Lawn in awful condition

taim

Hi everyone

I've been reading the forum for ages but first time posting, I've gotten great tips here so far, so ye might be able to help me with a question I have about my garden. I got a gardening contractor to do my garden from scratch the summer before last, but it has turned out very badly. There is still a lot of stone on the surface and the grass is not really growing over it, and the grass is growing sporiadically, with some patches very green and others very bare. Someone has suggested that perhaps the problem is the soil and that we should have had topsoil brought in, but I did say to the gardener at the time that if we needed to get topsoil there was no problem but he said that it was not needed. The 'lawn' is an awful state now annd I'm just wondering if anyone could give me any advice as to how to improve it, even if it means digging it up again and putting topsoil on it. Thanks for any advice and help

IpreDictDeatH

I'd rotovate it to get down under the top soil and check out the real condition of the soil first. All it might need is a rake and a level. But that grass deffo has to come up. It looks very dry and stony, you're fighting a losing battle. Im not sure if it was seeded, but you're most definitely better off laying it in rolls. But first rotovate it and check out the condition of soil, thats you're first job, i would say.

Qwerty?

So you are saying that it was seeded in the Summer of 2009? Have you feed it much last year? If not I'd try feeding it soon, and sprinkle some seed mixed with compost on the really bald patches before I'd go down the expensive route of starting from scratch (if it's a large area.)

GERMAN ROCKS

spread more grass seed on it in march and then give it a bit of nitrogen

taim

Thanks for all of the advice. We did already try to fertilise the lawn and we already spread more lawn seeds on it as well but nothing seems to be working. The soil in the area is full of pencil (or shale I think is the proper name for it) Even when you dig down under the topsoil it is full of stone (we needed to get a rock-breaker in when digging the foundation for the house!) What really annoys me is that we explained all of this to the landscaping contractor before he started the job and told him we would have no problem getting topsoil to have a nice lawn:mad: The lawn is fairly big and we've put a lot of money into it so far but I suspect that spraying off the grass, getting in a digger to re-level it and then spread out the topsoil and then seeding it again might be the best (even if an expensive) option?

Also does anyone have any idea how much the going rate to spray-off, level, rake and seed a lawn per sq. metre is?

Thanks again

Smiegal

Yikes, I feel for you. Nothing worst then shoddy workmanship when yourpaying for it yourself.

Out of interest, did you ever bring the "Lanscaper" back to show him the fruits of his wonderfull labour??? I know what I'd have done with him/her!

redser7

A less expensive option than drastic redigging etc might be to topdress and over-seed it. Maybe it is too far gone already but topdressing can build up a whole new healthy soil layer over a few seasons. There are different receipes for topdressing, but 2-1-1 topsoil, peat and sharp sand should do it. Sorry to hear you were treated so badly

redser7

There is a book I got which is great called the Lawn Expert. Great for beginners up.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Lawn-Expert-Dr-D-Hessayon/dp/0903505487/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1299052017&sr=8-1

There are 2nd hand copies for 1 cent, basically you pay the shipping (about 4 or 5 euros)

redser7

Should have put this all in one duh, early in the morning. It looks very dry and compacted in the photos. Aerating it with a hollow-tined aeartor will improve drainage, air circulation and compaction. If you do this and add a top-dressing and overseed I'm sure you can improve it greatly. As it looks so dry, i wonder did you maintain it? Grass needs looking after just like any other plant (although it is much tougher than other plants). Deep watering during dry spells and fertilzing spring summer and autumn.

Antiquo

taim wrote: »

What really annoys me is that we explained all of this to the landscaping contractor before he started the job and told him we would have no problem getting topsoil to have a nice lawn:mad: The lawn is fairly big and we've put a lot of money into it so far but I suspect that spraying off the grass, getting in a digger to re-level it and then spread out the topsoil and then seeding it again might be the best (even if an expensive) option?

My first call would be to the contractor who sowed the lawn to come out, see the lawn and explain what is wrong. I doubt that will happen though as they obviously know nothing about soil conditioning and preparation for sowing a lawn. Failing any recourse the only option (as I think you've already arrived at) is to pay to get it re-sown.

From the photo's supplied it is obviously a lack of suitable soil which is preventing the lawn from growing. This type of "lawn" can be found on many estates up and down the country where poor quality soil (usually spoil and sub soil) is levelled and sown. From a distance it looks acceptable but when you walk across it you can see just how poor the growth is and certainly not suitable for a house lawn.

Your soil is as stated full of shale and clay with little or no organic material in it so the grass cannot thrive. This soil gets worse over time as it compacts with traffic and makes it harder for the grass to grow. No amount of fertiliser or poking of holes to aerate the soil will make much difference.

I would stay away from running excavators or heavy machinery across the ground as this can lead to further compaction and eventual drainage issues but would lightly rotovate (don't bother sparaying as you are sowing grass anyway) and spread 75-100mm of good quality topsoil. Roll and sow a new lawn.

Good Luck

goat2

taim wrote: »

Hi everyone

I've been reading the forum for ages but first time posting, I've gotten great tips here so far, so ye might be able to help me with a question I have about my garden. I got a gardening contractor to do my garden from scratch the summer before last, but it has turned out very badly. There is still a lot of stone on the surface and the grass is not really growing over it, and the grass is growing sporiadically, with some patches very green and others very bare. Someone has suggested that perhaps the problem is the soil and that we should have had topsoil brought in, but I did say to the gardener at the time that if we needed to get topsoil there was no problem but he said that it was not needed. The 'lawn' is an awful state now annd I'm just wondering if anyone could give me any advice as to how to improve it, even if it means digging it up again and putting topsoil on it. Thanks for any advice and help

take the cheaper option and you will get the better result, fertalise with a good fretaliser you will see a difference in three weeks, when it looks long enough to cut, cut in high position for the first three times, this encourages thicker growth and if you get a really dry spell it will not dry out, it will also stop groundhugging weeds from growing as it will keep them in the dark, dont go wasting money on more expensive options like digging and replanting, beacuse whether you do it the way i have advised the most it will cost is twenty euro, the result will be the same, but this way in the next month you will have the desired result, while the other more expensive it will take four times longer, good luck

taim

Antiquo wrote: »

My first call would be to the contractor who sowed the lawn to come out, see the lawn and explain what is wrong. I doubt that will happen though as they obviously know nothing about soil conditioning and preparation for sowing a lawn. Failing any recourse the only option (as I think you've already arrived at) is to pay to get it re-sown.

From the photo's supplied it is obviously a lack of suitable soil which is preventing the lawn from growing. This type of "lawn" can be found on many estates up and down the country where poor quality soil (usually spoil and sub soil) is levelled and sown. From a distance it looks acceptable but when you walk across it you can see just how poor the growth is and certainly not suitable for a house lawn.

Your soil is as stated full of shale and clay with little or no organic material in it so the grass cannot thrive. This soil gets worse over time as it compacts with traffic and makes it harder for the grass to grow. No amount of fertiliser or poking of holes to aerate the soil will make much difference.

I would stay away from running excavators or heavy machinery across the ground as this can lead to further compaction and eventual drainage issues but would lightly rotovate (don't bother sparaying as you are sowing grass anyway) and spread 75-100mm of good quality topsoil. Roll and sow a new lawn.

Good Luck

Thanks to everyone for the replies. I know the lawn looks terrible but we did everything possible with it, spreading fertiliser and watering it in dry periods even though I felt guilty doing so as my brother who is a farmer was running short of water for his cattle. It is a fairly big lawn, 1400m2 and the cost of doing it first day came to almost €5000.

Antiquo I asked the contractor to come and see how it had turned out several times, but he and his sidekick alternated between shouting at me not to badmouth their business and laughing at me and I got no satisfaction there:mad:

I did in the last few days, since I posted here get a professional landscaper to look at the garden and he has recommended exactly as you have Antiquo, may thanks for your help. Anyone putting himself forward for such a job costing such an amount of money should have been aware of the difficulties involved I think, but we are now left with a huge bill to sort out their mess....

redser7

That's just terrible, consider the small claims court?
I woud really recommend that book, it gives a good run down on various treatments for various ailments for the lawn. From maintaining the top quality lawn, refurbishing a tired poor lawn (likes yours I guess) to starting again. It could help you improve what what you have greatly without the time and expense of starting again.

Sonnenblumen

OP - what a frustrating and expensive dilemma. As a matter of interest, where did you source the contractor, did you proof check previous projects/clients? Is the company a member of ALCI (Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland)? If yes, then you should contact the Association which will investigate and if necessary arbitrate on your behalf to determine a resolution (www.alci.ie ).

I doubt if the Contractor is a member based on your feedback and featured photos.

I know it doesn't help now, but before awarding contract I would have also discussed requirements with a professional lawn supply company to at least verify methodology/requirements before making final decision?

BTW any lawn is well capable of significant disimprovement if neglected for 2 years etc.

Again before taking drastic action I would suggest you have the area assessed before 'throwing the baby out with the bathwater'. Some localised remedial works might be a more cost effective resolution.

taim

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

OP - what a frustrating and expensive dilemma. As a matter of interest, where did you source the contractor, did you proof check previous projects/clients? Is the company a member of ALCI (Association of Landscape Contractors of Ireland)? If yes, then you should contact the Association which will investigate and if necessary arbitrate on your behalf to determine a resolution (www.alci.ie ).

Sonnenblumen wrote: »

I doubt if the Contractor is a member based on your feedback and featured photos.

I know it doesn't help now, but before awarding contract I would have also discussed requirements with a professional lawn supply company to at least verify methodology/requirements before making final decision.

We made several mistakes when we went about getting the garden done first-day and in hindsight I know that we should have done things differently so I hope it serves as a word of caution and may help anyone thinking of getting their lawn done!

We went to our local garden centre on the outskirts of Killarney town to ask for a recommendation for someone to do our lawn, as we had previously had some dealings there...to make a long story short we ended up employing the brother of the garden centre owner, through a third party who was recommended by the owner of the garden centre, and only later found out that the man in question was an electrician and not a landscaper!

We should certainly have asked to see previous projects carried out by the person in question but he told ws that he had done this and that lawn in the locality and we believed him without question:o but thats all water under the bridge now and although we wouldn't be so gullible again we still hope that we might get the lawn right eventually, if at somewhat an increased cost.

I'm attaching a few more photos taken yesterday, if there is any more advice ye can give me based on them I'd be so grateful.

Also attached is a photo of how the contractor left the area of the lawn meeting the wall, he said he would come back once the wall was built to level the garden to it, but when we asked him, at the same time we asked him if there was anything we could do with the rest of the lawn that had turned out badly, he looked for €1,000 extra to do that.

I really am grateful for all of the help here, many thanks to all of you for the great advice.

Sonnenblumen

OP - a hard lesson to learn. The results are appalling, I doubt if any remedial work can be done. It does look more like a sectioned off' field area, and the finish along boundary is absolutely dreadful.

Did the person responsible for the mess give you an invoice? If payment was in cash, perhaps a dsicreet word might convince him to rectify matters, ie part refund, wouldn't allow him back on site. If he refuses to co-operate, REPORT him to the relevant authorities (including Revenue).

Cowboy operators are bad for business, why people who spend large amounts of money, without doing basic homework baffles me.

I'm afraid but you are back to square 1, total re-do.:(

taim

Sectioned off field was exactly where we started and to be honest it is no better now than it was when they begun, thanks for being so honest.

What would you advise now with the 'lawn' or what we hope to be lawn, its fairly big, but we really do want to get it right as we love where we live, the views are great, apart from the unsightly lawm (I'm attaching a few pics from Christmas morning to show that we live in one of the most beautiful parts of Co. Kerry;)

Sonnenblumen

taim wrote: »

Sectioned off field was exactly where we started and to be honest it is no better now than it was when they begun, thanks for being so honest.

What would you advise now with the 'lawn' or what we hope to be lawn, its fairly big, but we really do want to get it right as we love where we live, the views are great, apart from the unsightly lawm (I'm attaching a few pics from Christmas morning to show that we live in one of the most beautiful parts of Co. Kerry;)

Taim

OP - you've got a beautiful site with wonderful views and that is much more difficult to achieve than dealing with any lawn/garden issues. So I wouldn't be any way panicking into sudden action. If we agree the area is more akin to a sectioned field thenm the starting point should be to prepare a plan which will take account of all the positives as well as negatives (good/bad views, soil conditions, ie poor/good, level/undulating etc etc, shelter and protection from prevailing winds whilst optimising views, seating out and play areas etc. Budgets are most often a limiting factor, and few can afford to re-invent the world. So one needs to be practical when deciding which features where as well as scope and type of planting and lawn areas.

I would suggest that you prepare an outline plan that take sconsideration of the points above and allowing you to implement over a period of time/phases if necessary. Before tackling the lawn area, you obviously need to plan the planting for the boundary areas which will resolve any perimeter ground issues as well. In this instance I would guess the planting plan should be sympathetic and complementary to the site as well as the surrounding natural beauty of the surrounding area. In other words avoid a visual conflict of opposite styles instead a more natural softer informal boundary blending with the vista beyond.

Decide where patio areas, pathways, play areas etc should be best positioned, taking account of any signifciant variance in ground levels as this may require cut/fill excavations.

Make more sense of the vastness of the space by dividing it up into compartments (social, play,work, lawn and planting spaces). This not only makes for a more interesting overall scheme, but more importantly will determine the final ground levels for lawns. Once that is known preparing the ground for a new lawn is relatively a straightforward task. But with any aspect of construction, care, attention and of course competent skills are required.

3 P's: PLAN - PAVE - PLANT

kboc

Like somebody already suggested, aerate with spike machine and then add some LIME this will correct pH and get the micro organisms working