My sorry lawn

[Lagoonablue]

I have moved I to a new house and we have a lawn for the first time. We cut the grass and then I was told we should apply weed and feed, to encourage healthy growth and deal with weeds. I didn't apply it but bought some lawn feed from the pound shop which I watered in as it said on the packet.

Now the lawn looks awful.. Not sure if it the lawn feed that has caused it but there are bald patches appearing.

What can I do?

This can happen if you overdo the weed + feed. I sometimes get it where I've spilled a bit extra, or overlapped the rows. Not much you can do in my experience except wait for it to regrow.

Thanks. Do you think I may have the blades too low on mower? Could I have scalped it?

Surely only you can answer that one lagoonblue

Well no. I have no idea. I didn't know lawns were so complicated!

Well you could see what setting the blades are set on,if it's on the lowest poss.cut,then you've prob.scalped it,so raise the height of mower,only very flat lawns can be cut short with a rotary mower.
If it's a new lawn ( under 12 mths )then the weed & feed may well have killed it,or you put too much on,give it a good soaking,and be prepared to buy some lawn repair or grass seed.
Grass will often repair itself,so don't give up hope.

Don't mow it too short in future, till you get used to how it reacts. Gently rake cuttings off, if the mower doesn't have a box that collects the cuttings. Keep it watered. And avoid 'pound shop' products, and stick to branded ones if you can afford to.

The great thing about lawns is they are not carpets, they grow and they will regenerate themselves.

The bad thing about lawns is they are not carpets, they grow and need looking after

:)

I would say to start with lots of water ( if it isn't falling from The sky) and cut it on a high mower setting - if your mower has 1-6 ; with 1 being lowest then definitely no lower than 4 for the first season.

The bald bits could be toxicity from over feeding or scalping, or if it hasn't been cut for a while where you have cut a weed down that isn't tolerant to mowing and you have (fortunately) killed the weed.

Give it a few weeks and if it isn't growing back get some non - pound shop seed and overseed. Have a mosey of YouTube for some vids on how to do it - it is easier than you think. Just give the whole thing a rake over before you do it.

Then go easy on it till the new stuff is established.

Height settings of 1 - 6 that should say

Thankyou. I didn't realise they were such hard work!

They're not hard work if you don't cut them too short, far better to leave the grass longer and cut more often.

Lagoon - weed and feed really needs watering in thoroughly. As in putting the sprinkler on.
I learnt this through bitter experience...

lawns are not too hard work, don't listen to the folks who say you need weeding it. you don't unless you want to enter a gardening competition.
I remove spikey plants, that's it. if it's green and feels pleasant barefiit I leave it.
it's normal that there are yellow patches after mowing a longish lawn, that will resolve on it's own quickly. you don't even need to water it usually, even if it gets dry during a dry spell in summer it will turn green again after a good rain.

At. Is looking better after a bit of regrowth.

Meant 'ta'.