Problem soil getting grass to grow

Question

I am trying to lay a new lawn from seed as the previuos lawn never really withstood the children.Having sewn the seed a little more than specified by the manufacturer I am still left with a few bald patches so I thought I would add more however the areas concenrned do not seem to take even though I totally dug and turned and seived all the soil and fertilised beforehand. These bald patches are turning dark green to black and look totally wet even in dry conditions and whilst I have aerated the patches nothing happens, the seeds don't seem to work

any advise would be welcome (the garden is quite shaded and the seed I used is specially for shaded areas but all the patches are not really in the shade at all)

Answer 1

I have had the same problem in my backyard and solved it a couple of years ago.  The garden store said to use a soil conditioner a week before sowing the grass seed.  The day you sow, mix the grass seed with a small amount of compost in a lawn spreader.  

Answer 2

I'm guessing you have some form of fungus in the soil and a proprietary lawn fungicide would be the cure.

http://www.lawnmaster.co.uk/LawnDiseaseP...

Answer 3

Right,scrap off about one inch of old soil.Then make a base with new soil or compost and lay seeds and cover slightly with more compost.This means the seed has to root into you new stuff rater then the old soil.It's the cutting that thickens the the grass (usually up to 3 months) one blade can cover and inch of soil.Do not fertilise, it will kill the new grass.If too wet than raise soil a bit

Answer 4

Different areas of the country use different methods and of course different type grasses.where do you live?