Good lawn gone bad!

amallon

I seeded my lawn in September '15 and by the start of summer '16 I had a fairly healthy looking lawn.  By the end of the summer however it went down hill very quickly.  For most of the spring/summer I was mulching instead of lifting the grass cuttings and I've been told this is bad and have since started to lift the grass. I have attached a couple of pic's.  Any advice in getting it back to a healthy state would be appreciated.

amallon

Sorry the pics didn't attached

NIMAN

I've been in my house for 6 years, and of all my cuts (work out the total for yourself) only 2 or 3 have been collected, the rest all mulched.

Who told you it was bad?

amallon

Third time lucky

amallon

Another example

NIMAN

Can't offer much advice, but if it was the mulching to blame, why would you have such a healthy looking strips down the centre and at the top? Look very green?

Hoof Hearted2

Don't know what the issue is exactly, but the lawn can be easily sorted by an application of fertiliser, I'd recommend using 10-10-20 and wait until the spring to apply it.

Pappacharlie

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE 10:10:20 OR YOU WILL SPEND THE SUMMER CUTTING THE LAWN AND LITTLE ELSE!!!

Hoof Hearted2

Pappacharlie wrote: »

BE VERY CAREFUL WITH THE 10:10:20 OR YOU WILL SPEND THE SUMMER CUTTING THE LAWN AND LITTLE ELSE!!!

No need to shout bro and less of the hysteria, thanks.
As with any fertiliser or (pesticide for that matter), you have to exercise caution in the application process, i.e. the rate of growth is directly effected by the rate of application.

looksee

I have had the exact same thing happen. I had two bits of lawn put down and they grew beautifully, even, green, healthy grass. Then there were several weeks of almost no rain in November (very unusual) and my grass went the same as yours. One patch of mine was worse than the other, the one that looked most like yours gets more sun than the other patch.

I think the drought caught it, the two green areas on yours are where there was a channel of damp across the lawn, and at the bottom where any rain there was ended up. Mine is beginning to look a bit better after the recent rain and I think I will give it a small dose of fertiliser, but I suspect by the end of the winter it will be ok again.

NIMAN

Maybe something to do with the seed?

Maybe it was different varieties on different parts of your garden, with different resilience qualities to weather?

I would be suprised if it was from mulching. I have mukched some gardens all year round with no problems. If someone says something is bad ask them why If they can't answer that it's usually bull.

I have seen this happen twice this year. One place was loaded with fertilizer when seeded in spring and grew rapidly and I was there cutting every 3- 4 days. Then all of a sudden growth just stopped and lots of areas went yellow and rushes stareted to appear. Turns out it was just boggy area rotivated and reseesed with the same amont of 10 10 20 you would put out to get silage. Was there topsoil in yours. Was it a boggy area?

_Brian

Applying light coverings of 10:10:20 will not have you busted mowing.

Applied at a rate of 3 bags to the acre it will be fine. Apply every 5-6 weeks and the grass will strengthen, avoid cutting it very short. Don't apply after 1st sept, during sept 0:10:20 would be better to apply once at same rate.

I use 18:6:12 on my lawn and used properly there is no excessive growth.

amallon

Thanks for the replies. The top soil was very good and I'm starting to think that mulching isn't the problem. Reading Brian's comment got me thinking that I did drop the mower a bit lower at some stage late in the summer. Perhaps this could have done damage? I'll go with the fertiliser suggestion in the spring, I don't mind cutting every 4-5 days as it's the only exercise I get being desk bound for work.

thekooman

its not mulching thats the issue. it looks a little burned and may be due to the dry weather and it been a new-ish lawn. I've been mulching our lawn for 7 years and its as green as ever. mind, i do put the moss, weed and feed on it most years. to get rid of daisys and broad leave weeds i use Dicophar. i cut it every 4 days (twice a week) in summer.
a little 10-10-20 wont do a lawn no harm. or even potato manure which is 7-6-17

farmchoice

thekooman wrote: »

its not mulching thats the issue. it looks a little burned and may be due to the dry weather and it been a new-ish lawn. I've been mulching our lawn for 7 years and its as green as ever. mind, i do put the moss, weed and feed on it most years. to get rid of daisys and broad leave weeds i use Dicophar. i cut it every 4 days (twice a week) in summer.
a little 10-10-20 wont do a lawn no harm. or even potato manure which is 7-6-17

ya i say its just the dry weather, this might explain the healthy green bits, if there is a drain at that point ( natural or put in)it might be getting more water then the rest, the bottom of the hill looks a lot better then the top.

i wouldn't worry about it as advised above fertilize it in the spring after risk of frost has passed, get an agri fertilizer as mentioned above and use ''little and often as opposed to a big application.

the mulching shouldn't have done any harm.