Grab A Luscious Lawn (Multi Purpose Grass Seed)

Member Name: ickleannie

Product:	Multi Purpose Grass Seed
Date:	17/06/09 (95 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy To Use

Disadvantages: Time Consuming

We are off to pastures new very shortly which hopefully will bring a wonderful new chapter to our lives. Inevitably however this involves the stress which accompanies the preparation for a house move, particularly in ensuring that the property is in great condition for the soon to be new owners. I have a six year old boy and with him comes the playground that is my garden. Filled with the usual paraphernalia that accompanies his age group. We packed all of these possessions into a box a few weeks ago ready for our flitting however I was horrified to discover that our rather large garden had some extremely patchy and some completely bald areas in between lush green grass. Well I decided that I didn't want to leave it in this condition so went along to my local garden centre looking for a suitable product that would rid me of this problem and make it look a bit more appealing.

The shelves were literally filled with products however I decided after much humming and hawing that I would try Evergreen Multi Purpose Lawn seed. Perhaps it was the power of advertising that swayed me however as a not particularly keen gardener I seemed to remember the name from a recent television commercial so decided to invest in a 500g box of this product at a cost of £2.69 which I thought was fairly reasonable. The item comes in a green and orange pack so you can't miss it on the shelf. It attracted my attention immediately as a result of this in addition it promised to provide a good colour, be wear tolerant and would provide rapid establishment for new lawns and renovation. The 500g provides coverage of 14 square metres and over seeding can cover up to 20 square metres. Plenty for my needs so I proceeded to the checkout.

I got the product home and discovered to my dismay that I would have to do a little bit of preparation on the areas that I wished to 'sow my seeds' so to speak. I possibly should have read the pack however I realised that because I was just covering a few patches that it really wouldn't be too much hassle. Remember I am not keen on the old gardening!!!! I found out that there are three areas to consider when using lawn seed these are preparation, sowing and aftercare. I have to say at this point I wasn't really brimming with joy at this point however as my lovely old grandmother used to say good things come to those who wait. It must be pointed out that all of this can take several weeks to ensure lovely results so remember this before taking on the job.

Preparation

Sowing seeds should be undertaken between March to early October only. Ideally before rain and whilst avoiding windy days ( easier said that done trying to pick your moment when living in unpredictable Glasgow where the weather is for the most part both windy and wet!!). It is important to allow time to prepare the seed bed well and ensuring that you remove weeds and stones. I did this to a point on my baldy patches so to speak however I didn't prepare as thoroughly as would be necessary for sowing an entire lawn. You are encouraged to dig to a depth of around 6-8". This is so that you can produce a firm level seed bed by treading or rolling and then rake to give a fine texture on the surface. The manufacturer recommends that you spend time in this stage as it will result in the best possible condition for establishing the lawn. You are also encouraged to wait several weeks between preparation and sowing to ensure any weeds that emerge can be destroyed.

Sowing
The area to be sown should be divided into metre squares. The seeds should then be sown at a rate of 35 grammes per square metre. It is recommended that you should shake the box prior to dispensing to ensure that the seed is thoroughly mixed. You then sow half of the seed from left to right, and half from top to bottom for each section. After sowing it is important to rake the seed lightly into the soil after which you should water liberally with a fine spray. I used a watering can with a spray nozzle extension. The seeds should start to germinate in around 14 to 21 days. I have to say I started to notice this around the 12 day mark and soon after the patchy areas began to slowly disappear. I wouldn't say that the new grass was lush and green however it certainly looked a lot better than before and overall I was quite pleased with the results. I'm sure that long after we are gone the cosmetics will improve significantly over time. The biggest downside was having to keep going out and chasing the birds who thought that the seeds were an afternoon snack however my son took great delight in watching and chasing away the poor unfortunate ones who dared to enter our garden. I believe however that if you are doing an entire lawn that you can actually purchase a net which will go someway to combating this problem.

Aftercare

The manufacturer recommends that if dry weather follows sowing it is important to keep the grass constantly moist. They also state that weeds may appear however most will disappear with mowing. Persistent weeds however can be treated after a nine month period with weed killer. The lawn should not be mown however until the grass is 2-3" high. Finally to maintain a high quality lawn it is important to water and feed regularly.

The product should be stored within a cool dry place and should be used within the season of purchase.

Summary: Grow A Beautiful Lawn