Lawn Food

[Binky]

Now that the snow has gone, I was looking at my front lawn and it is very sad - it seems to be mostly moss. Is it too late to apply autumn lawn weed/feed/mosskiller, in the hope that the grass will be ready to perk up in the spring? Or shall I wait a till spring and use the spring lawn food? I could scarify/rake it, but would probably then have a lot of bare earth.

[retropants]

mine's the same Binky, and absolutely sodden too. I think I'll wait until spring, and give it a wee makeover.

[peter]

My dogs have been doing that for me and it makes the grass go brown......

[PLUMPUDDING]

My friend asked her son to sort the lawn out - meaning tidy it up and mow it - and while she was out he sprayed it with weedkiller!!!

[tracie]

Hi,

I have heard that if you mix some tomato ketchup in your dogs food then the lawn does not go brown, I do not have a dog so have not tried it.

Last year I used some growmore on my lawn with very good results, being white and granular it is easy to spread and you can see where you have been. Will use again this year, and from our allotment shop a lot cheaper than specialist lawn products.

[Monika]

Our lawn looks all padded down from the weight of the snow, so I think I will give it a good pricking over with a fork to get some air into the soil, but no other treatment until well into spring,

[FelixLeiter]

I'd give it until spring, which might not be so far away, in lawn terms anyway. Lawns can sometimes start into growth again in February, if the weather's on the right track. But unless the grass is actually growing, I'd simply keep off it. It'll perk up again of its own accord, when there's some heat in the sun again.

[farmer jon]

a little trade secret - a tablespoon full of iron sulphate mixed in a 7 litre watering can & applied with a fine rose will turn the moss black in less than 30 mins. however best to wait until march with dry ground so it can be scarified as it looks unsightly. with treating it first to turn black you can tell when you have got all of it out. lawns everywhere are looking really sick but with a little TLC in spring they will come back. secret is don't be in too much of a hurry to fix it until the conditions improve.

[FelixLeiter]

a little trade secret - a tablespoon full of iron sulphate mixed in a 7 litre watering can & applied with a fine rose will turn the moss black in less than 30 mins.

This is so. Unfortunately, a black lawn is not something everyone wants. I've seen them look like this for weeks before the sward has grown back sufficiently to hide it. It's not always possible to remove it. All lawns become mossy by the end of the winter, to a greater or lesser degree. Moss grows through winter, grass grows through the summer. By the time the summer sward has re-established, the moss if often all but forgotten about even though it is usually still there.
I think Binky's lawn, though, isn't necessarily suffering from too much moss, just winter damage generally. After snow, lawns emerge from underneath looking scorched. In countries where proper winters are experienced (rather than experiencing as we have, and let's be realistic here, a bit of snow) the grass can look cataclysmic. It recovers in time, when conditions are right for it to grow again.

[PLUMPUDDING]

I've three lawns in different parts of the garden, one in good condition, one in more shade which after last summer is completely moss, and one which is a bit threadbare and has holes in it where the blackbirds have been digging for worms. I'm waiting while the grass starts growing and needs a mow before deciding what treatment or not to give them. I'm probably going to leave the moss one as it looks green, doesn't need mowing and is lovely and springy to walk on. I think they need tidying up and scarifying before feeding, so there is still plenty of time.

[Primrose]

I'd wait until Spring and then give it a good raking. Our grass is looking very long and untidy and has lots of moss too. . I'm desperate to give it a cut to tidy it up but it's just far too wet at the moment.