scramble up 6' fences and they'll dig just like that.
Interesting, hadn’t considered that….. If so, how do I stop that ?
The only suggestion is that they are digging for grubs, probably chafer grubs because I don't think they eat leather jackets (grubs vs maggots). If it is chafers then nematodes should get rid of them then foxes will give up.

Turn7

22,139 posts

208 months

Sunday 26th February
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Thanks !

Cheib

22,078 posts

162 months

Sunday 26th February
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Have a large garden, with a very large area of grass. Moved in to the house a few months ago so need to get on top of the garden. Reading about Iron Sulphate and moss control, do you need to be careful with spreading/spraying in terms of it getting on borders/plant beds ? I have a sprayer I can use but am aware that in places it will make progress very slow if I have to be negotiating flower beds etc.

My big issue is also scarifying/aeration. Don’t have the kit to be able to cope with the area of grass we have…I do have a standard mower sized scarifier but that’s not big enough for the job. Will a mower pick up some of the dead moss or is that too much to hope for ?

dhutch

Original Poster:

12,418 posts

184 months

Sunday 26th February
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You have to avoid spraying the iron on fences and patios, but we've not noticed the dogs transfering it in to the house.

We have 500sqm and just hire an aerator when we want one, I prefer the Camon (red) cam type to the Bannerman (green) rotary type.

Got a little Bosch ALR900 lawn rake, which will do odd bits off moss fine and picks up the pine needles in spring, but it's not the same as a petrol scarifier if you want to take out thick thatch and or prepair for a heavy overseeding.

RichB

49,086 posts

271 months

Sunday 26th February
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Cheib said:
Have a large garden, with a very large area of grass. etc.
Iron Sulphate won't harm your plants so spray away, it dehydrates the moss turning it black.
As for scarifying, how many sq m is your lawn? I have 500 sq m and use the lawn rake cartridge on my cylinder mower. I wouldn't want to be using the typical black and decker corded scarifier. If you don't want to buy lots more garden machinery (although if you've moved somewhere with a big garden you may as well bite the bullet and do that) you may want to hire a petrol scarifier. Don't do it until the weather warms up though, else you'll rip holes in your lawn and it won't recover for weeks.

Cheib

22,078 posts

162 months

Sunday 26th February
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Not sure on the exact area but I’d guess it’s say five tennis courts…so circa 1000 sqm. Patios and fences in general are not a problem so that is good news. I do have a Viking petrol scarifier which is about the same size as a normal lawnmower which I used at our old house, the lawn I used it on was particularly bad…the amount of moss/material it brought up was amazing. Using that on all of the lawns just isn’t feasible.

I do have a compact tractor so maybe I’ll look and see if there is something I can use with that….I have a spray tank I can put on the back of that for the Iron Sulphate.




AAD44H

391 posts

146 months

Sunday 26th February
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Where do I start, it was fantastic a year or two ago. Now appears to be dead....







Edited by AAD44H on Sunday 26th February 16:36

RichB

49,086 posts

271 months

Sunday 26th February
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Cheib said:
I do have a compact tractor...
You may be able to get a spring tine rake attachment to go behind that?

0a

23,736 posts

181 months

Sunday 26th February
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AAD44H said:
Where do I start, it was fantastic a year or two ago. Now appears to be dead....







Edited by AAD44H on Sunday 26th February 16:36
Blimey! Are you sure grass is for you?!

AAD44H

391 posts

146 months

Sunday 26th February
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0a said:
AAD44H said:
Where do I start, it was fantastic a year or two ago. Now appears to be dead....







Edited by AAD44H on Sunday 26th February 16:36
Blimey! Are you sure grass is for you?!
Ha, I think it might be the tree....

Terrible picture but it used to look like this.... grown from seed.



Edited by AAD44H on Sunday 26th February 17:06

dhutch

Original Poster:

12,418 posts

184 months

Sunday 26th February
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What traffic has it had over winter?

Condi

15,281 posts

158 months

Sunday 26th February
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AAD44H said:
Where do I start, it was fantastic a year or two ago. Now appears to be dead....
Looks like it gets very little sunlight over winter and heavy ground. Rather than just overseeding with any old grass seed you want a shade tolerant mix. If it's clay soil you can get varieties which put down deeper roots and help them stay heathy in summer when it's hot. Last year was terrible for grass, the hot summer killed a lot off and if it didn't recover before winter will have been in poor shape for the darker times.

With the right seed mix it's not lost.

AAD44H

391 posts

146 months

Sunday 26th February
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dhutch said:
What traffic has it had over winter?
Well, the kids play on it. If we ever need anything from the shed, we’ve got to walk on it but other than that, not much.