Lawn a patchy mess, ideas please.

Thank you dragonfly.

not sure where you are . However, when we had brown patches in our lawn, which i thought as our cat peeing, or foxes peeing, it was neither. We had chafer bugs, to get rid of them we had to use NEMOTODES. You get them on line, mix with water and scatter over the lawn. Apparently not uncommon. Not a big job.

Bit of AI for you :Nematode application involves mixing beneficial nematodes (microscopic worms) with water and applying them to soil to control specific pests like grubs or slugs, using equipment like hose-end sprayers or watering cans with coarse roses, ensuring soil is moist and warm (above 5°C/41°F) for best results, and applying to the affected areas with follow-up watering to wash them into the root zone. These living organisms need to be used quickly after purchase and kept cool (refrigerated) before application.

AmberGran

Last year we mixed in clover with the lawn. It didn't really get much of a chance to grow before the Winter so we'll see this Summer whether it survived the cold. I planted it because every Summer the front of our house has become just a brown patch with some weeds. It greened up a bit over the Winter again but then just becomes brown again. Apparently the clover doesn't mind the drought so much so stays green. And flowers!

It looks lovely when it grows

David49

Mine is a mess too dead patches after a dry summer, I plan to treat the weeds and ressed in the spring

Chafer grubs, Im glad I dont have, is there any alternative to insecticide.??

Nematodes apparently David49 but I’m led to believe they have to be applied annually, are expensive too.

I’m not bothered to be honest…..everything has to live somewhere and as I said in my comment, out lawn is little more than a large path giving access to other areas of a garden that feeds us with fruit and vegetables.

I chose not to have a lawn, new build house, new garden, I managed to catch the builder just in time and stopped them laying seed. It took months to prise out the rocks and big stones and I could see the puddles, which meant compacted ground. Heavy machinery had been all over it

Once the ground looked reasonable, I planted lots of ground-cover sedum. That was 5 years ago and it has spread, keeps the weeds down, flowers and looks lovely. I cut it with battery operated shears and only once a year, I don`t even need to do that. To walk across, I put down several stepping stones. It all looks like a fairy glen

Mine is a mess too dead patches after a dry summer, I plan to treat the weeds and ressed in the spring

Chafer grubs, Im glad I dont have, is there any alternative to insecticide.??

Our lawn is dreadful! But to be fair, it gets a great deal of traffic! We have to walk across it to get to the greenhouse, peg out the laundry, access one of five waterbutts, weed a border and access one side of a raised bed. Add to that the fact that we have chafer grubs and there’s no point in being precious about wanting a luscious green lawn here.

Grammaretto

Here's a closeup of the meadow with orchids in July. It's quite unlike a bought seed mix meadow but it's just what grows here.

Lovely.

Let it grow. You’ll be doing the planet a favour.

That lawn pack stuff is pretty good . Ive used it and im no gardener . We do have a bitch dog which affects the grass . So I have to scatter seed every so often.

Here's a closeup of the meadow with orchids in July. It's quite unlike a bought seed mix meadow but it's just what grows here.

My lawns are large so I have left a portion uncut to create a meadow. It has a curved edge clearly marked so people realise it's deliberate and not abandoned.
I love my meadow. The only thing I have sown in it is yellow rattle, a plant parasitic on grass so weakens the grass to make more room for the flowers.
However I m not too impressed with the yellow rattle 😄

I love that orchids grow and harebit (orange fox and cubs) and lots of plants previously hidden under the lawn.

My sister in law had bought a robot lawn mower. It dos not need a wire to stop it falling into the beds. It maps the area and then knows what iit is doing. you can use an app on your phoone to set it off. aother friend does this when he is in spain and sees that his home grass is ready. Off goes the robot.

www.which.co.uk/reviews/robot-lawn-mowers/article/what-is-a-robot-lawn-mower-aBgbY3g92GBs?source_code=911CSJ&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=generic&gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21462895144&gbraid=0AAAAADoAS41PezpX9iU0aD4RqIvd_Qhw_&gclid=Cj0KCQiAprLLBhCMARIsAEDhdPeR03KOz-4FFy_g9SC5mlZMzblHxfS8nDeI0qXbyhC5l0NQftWHUAEaAtRPEALw_wcB

I think having a clover lawn is a great idea. It fixes nitrates into the ground and is drought tolerant and attracts pollinators and no longer any need for a lawn mower

That's what I was going to suggest, Edwardo - go wild! I love meadows and they're so much better for the environment and wild life

Do you want to have your lawn all grass. We allow daisies dandelions and clover on ours so it is more like a meadow brings more pollinators in and can look quite nice in the flowering season.

I have an electric scarifier which I use once, sometimes twice a year. After doing it in autumn I paid for someone to come to reseed and top dress the lawn, it looks lush again now.
Another good time to do it would be spring as it needs to be keep watered, while the seed takes.

Try scattering some grass seed or we use a company called GreenThumb, they could advise you on the best course of action.

Wait until the growing season. I had mushrooms/toadstools growing in my grass this year. Treated it myself and it looked as if I had burned it all. But, even now I can see growth. Generally I scarify once a year, spread some granular feed and moss killer and that seems to do the trick. Won't say its bowling green standard but reasonable.

Last year we mixed in clover with the lawn. It didn't really get much of a chance to grow before the Winter so we'll see this Summer whether it survived the cold. I planted it because every Summer the front of our house has become just a brown patch with some weeds. It greened up a bit over the Winter again but then just becomes brown again. Apparently the clover doesn't mind the drought so much so stays green. And flowers!

Maybe a small paved seating area and the rest a gravel or prarie garden with grasses, lavender, salvia, wildflowers etc have a look at Beth Chatto gardens fir inspiration.

Maybe try scarifying it before anything else and then a good mixed fertiliser and weed killer. Not sure but may need to be dry before scarifying, you can rent a machine for a day to do this which is much easer than any other way, or so I've found.

If your lawn isn't terraced I would definitely look at the robot mowers. I think they have come on leaps and bounds.

I had to lay a guide wire around the boundary 10 centimetres in. This ensures the mower doesn’t fall over the edge onto the flower beds. If the grass looks to be getting long I just set it off even in the winter. It will cut grass up to 10cm long. I never have a problem.

Allsorts Apologies for butting in on your thread but dragonfly we brought a robot mower but DH sent it back as he said it wouldn't cut the long grass after the winter. Also we have flower borders around our lawn. DH said the robot would plough into the borders. Can you advise please?