Lawn replacement thoughts

roundthebend

Son lives in a rented property. It's a relatively new build estate with a typical rectangle of lawn space which has been neglected by all tenants and landlord. Son has added to the trouble by having a puppy which digs it up and uses it as a toilet.

So, he's now got a rectangle of dandelions and bare mud. The landlord has asked him to make improvement to it before the next inspection in the middle of May - I think this was requested in February but it's rained every minute since.

New turf would be an heavy undertaking and costly. It would need the top scraped off and disposed off, then fresh turf rolled out and maintained. Would probably work best but cost seems to be too much.

I've always believed that seed would give a better result, but what to do with the dandelions that are there? Weed killer might shift them but then that might delay the sewing of the grass seed. Part of me thinks that if we can get seed to germinate enough to fill the gaps, then mow it regularly then it should give a full green coverage even if much of it is dandelions rather than grass.

He'll need to keep the dog off, especially while it takes hold, but probably needs a long term solution for that too. I'm going to suggest building a gated fence to restrict the areas he can get to.

Sporky

Fiskars stand-up weeder for the dandelions. 

Kurtis

Turf will be more uniform as it should be weed free already. More weeds will appear while the seed grows. 

If you can pour water where the bitch pees it will dilute it and stop it killing the grass. It's actually very good fertiliser. 

If you don't get the dandelions root out completely (or kill) they will come back. 

Kittyfrisk

Weedkillers will take too long to disperse before you can safely sow new grass or turf over.
I'd do as you have suggested "...get seed to germinate enough to fill the gaps, then mow it regularly then it should give a full green coverage even if much of it is dandelions rather than grass."
If you (your son) went round the existing visible dandelions & with an old 6-7 inch kitchen type knife stab the ground around the dandelions at about a 45º angle to cut the tap root below the soil. This will retard the growth enough to re-seed the area & outcompete them.
As you say, they probably will return or blow in from other gardens, but you'll have established the new grass by then & it's just maintenance after that.
You'll need netting to stop the birds scoffing the seed & keep the dog off.

pt22

We have astroturf. The nice stuff looks great and is nearly maintenance free. 

elstoof

Bit much for a rental property no

robgilmo

Not your sons problem if the lawn was damaged before he moved in.

Ozzie744

robgilmo said:

Not your sons problem if the lawn was damaged before he moved in.

That's what I was thinking. Also, if renting, isn't the landlord responsible for maintenance on the place? (Mowing & such)
Not sure as different rental properties have different agreements.

ronnyb

pt22 said:

We have astroturf. The nice stuff looks great and is nearly maintenance free. 

Reminded me of a sadly departed mate of mine who thought he'd astroturf his back lawn with a 'budget' version when he found out one of the local school football clubs was replacing theirs. When he went to pick it up it was already rolled up so he humped it in the back of his estate car and took it home. On unrolling it to lay it he found that one of the white touch lines was running through it.  

TTony

We astroturfed the "dog area" of our garden.  Easier to keep clean - "tidying up" after the animal, disinfecting/cleaning and they don't come back into the house with muddy paws.  Great solution.

Not great from a green (!) perspective perhaps, putting plastic onto, and then into, the soil, but if it's laid properly, any contamination should be minimised.

However, (a) it's not cheap and (b) you shouldn't really just stick a layer of astroturf down on the soil (which adds to the not-cheap aspect).  Probably not a cost that you'd want to incur as a renter unless you (he) plans on being there for a few years.

Roland

Ozzie744 said:

robgilmo said:

Not your sons problem if the lawn was damaged before he moved in.

That's what I was thinking. Also, if renting, isn't the landlord responsible for maintenance on the place? (Mowing & such)
Not sure as different rental properties have different agreements.

Usually the tenant is responsible for maintenance. Sowing seed now isn’t going to give grass much time to grow before May. I’d fork it over, and remove obvious weed roots. That might be dad’s job. Then sprinkle with grass seed, and keep the dog off. This will demonstrate willing. There might even be green shoots by mid May. 

Penn

I would read the tenancy agreement and see what it says. 

Some of this stuff has changed with the renters reform bill giving rights around having pets but it sounds to me like the landlord is trying it on.  

ToneControl

thick membrane with crushed plum slate on the top

Would that be acceptable?

Kittyfrisk

ToneControl said:

thick membrane with crushed plum slate on the top

Would that be acceptable?

They can make slate out of crushed plums? Isn't technology marvellous :-D

m_c

Use the backside of a rake to flatten it as best as you can and fill in any remaining holes with some top soil, then give it a dose of lawn weedkiller/fertiliser.
Cut it as required, and don't collect the cuttings.

Grass is hardy stuff and will recover quickly, especially now it's getting warmer.
Just makes sure to keep the dog off it, or at least not leave it on the grass long enough to dig it up again.

blobb

Throw some wild seeds onto it and create a 'Bee friendly' natural habitat nature garden.

Kurtis

blobb said:

Throw some wild seeds onto it and create a 'Bee friendly' natural habitat nature garden.

Dandelions? 

westford

Dandelions are good for improving the soil, I’d do what you suggest with seeding and mowing.

boogieman

Rule 1. You can’t have a dog and a nice lawn. 

If your son is responsible for the lawn, (unlikely imo but depends on the tenancy agreement) then astroturf would be the best and quickest solution. 

stonevibe

You can get 'dog rocks' for their drinking water, which calms the wee, killing the lawn; as previously mentioned, pour some water over wee to dilute anyway. 

We have just seeded our lawn in a few patches (under trees), and it has already started to take, so a decent seed designed for people with dogs can help. There are a few lawn seeds out there with more dog-resistant properties.

Lawn feed will also help, etc