[eskerman]

Hi all.

I decided for various reasons last Sept to get a "gardening service" in to sow a small section of lawn. I had paid to have the area about 200 sq/mtrs cleaned off with a mini digger and all that was needed was a raking and sowing ( according to the so-called "gardener" He racked it off and sowed seeds with a special application tool on wheels.. Job done..

End result .. no grass... just weeds..?

Contacted gardener. he inspected the work and started to make excuses, saying it may have been high winds that blew the seeds away, or maybe it was a bad batch of seeds...! sorry mr gardener, your problem, I paid you for the service and i want the job done properly, and at your cost..

He reluctantly agreed to sort it out on the bases I supply a rotavator as his had been stolen... I agreed to supply a rotavator and that was a far as I was prepared to go. He then sprayed the area with week-killer ( roundup) and he arrived this morning to do the work.. I wanted to see the back of this man and I let him get on with the work.

He rotavated the area, didnt rake it up and wend about hand sowing (sprinkling) new grass seeds. I questioned what he was doing and he was adamant he was doing the job correctly. He suggested I roll the area when the grass starts to seed and its about 3-4 inches high.

At this stage I decided to cut my losses and wanted him off my premises..!

I blame myself for this disaster.. I should have been more attentive, my loss yes, and I have learned another dear lesson.

I am going to finish the job myself and I would like to get to basic advice on what I need to do:

Do I need to rake off more ( following rotavation)
Seeds are now down.. do I need to roll.
Any other items I need to be aware of

Sorry about the protracted storyline, I am sure there are others who have had similar experience using so-called experts...( wasters I call them).

I am sure there are many professional landscaping contractors out there who provide a quality service.. I just got caught.

Regards
P

[michael brenock]

if the soil is still dry then you can roll it and level off any uneven areas. Allow the grass seeds to grow and patch in any bare spots later on in the Summer. Do not cultivate the soil while it is wet, otherwise you will end up with a soggy mess and it will dry out like a rock and uneven. The seed that has been sown will germinate but much will be wasted, some too deeply sown others not covered enough. There was nothing wrong in sowing the seed by hand.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

[eskerman]

[James Kilkelly]