[rolf]

Hi,
I have just built a new house and set the lawn myself. The ground is excellent and on limestone land. The site was used to grow grain for the past 30 years or so. It is 0.5acres in size. I know that i probably set the lawn in the worst possible year : ( but i need some help/advice please. Here is the process that i used:

1. I set the lawn in mid May using Goldcrop No. 2 lawnseed and also spread 10-10-20 fertilizer on the same day. I also sprayed off the weeds about 3 weeks before this using roundup. A few days after seeding there was very heavy rain and a lot of the seed and fertilzer got washed around the lawn and more especially into the low lying areas of the site resulting in the grass being a bit patchy in high areas and the lower areas have plenty of grass.

2. At the start of July (6 weeks) i reseeded any bare pathes using Goldcrop No. 2 lawnseed and spread 7-6-17 on the complete lawn. Again we got some heavy rain a few days after but it didnt do as much damge as the first time. The new seed started to grow and I started cutting the lawn at the end of July (8 and a half weeks) as a lot of weeds had germinated and were starting to grow strong. The lawn has been cut 3 times so far.

My problem is the finished product is a bit bare in places and also has a slight tinge of yellow in a lot of places. We have 2 dogs and wherever they urinate there are nice looking healthy green clumps of grass now : ). The lawn is obviously lacking in something ( probably whatever the dogs are giving it) and i really need to help it along to full health before the autumn/winter kick in proper. Is there something i can spread that will sort it out? i picked up some plant food (powder to mix with water) (kind of like miracle grow) to try out an experiment on some of the lawn but havent put it out yet as the weather is too wet and the ground is saturated. Should i get the soil tested to see what it is lacking?

I will post some photos over the next few days if i can. Any help would be very much appreciated.....

[The Garden Shop]

The lawn is young and will take time to settle in before looking its best. After more cuts the grass will thicken out and perennial weeds will become less obvious

The bare patches may be due to the fact that you fertilized the lawn too soon: you shouldn't feed lawns in their first year as it can burn seeds and seedlings.

Once your lawn has established you could give it a light phosphorous based feed. Avoid using a regular lawn feed this Autumn as these are high in nitrogen which will only encourage foliage growth which is not diserable this time of year.

To fill those bare patches- now is still a good time to sow lawn seed, I recommend using the same lawn seed as before

You could test your soil to determine the best course of action for next spring/summer. A few applications of lawn weed and feed next summer will really green things up and reduce weed numbers