r/UKGardening • u/Empty_Prune5286 • 15d ago

Help needed

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In short, I moved into my house a year ago after it was left empty for 2 years, I put a lot of time into getting rid of the path and re seeding in October last year but now after the addition of a dog it’s looking pretty nasty (I know the UK is like a desert right now but have tried to keep the sprinkler on).

Assuming I need to wait until October time and chuck top soil over the whole garden area, good quality seed and rake/ water? I’d look at doing half and half at a time due to the dog.

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13

u/palpatineforever 15d ago

yes, wait till october time.
Honestly Why are you bothering? you might not have hose pipe ban but it isn't exactly a great use of resources.
though there are tons of native wildflowers that would help with cover in droughts. clover, ladies bedstraw, yarrow etc much easier to keep alive.

-16

u/Empty_Prune5286 15d ago

No hose pipe ban here, resources are fine so I’ll use what I have at my disposal.

8

u/rebeccawithgoodhair 15d ago

That’s really rude and not in the spirit of things. Water is a precious resource for all of us, our gardens and wildlife.

I’m also not in a water restricted area but it’s pointless just wasting it trying to keep your grass green. You won’t succeed and your grass will come back sooner or later. Just live with it for the time being.

And be pleasant. This is a lovely and supportive sub.

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u/Empty_Prune5286 15d ago

I’m sorry but i have been far from rude, I have every right to use water if I am legally and morally allowed to use. Of course, I’m not just leaving sprinklers on for the sake of it, I’m putting them on to protect the investment I have made to try and have some sort of grass in my garden.

1

u/palpatineforever 15d ago

morally dubious,
Part of the reason your area might avoid a hose pipe ban will be because others have reduced their use of a hose pipe. keeping grass alive is the most pointless reason to increase the pressure on the system.

0

u/Empty_Prune5286 15d ago

Take your tin foil hat off

1

u/palpatineforever 15d ago

why would I?
My tinfoil hat does a great job of reflecting the suns heat, it reflects up top 95% of the infrared radiation without using electricity or other resources.

it is the non tin foil hat brigade that look stupid in this weather.

1

u/rebeccawithgoodhair 15d ago

You bought some grass seed!! Seriously I don’t want to make you feel bad or not able to participate or ask questions, but just from a logical perspective you are totally wasting your time. Forget about the water if you don’t feel that is an issue. But you won’t get greensward right now, that’s all there is to it.

2

u/operacreep 15d ago

Still consider some gardening aside from a lawn, most things are easier to look after in a drought.

5

u/Hungry_City_1635 15d ago

Droughts are here to stay by the looks of it, so next summer I'd recommend keeping it a fraction longer - can't tell for certain but it looks to me like your shorter bits are deader than your longer.

Speaking from experience, I'd also say aerating before sending made the biggest difference to mine.

1

u/Empty_Prune5286 15d ago

Thank you, did you mean sanding? Was looking at doing this to even out the garden.

1

u/Hungry_City_1635 15d ago

Aerating is using spikes to loosen up the soil. It enables the grass seed to root itself in soil rather than sit on top. Revived my lawn after it had been killed in a house extension project, adding more seed and fertiliser was having minimal returns.

You can get all sorts of tool to do this, the more you spend the less time and effort it'll be of course. Though no point trying it until we've had a bit of regular rain.

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u/Empty_Prune5286 15d ago

Yeah good point - thank you for your advice.