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Lawn looking awful & patchy - clay lawn help

#1 · 19th March 2023, 8:57 pm

Hi , old garden was very lumpy and we had a dog that was peeing on it and killing parts of it. Was historically damp but manageable and grass did grow. Last April I returfed taking out large stones and was able to make it flatter. Trained dog not to pee on it. Left it to take and for first few months looked great and did feed it. When I first cut it last summer (at a decent height) some of the cuttings left on the grass seemed to mat when it rained and over the last year the grass has thinned out and now it’s mostly bare soil or matted old grass. Tried raking and makes no difference and seems to make worse if anything. Have overseeded but no joys. The ground is now permanently damp and squelchy and can’t let kids or dog out on it. It looks awful. First photo were taken after very heavy rain and the close up a few days later - still sodden. Any ideas or thoughts welcome.

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#2 · 23rd March 2023, 1:44 pm

Hi @jamesa

Sorry to hear you;re struggling with your lawn that's waterlogged and squishy. I can tell you've put lots of hard work into relaying/seeding your lawn and to find the results lacklustre is disappointing.

However, I think I know what the problem is and the solution.

Looking at your soil and the garden aspect, it looks like you're dealing with part shade and clay soil. Which are often the trickiest conditions to lay lawn with.

This means that the conditions the lawn seed have to contend with are:

Low light levels
High nutrients (clay is incredibly high in valuable nutrients)
Low air levels in the soil
High moisture levels

This means that your bog standard off-the-shelf lawn seed or turf rolls simply won't cut it. You need a specialist shady seed mix like this one for shady soils. (This is an affiliate link so if you do choose to buy receive a small commission that helps keep this blog free to use!)

Shaded Clay Lawn Mix

If you're buying other seed I'd recommend opting for a mix like the one below.

20% Dwarf perennial rye grass
25% Strong creeping red fescue
20% Slender creeping red fescue
15% Sheeps or Hard fescue
10% Smooth stalked meadow grass
5% Rough Stalked or Wood meadow grass
5% Bent grass

You don't need to rip your lawn up and start again either. I'd simply rake the lawn both ways, horizontally and vertically and then overseed the above mix. Scatter some sieved compost over the top, and the mix should help fill in the gaps.

As for the wet ground in winter, I'm afraid having clay soil means you'll always have this. Consider adding a path along the middle of the garden to help navigate people around in all weathers.

Hope that helps.

Lee

jamesa has reacted to this post.

#3 · 23rd March 2023, 3:16 pm

This great. Clear and concise. Thanks