Is everyone's grass very brown this year?

NIMAN

I just noticed over the last few days when out driving that nearly all the grass, be it in gardens, fields, golf courses etc, is very brown at the minute. Very little 'green' about it.

Is it due to the weather we have had, the unseasonal cold etc?

I was going to put a feed on my lawn to see if it could kickstart it a bit, or will the green come with more heat and a bit of rain in the coming months?

henryporter

It's everywhere - no point wasting feed when the main problem is the cold - soil temperatures need to be 6 or 7 degrees for growth and it's down around 4 degrees on average at the moment.

Gambas

It was the same in 2009 by March. The countryside looked like central Europe in winter. Grass grows in as little as 5 deg, so usually we get a certain amount of fresh growth of new grass leaves through the winter making the place look green. But when you get a prolonged cold spell like this the growth just doesn't happen and you're left looking at old brownish grass leaves. Once the temperatures rise it will kick in really quickly.

jprboy

Apart from the increased heating bills, gorse/heather fires and the unfortunate farmers who have to buy feed as their feed stocks are depleted and there is no grass, there is the upside of the brown grass for me i.e. very little cutting.

By April 6 last year I had cut my grass 4 times. It's April 9 now and I've only cut it once so far (Feb 23) and can't see I'll have a pressing reason to cut it for at least another 10 days. I have a lot of grass, not a lot of spare time and only a pushmower so it suits me fine from that point of view!

Don't worry, grass ALWAYS bounces back. A period like this can often be followed by explosive growth.

NIMAN

jprboy wrote: »

Apart from the increased heating bills, gorse/heather fires and the unfortunate farmers who have to buy feed as their feed stocks are depleted and there is no grass, there is the upside of the brown grass for me i.e. very little cutting.

By April 6 last year I had cut my grass 4 times. It's April 9 now and I've only cut it once so far (Feb 23) and can't see I'll have a pressing reason to cut it for at least another 10 days. I have a lot of grass, not a lot of spare time and only a pushmower so it suits me fine from that point of view!

Don't worry, grass ALWAYS bounces back. A period like this can often be followed by explosive growth.

Bit like yourself, I did my 1st cut at the highest height on the ride-on last week, thinking I would be cutting it again a few days later, but it still looks fine. Might just give it another quick skimming over in another few days at a very high height.

I hate it when it grows very quickly, out too often.