Grass seed hasn't worked. What have I done wrong?
ripply
Posts: 73
When I moved here, the garden was overgrown and full of weeds. I've managed to get most of the grass looking reasonably well with mowing/feeding etc. There are some parts of the garden that had nothing but weeds so I removed all of them and reseeded. That was 3 weeks ago and there's no sign of life at all.
I used two different types of seed in different places as one area is very shaded, but none of it is working. I spread the seed out by hand and raked it, then stamped it in a bit. It's been around 15c here and we've had enough rain to keep the seed damp.
Could anyone advise me on what I've done wrong? I did use some evergreen weed&feed few weeks earlier. Could this have affected it?
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I've had this problem with reseeding patches of lawn and found that the best seed to use was the coated stuff rather than bog standard nude seed. I also kept the birds away from the seeded areas because they are prone to think that any bare patch of soil is a good dust bath. Cannot give advice about the weed and feed though as a few weeks have passed since you used it, I wouldn't have thought it could have contributed to the problem.
I saw that coated seed but it was more expensive so I went for the regular stuff. Wish I'd paid the extra now! The birds haven't eaten it though as I can still see it sitting there. I did use a lot of it, more than was recommended. I'm not sure if that was a good idea or not. Would it help if I added compost over the top of it, instead of just the garden soil?
All the rain we've had may have rotted the seed. I have grown a fair bit of grass over the last two years and had an area where it wouldn't grow...It was too wet there. It grew everywhere else except in that particular wet area. Also I found a thin layer of sharp sand over the seeds was a good way to stop the birds eating it. I don't think the birds like the abrasiveness of the sand on their beaks. I'm sure others here will be of more help than me.
Good luck.
Depending on the size of the area that needs to be re-seeded, have you considered growing your own turf? I've done this in seed trays and it has cut out a lot of the hassle.
You say you covered it with soil - have you covered it a bit too thickly, ripply? It may be down to lack of light getting to the seed more than anything else. Normally, just a sprinkling of compost or soil mixed with the seed is plenty. It helps you to see where you've sown it as much as anything.
Oversowing would make no difference - if it all germinated, you'd just have a thicker sward!
I'd leave it another week, and if there's still no sign, rake it over and try and expose the seed. If it's disappeared, you may just have to repeat the process.
hi to above some say that the green sow and grow is harmfull to pets the way I do it to patch is the way monty said fill small pots put a good amount in pot I did 40 a few weeks ago so far full house 40 full pots all I have to do now is square area.s and plant (AND KEEP DOG OFF) ( idont know if it is a wind up but plant the seeds up the right way? Michael
I think D. Riley's greenkeeper is just having a laugh Michael... It's like the old 'tartan paint' or 'bucket of steam' jokes
thanks fairygirl some where in the back of my long mind I thought I had heard it ore even the long stand joke also thanks m
Michael
Thanks for all the responses. I don't think I've covered the seed too much as I can still see most of it sitting on the surface. Maybe I haven't covered it enough. These bare areas are quite big so it wouldn't really be practical to grow seed in pots. It might be the areas that are the problem. One part is shaded all the time, and the other is at the top of a slope where the soil is very stony and poor. Maybe they just aren't suited to grass at all.
I'm worrying also because soon I'll have to reseed the other half of the garden, which is currently full of rubble and hardcore. It's all being removed and topsoil added. If I can't manage to seed these smaller areas, I don't know how I'll do that. It's 50 m x 6 m.
I'll give it another week and start again, maybe with some coated seed.