Im moving in the very near future and im moving from a rented place and i need to return the garden to the state it was in before.

We have had a rabit run on the grass for a few years now and as you can imagine the ground is far from pristine!

Is this an ok time of year to dig the ground over and sow some seed?

Is there a specific type of grass seed that is hardier then others and will take root etc given the time of year?

Many thanks.

Now is the perfect time for seeding a lawn - still warm enough for a couple of months, but enough rain to keep it going. Once it's established then it'll cope with winter.

If you look in the garden centres you'll several types of grass seed mixtures, from 'fine' to 'play lawn'. Just remember that the play lawn is going to be rougher and need more mowing.

David

Also, if you are going to grow a lawn from seed a little trick is to mix a very very small amount of parafin in with the grass seed. It stops the birds from eating it all.

dont give a poo about it needing more mowing wont be here to mow the bugger!

In fact i hope no one moves in for a few months and it grows like wildfire and the lazy bleeding land lord has to get of his l'ord of the mannor' backside and do some manual work.

rant over!

So i guess this is a good time then.

how much is a 'small' amount?

2oz per square yard, rake the bare patches over, sow the seed then rake it in lightly and the birds won't see it. It only takes about 5 days to germinate at this time of year and will be mowable in about 2 weeks. Water it daily for the first week at least but don't drown it.

astro turf? or paint the ground with green paint?

Cheaper to sow seed!

Get enough general-purpose grass seed from the local garden centre for a few quid, then get to it.

If the ground's reasonably flat, just rake it over energetically so the top's nicely roughed up, sow the seed, water lightly and wait.

If you were staying there then it would be worth doing more preparation, but in your case then I'd just tart it up enough to keep the landlord happy.

David

when i moved out my old house it was the spring and i didnt like the couple that were buying from me i put a good helping of Nitromors on the lawn just to give them something to do