New seed

stuarta99

Ok so we've just had our back and front lawns scarified and aerated followed but over seeding and top dressing. Back lawn had got leather jacket and was treated and the front looked good but apparently had lots of dead in it. It's been about 3 weeks and seed is just starting to show  but assuming it will thicken and spread as it seems to be a bit sparse at the moment. Back also looks stoney

Fairygirl

Did you have a question about it Stuart?
The ground looks very impoverished. Did you add some fresh soil/compost and a bit of feed before sowing seed? It may have been a bit dry too, so some seed hasn't germinated. 
You may have to reseed - it should certainly be a bit more dense than that if the ground was well prepped. Perhaps not enough sown.
Give it another week or two and see how it looks. It's not really anything to worry about though - grass is tough!

stuarta99

Yep I've been watering both daily and was a specialist that came in and done it. I think I'm just inpatient as they said I would see grass in 7 days and have a nice lawn by the middle of May....I don't think so. This was the front after scarification so think it's better

stuarta99

Wow what a change in the last week or so. Still a few patches but massive change

Purplerain

That looks much better Stuart. It's amazing how some warmer weather can change everything.

stuarta99

Yep I had no confidence at all but Greenkeepers who we now use appear to come through, far better than Greenthumb

Fairygirl

Good stuff Stuart 
Ready for cutting now  
I think it was a bit ambitious [or cheeky] of the company to tell you it would be growing in a week [seeded at the end of April!] and a nice sward by mid May, but you've got there, so hopefully it will continue to thrive.

stuarta99

Thanks. Just a couple of holes which I think might need redoing. They've told me not to use a lower just yet so might just lop the top off with a strimmer. Hopefully I don't get leather jacket again, twice is getting a bit boring. Can start to tidy the rest of the garden as well

hogweed

I would use a mower - a strimmer will not cut the grass evenly and you will get some short areas and some longer areas - the mower will cut it evenly. As long as you set the mower quite high you will be good to go. 

Fairygirl

I agree with hogweed. Strimmers are deeply inconsistent - mower set as high as you can, and gradually reduce it each time you mow. The idea is never to take more than a third of the height off at a time. That encourages good growth.
Mow regularly - at least once a week, and if you have a long, dry spell, leave it at a slightly longer length to prevent it drying and scorching  

stuarta99

ok thanks.  Only problem with my mower is that it has 3 settings but I struggle to see the difference.  Will see what it's like at the weekend