Ist es am besten, das Unkraut zu jäten und im April Gras zu säen? Wie würde man mit einem sehr knappen Budget einen Rasen in Betrieb nehmen?
Von: Fract00l
Ist es am besten, das Unkraut zu jäten und im April Gras zu säen? Wie würde man mit einem sehr knappen Budget einen Rasen in Betrieb nehmen?
Von: Fract00l
20 Comments
It’s most likely the weeds …with some effort and a little bit of money that would be easy to rectify
What’s the orientation of that area – north, south facing etc? It might be quite shady with the trees at the bottom in which case grass might struggle.
You don’t get grass unless you lay turf or seed. Looks like nobody has.
Agree that it could be shaded by the trees at the back depending on orientation but it doesn’t cost much to make a lawn – box of seed, a fork and a rake. If you can’t grow grass in the uk there’s something seriously wrong.
If you have the patience and aren’t unlucky with weather, you can get a decent lawn for very little budget. Buying turf is for quick results (and can also go awry if you’re unlucky with weather timing, just more expensively).
Consider what mix you want, which may not be all grass. It looks like most of the weeds may be green alkanet, so a lawn that likes the same conditions might work best.
I would dig it over, removing as much weed and root as possible, then seed or turf it. Regular mowing will stop most annual weeds and then you can use a lawn weed and feed once the grass is well established.
I can’t really tell from the photo if that’s an Ash tree or not (especially in winter) – but if it’s Ash it might be worth getting a health check up on it. Lots of Ash in the uk is dying – you might have a good excuse to have it cut down and gain some more light. Equally if it’s one of the rare immune resistant trees, you should probably leave it be.
I suspect you will need to remove the tree in the background if you want grass to do really well.
Also if those are green alkanet good luck, the picture isn’t good enought to really see if they are.
[https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/green-alkanet](https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/green-alkanet)
(not always as spotty as rhs shows)
If so then dont spend a lot anyway. Dig over you must get as much root out as possible!
Then sow earlier than april, sow in early march if the weather allows.
You will still have green alkanet come through, get one of these to remove any small ones.
[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garden-Guru-Dandelion-Weeder-Ergonomic/dp/B0897B42RT?th=1](https://www.amazon.co.uk/Garden-Guru-Dandelion-Weeder-Ergonomic/dp/B0897B42RT?th=1)
you can get much cheaper ones. But get a decent one. the roots are deep and a cheap cheap one will snap.
Ideally do not let it flower, easiest way to do this is to mow it on a semi regular basis. This is why you want to start the seed earlier to give it longer before you crack out the mower. this will also prevent the leaves from shading the soil and killing the young grass. Alkanet basically out competes grass in shade situations.
You can let it flower in some areas for the bees if you want, they do love it, but cut the flowers before they go to seed.
It will take a few years to have a good lawn and you will need to weed it every now and then to remove any remaining alkanet but it will become less over time. unless you paid a company to remove and replace everything.
Even if you bought turf the alkanet will just grow through it, so seed is the best option.
You have a few months to dig it over and pull any weed roots, then do it again a few more times before starting to seed in March/April
It doesn’t look as if anyone has been trying to grow a lawn there. Maybe it was a vegetable plot previously at some time.
Whatever is growing there seems happy enough so I doubt there is any big problem. I would dig up some of it and use grass seed to make a small lawn but leave some of it to see what it is.
Check there’s no Japanese knotweed
👍
***It’s never been a lawn.
Dig the weeds out, or cover with a tarp and let them die-away, then either sow grass seeds or lay turf.
Check it twice, do it once (in other words, take your time and you’ll be rewarded)***
It just looks neglected, and possibly too much shade. It’s also rather small for a lawn – grass really isn’t worth it until you get to areas of half a tennis court or more. Smaller than that and it’s just frustration and hassle when you’re dealing with shade.
You can get stuff that is animal friendly such as chamomile or creeping thyme?
Looks like a vegetable garden that hasn’t been weeded this winter to me
The plants have grown tall during the summer, and have shaded out the grass.
Grass on a very tight budget: I’ve done this about 6 times, and it is very satisfying!
https://www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/lawns-from-seed
1. You will need to prepare the soil, which is the longest part of the job, no matter if you buy turf (expensive and quick results) or sow seed (cheap, takes a couple of months extra to see good results, better quality grass in the end). Now is a great time to start preparation, as you don’t want to sow seed or plant turf until it gets warm enough for it to grow (March-April)
2. The better you prepare the soil, the better your end result, so don’t rush it.
3. Start in one corner, using a [garden fork](https://img.crocdn.co.uk/images/products2/pr/20/00/03/76/pr2000037630_card4_lg.jpg), and slowly dig your way though, removing any thick roots or big stones that you see. Thick roots grow into weeds, so now is a good time to remove them. Do it in lots of little bits, rather than thinking this is a quick job for a weekend.
4. Use a [rake](https://ames-tools.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/04/9209CS_Double_Sided_Soil_Rake_LS1-.jpg) to get it as level as possible.
5. [Tread all over the soil, using tiny steps to push the soil down](https://youtu.be/J2Tv-ML36r0?t=122). You are aiming to get rid of any pockets of air which will later sink and make dents in the final lawn.
6. Now rake it again, and tread it again.
7. If you can, leave it for a few days at least (or longer if the weather isn’t warm enough yet), so that the soil can settle. If you see any weeds sprout out, take it as a little flag that there might be a thick root that you missed, and now is your chance to dig it out!
8. You might need to rake again. You want to get it as flat and as even as possible.
9. Now is the time to sow the seed. Follow the instructions on the packet. You want the weather to be warm enough for it to grow, but with a chance of rain, so it doesn’t dry out. March-April is perfect. If not, then in the Autumn Sept-Oct.
10. Gently rake over the seeds – birds will come to eat them, but they won’t get them all.
10. Make sure you keep it moist, but water very gently, so you don’t wash the seeds around.
11. Don’t worry about little weeds. They will disappear once you start mowing regularly.
12. The first shoots are very skinny and hard to see, but it soon thickens up. This bit is the most exciting!
13. Once you have grass, mow it regularly (one a week or once every two weeks at the longest). That will get rid of any big weeds and give the grass more chance to grow.
I imagine someone cleared it and didn’t sow anything or the grass didn’t take because it was too dry. Especially if it’s an ex rental.
You can clear and sow grass seed once it’s warm enough. If it’s particularly shady you need shady lawn seed.
Try and get as much of the roots out of the ground as you can. They will likely have a very very long taproot.
It’s very common problem nothing to worry
My first thought is how much soil is there or is it Builders rubble?
Previous owner had dogs or a buffalo herd