Hello all,

I've purchased my first home 7 months ago and have recently turned my attention to the garden. The house is only five years old, hence the garden is particularly immature; the main issue being the lawn. The lawn is constantly water logged and covered in moss, I have done a bit of research on the web and discovered that the soil is particularly heavy with clay.

Could any of you experts provide me with a couple of pointers as to how I could improve the quality of the lawn. Someone at my work suggested constant rollering and lawn seeds but the lawn has become so water logged in the recent rains that this is not really a viable option. One site that I visited suggested using Lawn Sand, has anyone had any success with this or can the offer a good brand?

Any help to solve the problem would be appreciated.

Regards

Simon

"SiT" wrote in message
...

Hello all,

I've purchased my first home 7 months ago and have recently turned my
attention to the garden. The house is only five years old, hence the
garden is particularly immature; the main issue being the lawn. The
lawn is constantly water logged and covered in moss, I have done a bit
of research on the web and discovered that the soil is particularly
heavy with clay.

Could any of you experts provide me with a couple of pointers as to how
I could improve the quality of the lawn. Someone at my work suggested
constant rollering and lawn seeds but the lawn has become so water
logged in the recent rains that this is not really a viable option.
One site that I visited suggested using Lawn Sand, has anyone had any
success with this or can the offer a good brand?

Any help to solve the problem would be appreciated.

Regards

Simon

Your real problem is lack of drainage. Clay!

Being on a clay subsoil won't allow the top to drain or aerate as
efficiently as it
could.Alternatively install a system of French drain in a herringbone
fashion to assist drainage. The lowest point of the area chosen for a
natural collection point for the run off etc.

Mole ploughing to provide a water run off about 4-6" under the surface would
help a little, but probably expensive to have done on a small area.

Alternatively ask at the local Golf course Greenkeeping shed if anyone can
assist with deeper aeration using a Vertidrain if they have the equipment.
Although if the clay is deep it just produces holes that fill with water and
rotten debris unless sanded properly.

(Assuming you can get the equipment in there) Have a look at
http://www.pitchcare.com/external/sc..._news.php?id=2
in the Aeration chapter.

It sounds like you'll need to lift all the turf (Not all at once though) and
remove a fair depth of the clay and replace with a quality soil or loam. Add
sharp sand at the same time to give a good drainage layer, re seed and lay
the turf back over. Include the French drain while you are at it.

Thanks for your insightful reply. In your opinion, and I appreciate that you haven't seen the condition of the turf, am I better off buying new turf as well or persevering with what I've got; which seems fine although slightly mossy.

Si™ wrote:
Me here Wrote:
"SiT" wrote in message
...

Hello all,

I've purchased my first home 7 months ago and have recently turned my
attention to the garden. The house is only five years old, hence the
garden is particularly immature; the main issue being the lawn. The
lawn is constantly water logged and covered in moss, I have done a
bit
of research on the web and discovered that the soil is particularly
heavy with clay.

Could any of you experts provide me with a couple of pointers as to
how
I could improve the quality of the lawn. Someone at my work
suggested
constant rollering and lawn seeds but the lawn has become so water
logged in the recent rains that this is not really a viable option.
One site that I visited suggested using Lawn Sand, has anyone had any
success with this or can the offer a good brand?

Any help to solve the problem would be appreciated.

Regards

Simon

Your real problem is lack of drainage. Clay!

Being on a clay subsoil won't allow the top to drain or aerate as
efficiently as it
could.Alternatively install a system of French drain in a herringbone
fashion to assist drainage. The lowest point of the area chosen for a
natural collection point for the run off etc.

Mole ploughing to provide a water run off about 4-6" under the surface
would
help a little, but probably expensive to have done on a small area.

Alternatively ask at the local Golf course Greenkeeping shed if anyone
can
assist with deeper aeration using a Vertidrain if they have the
equipment.
Although if the clay is deep it just produces holes that fill with
water and
rotten debris unless sanded properly.

(Assuming you can get the equipment in there) Have a look at
http://tinyurl.com/no7oo
in the Aeration chapter.

It sounds like you'll need to lift all the turf (Not all at once
though) and
remove a fair depth of the clay and replace with a quality soil or
loam. Add
sharp sand at the same time to give a good drainage layer, re seed and
lay
the turf back over. Include the French drain while you are at it.

Thanks for your insightful reply. In your opinion, and I appreciate
that you haven't seen the condition of the turf, am I better off buying
new turf as well or persevering with what I've got; which seems fine
although slightly mossy.

It's always hard to know exactly _how_ waterlogged people mean by
"waterlogged"! If you can hear it squelch even during dry weather, then
it can only be cured by expensive drainage as described by MeHere,
which is often impossible in built-up areas, and even on the field
scale doesn't always work. If it's just bog-standard slow-draining,
then one can live with it, using the conventional lawn treatments, or
replace the lawn with paving.

Simply returfing won't make the slightest difference, except to the
bank balance. Neither will sand, unless you make it part of a serious
engineering project, also as described by MeHere. I would _not_ roll a
lawn like that: compression will only add to your troubles.

--
Mike.