I only have a tiny lawn and so I have no excuse for it to be in a sorry state, however, the constant rain over winter had leached goodness out of the soil and impoverished it. A few dandelions had taken hold and I chose to spot kill them with Roundup Weed Killer. I must have overdone it somehow, despite taking care, because I ended up with three circular bald patches. I like my lawn to be lush, weed free, gloriously green, and not too short. So, I did what I always do, I sprinkled plenty of lawn seed on it and when the seed had germinated and the new grass was growing strongly amid the old, fed it with Miracle-Gro All Purpose Plant Food. I think it has turned out quite well, especially considering it is on a slope, and on about two inches of soil over lots of sandstone rock. Earthworms, of which I have plenty, keep the soil under the lawn nicely aerated.
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| Lush lawn July 2023 |
Neighbours complain that their lawns are bald, weed-riddled, etc. It's not surprising; they aren't gardeners and they have guys who come along at fairly regular intervals, who cut the grass all weathers, in rain and scorching sun. They cut the grass when it is quite long and shock it into submission, then it dies and weeds and moss take over. One neighbour has his weeds and moss cut quite frequently! There is scarcly any grass.
Although I have a balance problem, I can still manage with the lightweight Flymo hover that bought in 2010 and which still works well. I use it like a zimmer. It takes all of 3 minutes from turning it on to turning it off. I cut the grass when it feels dry and when it needs it; usually when it is a couple of inches tall.
I cut around the stepping stones with long-handled shears when grass starts to take over.
Grass is astoundingly resilient; one of life's survivors. I posted the below images in 2017 but I shall share again to demonstrate just how tough grass is. These are pictures of my lawn when workmen had finished erecting new fencing, and then my lawn only a couple of months later after nurturing the grass back to health.
Lawn March 2017
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| Lawn June 2017 |