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Grass not growing

7wigginsb7wigginsb Posts: 8
edited May 2020 in Problem solving
Hello. I put some new lawn seed down to create a new lawn in the back, and it's growing, but it's very very slow. It's been around 6-8 weeks now and it's only little patches that are growing. Is there anything I can do to help it's growth. 

Thank you! 
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Posts

  • josusa47josusa47 Posts: 3,530
    Are you in the UK?  If so, it probably hasn't rained much since you sowed it.  Have you been watering it?  Best to do it in the cool of evening, so it doesn't evaporate too quickly.
  • 7wigginsb7wigginsb Posts: 8
    josusa47 said:
    Are you in the UK?  If so, it probably hasn't rained much since you sowed it.  Have you been watering it?  Best to do it in the cool of evening, so it doesn't evaporate too quickly.
    Hello. Yes in the UK. I've been watering it every evening as it's been warm and hot recently. 
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 54,353
    If you sowed it in late March, it would have been too cold for it to germinate.
    Then the heat and dry conditions. Even with watering properly, nothing compares with steady water out of the sky anyway. 
    The ground needs to be moist to start with ideally, and the seed has to have good contact with the soil. If you didn't have that either, you may simply have lost some. If you've only been watering recently, some may well have just blown away or been eaten. 
    The prep of the ground and the type of soil is also a big factor. All these things have a bearing on the germination and growth. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • 7wigginsb7wigginsb Posts: 8
    Fairygirl said:
    If you sowed it in late March, it would have been too cold for it to germinate.
    Then the heat and dry conditions. Even with watering properly, nothing compares with steady water out of the sky anyway. 
    The ground needs to be moist to start with ideally, and the seed has to have good contact with the soil. If you didn't have that either, you may simply have lost some. If you've only been watering recently, some may well have just blown away or been eaten. 
    The prep of the ground and the type of soil is also a big factor. All these things have a bearing on the germination and growth. 
    I read online to start it at the end of march ? So I did. Been watering every evening. ..

    There was grass down but I've taken it up and wanted a new lawn. 

    What can I do now to rectify it?
  • 7wigginsb7wigginsb Posts: 8
    Rik56 said:
    Water more - twice a day and literally drown it. And re-seed where required.
    Is that what you think? I was worried I wasn't watering it enough. 

    Do you think I can put some fertilizer or grass feed down? 
  • Nanny BeachNanny Beach Posts: 8,669
    Fairy is spot on, not dont waste your time and money feeding it.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 54,353
    No - don't feed it!
    When you're watering - how are you doing it, and for how long?
    What I call watering and what others call watering can be very different ;)

    I've never watered grass in my life, and don't intend to, but my back grass is approximately 20 - 25 sq metres. If I'd sown seed and needed to water it, I'd have a sprinkler [or the equivalent  ] on it for about an hour each night, assuming it could cover the whole area.
    I sowed mine in June about four or five years ago,. The sky did the necessary watering for me. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • mikepeirce1mikepeirce1 Posts: 4
    Don't despair yet! Where we live (close to the South Coast) night temperatures have been low consistantly for most of this spring and everything in our garden has been slow to get going. Normally, at the start of May I would reckon to mow at least once a week but am having to do so much less frequently.
    Grass seed will sit in the soil happily for years so keep watering  and wait. No fertilizer! If you've still got a lot of bare patches at the start of June then you might want to do a bit of re-seeding but the later you do re-seed then the harder it will be to keep the seed bed moist.
    Come the autumn Alan Titchmarch would suggest a light application of Blood, Fish and Bone.
    Good Luck
  • 7wigginsb7wigginsb Posts: 8
    Rik56 said:
    7wigginsb said:
    Rik56 said:
    Water more - twice a day and literally drown it. And re-seed where required.
    Is that what you think? I was worried I wasn't watering it enough. 

    Do you think I can put some fertilizer or grass feed down? 

    Yeah, on a warm day (say over 18c) twice a day isn't excessive. Use your judgement - the aim really is to keep it moist most of the time.
    If you get chance, test the pH of your soil. Ryegrass mix (which is what I suspect you've sown) prefers a more alkaline soil. Bents and Fescues are the finer grasses for golf courses and bowling greens that prefer a more acid soil.
    When you come to fertilise (if your soil is acid or neutral) I find adding lime is very beneficial.. but you wont be doing that for a while.
    I've used this. But as I say it's obviously not very fast acting! I've maybe not been watering it enough! 
  • 7wigginsb7wigginsb Posts: 8
    Rik56 said:
    A combination of warmer longer days and moisture will probably result in faster and more healthier growth...just look at how grass grows where you don't want it to!
    Don't it cut too short tho..
    It's not grown for me to cut it 😂
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