Grass just won't grow

[jungleburger]

Hi,

I've laid seed, I've laid turf and reseeded over the past 3 years respectively but my grass just will not grow. We get to winter and the ground becomes sodden and muddy and the grass just disappears and becomes extremely patchy. I've been told it's likely my soil has clay in it and is holding too much moisture, which it certainly looks like it does. And that I need to lay horticultural sand on it to help my grass grow better.

Although, I've virtually given up and want to start again what would be my best course of action. If I buy a load of sand and a load of top soil and reseed will this help? What would be the best preparation? Do I need to turn the soil over, again, and mix in top soil and sand, or do I layer the ground sand below top soil? Any help would be extremely grateful. I'm that close to laying artificial grass and be done with it.

Thanks

 

[Becky]

Just so we can get a full picture of the situation, what are the other conditions like where the grass is growing? How much light, are there any trees nearby / in the lawn, how much water it gets etc.

 

[jungleburger]

There are trees surrounding the garden, but they are outside the garden in a field behind. They tend to block a bit of light and need cutting back regularly so the garden gets more light.
The garden gets as much water as it rains, but it with a fair bit of rain it gets flooded in the borders surrounding the garden and the grass/ground is very wet and muddy

 

[Becky]

Sounds like drainage is the issue, everything else sounds fine. Clay is slow to absorb water, so it acts as a barrier to the water as it is trying to drain away. I think your best bet would be to poke lots of holes in the lawn and then brush sand over it to help water drain down. How big is the area?

 

[jungleburger]

It's not that big, it's quite thin and long. I'd say about 6 maybe 7 metres wide and anything between 15 to 20 metres in length. One of the frustrating things, is next doors grass grows perfectly and they have the same tree coverage and soil and he literally does nothing to it. He laid seed and it grew. I laid seed and mine didn't grow

Would it worth laying some more top soil?

 

[Becky]

Cor, you'd need an awful lot of topsoil for that area! I'd say try the holes / sand approach first to see if that helps. You'll want a lot of holes

 

[jungleburger]

Haha, most likely.

Thanks

 

[Rajesh Sethi]

Instead of sowing seed directly try to raise the soil bit (create raise soil bed or use pot ) sow grass seed in that, once the grass grows, cut and use mason trowel to pick up the grass sod,and transplant them where you want.

I have a small garden, I am planning to grow moss, still growing grass in pots in case I change my mind.

 

[Beth_B]

I had hard clay soil at a previous house and bought an aerator. Basically a sharp-edged tool that punches and removes plugs of soil, allowing for better water penetration and giving the roots room to grow. I imagine you could also do that, then add sand?

They come in all sorts of configurations.

https://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Home-Improvement-Manual-Lawn-Aerators/zgbs/hi/3480687011

 

[Daren]

If you have know topsoil, grass will not grow, your be better to growing moss!. your need a few inches of soil by the sound of it. Six inches minimum would be good for grass. post a picture of your soil .... a spade ( spit ) of would help confirm or not how much you need

 

[DrCase]

What kind of grass do you guys grow over there