Hi, my new lawn is now going into the 4th week and has a lot of patches, should we re seed? Add fertilizer? It currently gets 15-20mins of water 3 times a day.

Hi Teresa, there are a lot of rocks in the top soil that the lawn is growing in, it looks very free draining as well as lacking in organic matter which helps retain soil moisture in summer. Now that summer is here it is getting late in the season to sow lawn seed so continue with what you have doing through summer with regular watering and mowing, you will help the grass by fertilising with Tui LawnForce New Lawns, it is the only fertiliser that is safe to use on newly sown lawns, other lawn fertilisers can’t be used until the lawn is at least 16 weeks established. Regular mowing and fertilising will help thicken the existing lawn.  Once the lawn is more established and can be walked on it would be a good idea to remove the larger rocks and remove the broadleaf weeds by hand. In autumn I would recommend over-sowing the lawn, late summer, early autumn is the best time to do this well before the first frost. Otherwise do this next spring. Mow the lawn on a low setting using the catcher. Lightly rake the lawn to break up the soil surface tension, remove any dead plant material and rocks. Add a layer of Tui LawnForce Lawn Preparation mix, don’t put it on too thickly – a layer 0.5mm thick is enough and spread evenly over the existing grass. If lawn preparation mix is applied too thickly it will kill the existing grass. Sow the seed, the best way to evenly spread seed is by using a Tui LawnForce Hand Spreader or Broadcast Spreader along with Tui LawnForce New Lawns at the same time. Sow and fertilise at the recommended rate, water well, twice a day depending upon the weather and temperatures. I am not sure which seed you used originally, but I would recommend Tui LawnForce Superstrike All Seasons, it is a winter active grass and germinates at lower temperatures than other seed variants. In summary the process is to mow the lawn on a low setting using the catcher; Rake out debris and to break up the soil surface tension; Add a thin layer of lawn preparation mix to give the lawn seed something to grow into; Over-sow with lawn seed; Water twice a day. Lianne.