Grass recovery

[Sparky]

It will probably rot if you put it in now.
Spring is the best time wait until you see the other grass growing the seed and protect.

No, Never had it rot all the times iv laid previous years. Prepare the below soil, cover with a thin layer of top soil and leave. It’s always come through quite nicely

[Gazza]

Hello,
There's a lot of grassy areas of the playground at my school - well, when I say grass, about half of it is now mud. What things can I do to try and enable grass to recover? It's covered in leaves - should I rake it off or let it turn to compost for the grass? I'm also cordoning it off in rainy weather. Tried to fence it off completely last summer which worked a wee bit after I planted some grass seeds but the school wanted the area reinstated after a month so did not improve much.

We have the same problem.....

definitely rake the leaves. a blanket of leaves kills dead any precious sunlight. Short of investing in turf etc which is expensive, your best bet is to re seed, but your best off not tackling this until the spring when grass can actively grow again. You can attept it now but i dont think the resuts will be great once the frosts arrive. Source a fast growing/hardy seed which they use for sports fields etc.

Scarify/rough up the areas effected with a rake,
sprinkle your grass seed
dust over with a scattering of top soil or compost- then water thoroughly
It'll take roughly 3-6 week to see signs of regrowth
Ideally you want to cordon off the area during this time
If possible longer to allow the grass to mature and become hardy.

failing that your gonna struggle and theres no promise wont be coming back to this issue year on year depending on how the area is used

[Dunroamin]

CT has it here..

We have OPAL play and our field gets hammered as they play out in all weathers.

I do keep saying that to the head and pointing out the grass needs time to recover particularly this time of year as any mud when trampled in will compact the soil making it impossible for the grass to re grow.

Phew, glad you said that Vera. We’ve OPAL play here and I mention this on a weekly basis (even through the summer) to my SLT, I did wonder if I was just coming across as awkward and not wanting the kids to have fun.

[Vera]

Phew, glad you said that Vera. We’ve OPAL play here and I mention this on a weekly basis (even through the summer) to my SLT, I did wonder if I was just coming across as awkward and not wanting the kids to have fun.

Know what you mean.
The way I look at it, surely if it gets to the state where the kids can't play on the grass because it has huge muddy patches and sunken areas then that is far worse and will take far longer to remedy than a short term hold to allow the grass to recover..

BTW I have not convinced anyone here to do this yet...

[Dunroamin]

Know what you mean.
The way I look at it, surely if it gets to the state where the kids can't play on the grass because it has huge muddy patches and sunken areas then that is far worse and will take far longer to remedy than a short term hold to allow the grass to recover..

BTW I have not convinced anyone here to do this yet...

I’ve suggested a blanket ban on the field between October and May, dividing it and rotating usage, only using it for PE lessons etc. I’ve even tried “remember how good it was on the kids returning to school after lockdown? That’s because it had 5 months of no footfall on it”. I must admit I sprinkled some grass seed on it at the start, but come September it was looking like the ‘Wembley of the North’, where as now it looks like it could be used by Hollywood as a setting for a film about the Battle of the Somme!! Since September 2020 it’s been battered in all weathers on a daily basis, from designated bubble areas after lockdown to the OPAL play effect and everything in between. That’s not to mention all the mud traipsed though classrooms, corridors and bathrooms.
I can already foresee the conversation that’ll take place at the beginning of May - “Mr Dunroamin, it’s sports day next month, can you arrange for line markings? Oh and is there any chance we could have some grass on the field as we don’t seem to have any? Also could you fill in all the holes too?”

[Pintspiller]

An aerator is handy for retaining seed somewhat as it falls into the holes and doesn't wash away during heavy rain too!