The STRI (sports turf research institute) provide a very useful guide of all the latest grasses and the best cultivars for your situation and location. I would go with a mixture of dwarf rye grass, creeping rescued and perhaps bent grasses. Rye grass is fast to establish, hard wearing and quick to recover from wear. They come very fine these days and are even used as a 100 percent mix for cricket squares. Rye grows in the form of a rosette though and creeping fescue spreads by stolons and fills in gaps between.
I buy 20kg bags of high quality seed mix for cricket squares for around 85 quid delivered. You can select for colour, drought resistance, wear resistance etc
As for the soil I would strongly advise that you turn the ground before spreading too soil. You could create a layer if not that can cause problems with drainage or roots penetrating through.
So basically spent the whole of April (weather didnt help) putting down weedkiller / removing the old grass / top soiling etc.
In the end I decided to turf the Garden rather than put down Grass seed and whilst Charlton were beating Leeds 2-1 on Saturday I was out in the garden putting down the finishing touches and have ended up with this.
Phase two of my garden will be to put some decking down over the concrete which leads to the back door (where the hose comes from) - In addition its quite steep coming down the steps from the back door so intend to have the decking raised up to the turf.
Because of the scale of the job I know I wont be able to do this myself so the question is...
Does anyone know of any good Companies out there who do decking at a reasonable price?
So basically spent the whole of April (weather didnt help) putting down weedkiller / removing the old grass / top soiling etc.
In the end I decided to turf the Garden rather than put down Grass seed and whilst Charlton were beating Leeds 2-1 on Saturday I was out in the garden putting down the finishing touches and have ended up with this.
I thought this was the garden you showed me? Nice touch with the sofa.
I have a really tiny apple tree growing down the fence (can't remember what it's called when they are trained to do that, it's not pleached is it?) to my surprise got 8 apples off it, they ripened while I was away so there were 2 more that fell and got eaten by the poxy slugs
Tomatoes have only just started to turn, they self grew this year in the veg patch which was great.
The courgettes have gone mental. Came back after a week and had 6 huge marrows off 2 plants and they seem to be producing every day.
I've got a really poor tomato crop this year. In greenhouse, fed regularly etc.
Outside courgettes and beans doing well (except beans getting covered in blackfly now)
You can't beat home grown courgettes, fairly easy to grow too.
Didn't plant anything this year but our blueberries have done really well as has the apple tree.
I gave the apple tree a serious hair cut in the winter - only two apples. Hope it picks up next year
I gave my well established fig tree the same 2 winters ago, after my neighbour said it was taking most of their afternoon sunlight. Last summer's crop was really disappointing, but the tree seems to have recovered now - this year a very heavy crop and I've already been eating the first juicy figs.
Biggest problem at the moment is they bleddy caterpillars on my cabbages and broccoli. I've picked off thousands but still they keep coming and the plants are getting stripped to skeletons.
One thing I've noticed while the lavender has been flowering, it's attracted a blizzard of cabbage white butterflies - who once they've fed on the lavender, evidently straight away go and have sex on my cabbages! Grrr! wish I could machine gun the buggers.
I have a really tiny apple tree growing down the fence (can't remember what it's called when they are trained to do that, it's not pleached is it?) to my surprise got 8 apples off it, they ripened while I was away so there were 2 more that fell and got eaten by the poxy slugs
Tomatoes have only just started to turn, they self grew this year in the veg patch which was great.
The courgettes have gone mental. Came back after a week and had 6 huge marrows off 2 plants and they seem to be producing every day.
I've got a really poor tomato crop this year. In greenhouse, fed regularly etc.
Outside courgettes and beans doing well (except beans getting covered in blackfly now)
You can't beat home grown courgettes, fairly easy to grow too.
Didn't plant anything this year but our blueberries have done really well as has the apple tree.
I gave the apple tree a serious hair cut in the winter - only two apples. Hope it picks up next year
I gave my well established fig tree the same 2 winters ago, after my neighbour said it was taking most of their afternoon sunlight. Last summer's crop was really disappointing, but the tree seems to have recovered now - this year a very heavy crop and I've already been eating the first juicy figs.
Biggest problem at the moment is they bleddy caterpillars on my cabbages and broccoli. I've picked off thousands but still they keep coming and the plants are getting stripped to skeletons.
One thing I've noticed while the lavender has been flowering, it's attracted a blizzard of cabbage white butterflies - who once they've fed on the lavender, evidently straight away go and have sex on my cabbages! Grrr! wish I could machine gun the buggers.
Likewise with the caterpillars. I've grown some of that dark kale for the winter and it's looking threadbare
I've got a really poor tomato crop this year. In greenhouse, fed regularly etc.
Outside courgettes and beans doing well (except beans getting covered in blackfly now)
You can't beat home grown courgettes, fairly easy to grow too.
Didn't plant anything this year but our blueberries have done really well as has the apple tree.
I gave the apple tree a serious hair cut in the winter - only two apples. Hope it picks up next year
I gave my well established fig tree the same 2 winters ago, after my neighbour said it was taking most of their afternoon sunlight. Last summer's crop was really disappointing, but the tree seems to have recovered now - this year a very heavy crop and I've already been eating the first juicy figs.
Biggest problem at the moment is they bleddy caterpillars on my cabbages and broccoli. I've picked off thousands but still they keep coming and the plants are getting stripped to skeletons.
One thing I've noticed while the lavender has been flowering, it's attracted a blizzard of cabbage white butterflies - who once they've fed on the lavender, evidently straight away go and have sex on my cabbages! Grrr! wish I could machine gun the buggers.
Likewise with the caterpillars. I've grown some of that dark kale for the winter and it's looking threadbare
Any luck with finding a solution that doesn't involve spraying poison?
I've got a really poor tomato crop this year. In greenhouse, fed regularly etc.
Outside courgettes and beans doing well (except beans getting covered in blackfly now)
You can't beat home grown courgettes, fairly easy to grow too.
Didn't plant anything this year but our blueberries have done really well as has the apple tree.
I gave the apple tree a serious hair cut in the winter - only two apples. Hope it picks up next year
I gave my well established fig tree the same 2 winters ago, after my neighbour said it was taking most of their afternoon sunlight. Last summer's crop was really disappointing, but the tree seems to have recovered now - this year a very heavy crop and I've already been eating the first juicy figs.
Biggest problem at the moment is they bleddy caterpillars on my cabbages and broccoli. I've picked off thousands but still they keep coming and the plants are getting stripped to skeletons.
One thing I've noticed while the lavender has been flowering, it's attracted a blizzard of cabbage white butterflies - who once they've fed on the lavender, evidently straight away go and have sex on my cabbages! Grrr! wish I could machine gun the buggers.
Likewise with the caterpillars. I've grown some of that dark kale for the winter and it's looking threadbare
Any luck with finding a solution that doesn't involve spraying poison?
Sadly no. I try and pick the caterpillars off and feed them to my hens. If my hens were allowed near the kale they'd eat the kale then the caterpillars
I've got a really poor tomato crop this year. In greenhouse, fed regularly etc.
Outside courgettes and beans doing well (except beans getting covered in blackfly now)
You’re ahead of me, mine basically died, I have dug them up and disposed of the plants. I grew tomatoes from seed this year and gave some away to three other people - all of which are ok.
I’ve grown tomatoes for years and last years crop broke all records. This year’s seedlings looked strong and the young plants grew on well in the soil, but something then happened and I don’t know what. The plants stopped growing, leaves curled and went brown. I also note the root system was weak.
I don’t use weed killer, but the plants looked like they were affected by some chemical attack. I am unable to question my neighbour as to whether he was a bit careless with his spraying, as the press do not take kindly to octogenarians being slammed up against the garage door and threatened with a straight fingered jab to the eyes. Only kidding (I think).
I've got a really poor tomato crop this year. In greenhouse, fed regularly etc.
Outside courgettes and beans doing well (except beans getting covered in blackfly now)
You’re ahead of me, mine basically died, I have dug them up and disposed of the plants. I grew tomatoes from seed this year and gave some away to three other people - all of which are ok.
I’ve grown tomatoes for years and last years crop broke all records. This year’s seedlings looked strong and the young plants grew on well in the soil, but something then happened and I don’t know what. The plants stopped growing, leaves curled and went brown. I also note the root system was weak.
I don’t use weed killer, but the plants looked like they were affected by some chemical attack. I am unable to question my neighbour as to whether he was a bit careless with his spraying, as the press do not take kindly to octogenarians being slammed up against the garage door and threatened with a straight fingered jab to the eyes. Only kidding (I think).
Comments
The STRI (sports turf research institute) provide a very useful guide of all the latest grasses and the best cultivars for your situation and location.
I would go with a mixture of dwarf rye grass, creeping rescued and perhaps bent grasses. Rye grass is fast to establish, hard wearing and quick to recover from wear. They come very fine these days and are even used as a 100 percent mix for cricket squares. Rye grows in the form of a rosette though and creeping fescue spreads by stolons and fills in gaps between.
I buy 20kg bags of high quality seed mix for cricket squares for around 85 quid delivered. You can select for colour, drought resistance, wear resistance etc
As for the soil I would strongly advise that you turn the ground before spreading too soil. You could create a layer if not that can cause problems with drainage or roots penetrating through.
In the end I decided to turf the Garden rather than put down Grass seed and whilst Charlton were beating Leeds 2-1 on Saturday I was out in the garden putting down the finishing touches and have ended up with this.
Because of the scale of the job I know I wont be able to do this myself so the question is...
Does anyone know of any good Companies out there who do decking at a reasonable price?
Bit small to invite your mates round though.
Outside courgettes and beans doing well (except beans getting covered in blackfly now)
Didn't plant anything this year but our blueberries have done really well as has the apple tree.
Tomatoes have only just started to turn, they self grew this year in the veg patch which was great.
The courgettes have gone mental. Came back after a week and had 6 huge marrows off 2 plants and they seem to be producing every day.
Last summer's crop was really disappointing, but the tree seems to have recovered now - this year a very heavy crop and I've already been eating the first juicy figs.
Biggest problem at the moment is they bleddy caterpillars on my cabbages and broccoli.
I've picked off thousands but still they keep coming and the plants are getting stripped to skeletons.
One thing I've noticed while the lavender has been flowering, it's attracted a blizzard of cabbage white butterflies - who once they've fed on the lavender, evidently straight away go and have sex on my cabbages!
Grrr! wish I could machine gun the buggers.
I’ve grown tomatoes for years and last years crop broke all records. This year’s seedlings looked strong and the young plants grew on well in the soil, but something then happened and I don’t know what. The plants stopped growing, leaves curled and went brown. I also note the root system was weak.
I don’t use weed killer, but the plants looked like they were affected by some chemical attack. I am unable to question my neighbour as to whether he was a bit careless with his spraying, as the press do not take kindly to octogenarians being slammed up against the garage door and threatened with a straight fingered jab to the eyes. Only kidding (I think).
Useful info here though, good luck next year!
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=391
I'm sure it wasn't your elderly neighbour's fault........!