Growing grass

cking, Aug 17, 9:18pm
I live in West Auckland. My small garden is shady. There are bare patches here and there. What is the best time to sow grass seeds and what seeds are good for shady lawn? Any advice regarding preparation, fertilizer and watering would be appreciated. Thank you.
jenny188, Aug 18, 11:29pm
Fact of life, weeds are resiliant and generally come back first. Spray the lawn with a broad leaf killer, which will give the finer grassers a much better chance to dominate.
taureanbabe, Oct 22, 7:52pm
Am wondering if it's normal for weeds to grow after grass seed been put down. My landlord has done a poor job of my lawn. The grass seed was not put on whole of lawn so there are soil patches, plus weeds getting bigger by the day
I have started weeding the lawn but have been told not to, as the lawnmower man will deal with weeds be mowing over them. Unfortunately this does not get rid of weeds, just let's them spread and keep growing. Am thinking my landlord has a few screws missing, and is quite happy for ugly weeds to stay in the lawn. Can anyone comment on the best way to put a grass lawn down?
wasgonna, Oct 23, 9:44am
Most weed seeds are spread by the wind and the rest in bird droppings so give up trying to stop weeds in a lawn. Remove them when growing.
amasser, Oct 23, 11:38am
Mowing the weeds will not stop them and, as most people mow lawns too short, being more robust the weeds will thrive but grass won't. Grass, like all plants, needs care and fertiliser too.
Would I ask a lawn-mowing contractor for advice on growing lawns? Not bloody likely!
lythande1, Oct 23, 11:54am
Mowing if done right, does help. You don't cut the lawn short like kiwis tend to, longer and the weeds get blocked out. Mostly.
I would weed them out however, put some seed in yourself, remember it needs to be lightly watered daily until grown in.
boby11, Oct 23, 1:15pm
The cheap way some do is to use a mix used for fire damaged land. It has all sorts of weedy plant seeds in it.
taureanbabe, Oct 23, 2:01pm
Thanks guys, I just don't think my landlord knows what he is doing, and I get accused for pulling weeds out
oh_hunnihunni, Oct 23, 3:35pm
Don't pull them out. Spot spray with undiluted white vinegar. That'll learn 'em.
maclad, Oct 23, 4:19pm
A lot of those weeds will die out with careful mowing, keep the cut a bit high. Weeds do not like shade. Fertilize to get a nice thick sward so seeds cannot grow. In 6 months, when the lawn is old enough, give it a spray with Turfix or a similar product.
taureanbabe, Oct 23, 4:41pm
Oooh ok, that all sounds like good advice, thanks
marialitchfield, Oct 7, 1:48am
I had lots of daisies and dandelions in my lawn.
I pulled them all out by hand (trowel) and refilled the hole with too soil and grass seed.
It took me about three ueras but now I have only one or two come up each year.