[soonas]

I am looking for advice on eleminating rushes from my lawn. I am located on the Dingle peninsula and my garden is on a steep slope so I don't think that it is a drainage problem.

I know that the site had lots of rushes before the house was built (about 4 years ago) and the initiial landscaping was cursory. However, 18 months ago I spent a lot of money having new top soil added and on a complete re-seeding. Rushes began to re-appear last summer (the first summer after re-seeding) and are spreading.

The lawn also looks quite yellow. I fed it last year with Hygiea weed and feed and this woeked for a while, but it now is not as green as my neighbours lawn. Even the farm pastures in the field opposite look greener even in January

Can I treat the rushes without damage to the lawn, or do I need to recondition the soil to make it harder for rushes to grow?

[AJ]

Evening Soonas,

I'm sure u've heard the saying 'the grass always looks greener on the other side'.

Well I too have that problem and also have the reed problem, my land is fairly level. Unfortunately I don't have the answer but I'm glad u asked the question, hopefully both of us will get an answer.

regards

[James Kilkelly]

With the yellowing and the re-emergence of rushes I'd say soil and its fertility is still one of your problems soonas.
Yellowing suggests hunger and rushes can cope in hungry soil whereas lawn grasses become weak and sparce.
Keep the lawn fed.......... some more info here... Lawn Care and Maintenance rules for Ireland

Recycling the grass clipping into the lawn again is another way to stave off hunger.
You can use a mulching mower for this or use a regular mower adaped (safely) with its collection box off.
However I would suggest bagging and disposal of the clipping from the sections infested with rushes, as there may be a possibility of spread them if dropped.

Remember... lawn grass thrives on regular mowing, whereas rushes do not.
So keep up the mowing once the mowing season begins.

This thread............. How can I kill rushes without killing wildflowers deals with loads more control methods, including chemecal ones

[michael brenock]

dig a hole 12 inches deep and 12 inches square and see how long it takes for water to soak away after a day's rain. if it takes longer than a day then it has impeded drainage. The soil itself may be heavy and sticky and this can be improved by adding sand or gravel and miking in well.
Adding in humus or compost also helps. The soil may be poor and this may be tested by adding a small amount of nutrient to a marked area and observe the results. Rushes are low nutrient plants.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

[soonas]

Thank you all for the excellent and generous advice. I'm really glad to have discovered this site

[soonas]

My site is quite large (0.6 acre) and lawn feed is quite expensive. Would it be possible to use something like 10-10-20 to strengthen the grass.

I'm not looking for a perfect lawn as long as it is green and rush-free

[michael brenock]

yes 10 10 20 is suitable for grass including lawns. do not apply earlier than April otherwise much of it will washed out by rain. Your lawn may need Nitrogen only in which case you need to add 27.5% nitrogen. Adding a small quantity(1-2%) of sulphate of iron will help kill weeds and help make the grass greener. One application in the season is sufficient.
michael brenock horticultural advisor (retired)

[nemo]

my father sprays chemicals on the rushes it kills them for a few years but if you keep applying it you will eventually win the battle.i can get the name of the chemicals if you want to go down that road.the chemicals do not kill the grass just slows it down a little

i don't like using chemicals so i bought a baby goat for €5 from a neighbour, because our lawn was brown poor looking ,but after a years we had a beautiful lawn for 5 - 6 years.but we let the goat go, thinking she had the rushes killed but they are coming back ..where our house is we are surrounded by rushed.from now on is a good time to pick up a baby goat. we had a good chain keeping the goat in the areas we wanted her to work on.without a chain and you wouldn't have any shrubs etc as they eat everything

you could have weed and fee on legs

[anthonyk2010]

I put 10-10-20 on my lawn last year and again a few weeks ago. I think i should be giving it more nitrogen around this time of year, how do i go about this after already fertilizing it.

[nemo]

the chemical fertilizer is active for about 6 weeks so it is a waste to apply fertilisers before 6 weeks i know this as farmers wont make silage etc. for at least 6 plus weeks to get the best from the fertiliser .Frost kills the nitrogen in chemical fertilizers so don't apply your 10-10-20 too early in the spring.we should be safe enough now..farmers use fertilizers with about 26-30% nitrogen to make silage.
if you buy a bag of fertiliser from you local farm shop it will be a lot cheaper than in a garden centre.keep it in an air tight container
regards nemo

[AJ]

Dropped in to the local coop shop last weekend for some 10 10 20, left with a bag of 7 6 17 on the advice of one of the staff. They said it would green up the grass better and wouldn't drive on growth as much. Anybody got any thoughts on this.

[anthonyk2010]

Ya Aj I used 7-6-17 last year and found it no good to be honest. From what information Iam getting the lawn needs nitergon and it's all about timing.

If you give the lawn a good dose of nitergon before the grass is in full growth (around march)this will help because the lawn is hungry after the winter. If you leave it too late and put nitergon on when grass is in full growth then your going to spend a lot of time behind your lawn mower.

I was told on another site that 25-5-5 mixed firtilizer is the one around mid march.

over the last few years I have tried 0-10-20,7-6-17 and 10-10-20 still have a yellow lawn. I'm going high nitergon next march and to hell with it after that.

Hope this is some help.

[AJ]

Typical, They saw the sucker coming thru the door

Thanks for the good news

[medieval knievel]

if you don't mind clover, it's one way of fertilising the lawn - the bees like it, it's nice and green, and will fix nitrogen into the soil for you.