Advise me on what's left of my lawn pls.

[Onesieone]

We moved in here in November. The back lawn was waist high, so we had it cut back to about 6 ins high. What we have now is very little grass with loads of weeds and a lot of the cut grass has been trampled in too. I assume I need to take it all but what else should I do pls.

[Chewedover]

Well, I´m going to be watching this for advice.

Been in my house for three years. My grass was like yours. Someone advised me that, if you just keep on top of cutting it, most the the weeds die away because they cannot sustain themselves. And, to an extent this has been true.

But, the grass I am left with grows at an incredible rate and I notice that I have to cut mine much more frequently than neighbours do.

I think I know what has to be done, but I really don't want to do it . . .

[FunkyBoldRibena]

Rake all the cut grass off the lawn - if you leave it on it acts like a mulch and cuts the light, hence the grass underneath dying back.

If you want to put the grass somewhere either get a compost bin [get one anyway] or use it to mulch round any border plants to keep the weeds down. Mixing it with shredded paper will stop it going sludgy.

Then keep it mown this summer, sow grass seed in patches that have been raked over [water before sowing or the seed lifts off the ground] and rake again once sown.

If you have perennial weeds, the best tool to get these out is a deep weeding tool - we have two of these and use them for all our deep rooted perennial weeds

www.cedarbrooksauna.com/diggit.html

In the autumn, rake out and moss and pop it on the compost heap.

It won't take long to get it into shape if you keep on top of it. But never leave the mown grass on the top as that's what causes the patches.

[AMumInScotland]

You'll get rid of tall weeds by regular mowing, but there are plenty of shorter ones that it won't get rid of. You can either decide you don't mind them, dig individual ones out, or use a lawn weedkiller that will kille everything apart from grasses. I put on a weed/feed/mosskiller every spring and every autumn, because otherwise my 'lawn' is mainly moss.

Sprinkle seed on any bare bits - choose a pack that is labelled 'for back lawns' or 'hardwearing' as they contain tougher grasses. If you pick one for front lawns it may be finer but less hard wearing.

And yes, rake out the cut grass now and whenever you mow it, and rake out moss if you get that - grass grows better with plenty of light and air.

[nipersvest]

might be worth giving the basic green thumb treatment a try, £20 for feed and weed, i know you can buy this stuff yourself, but green thumb come out and survey the grass and will identify each weed and tailor the treatment for your grass. we have it on our back garden as it's newish turf, and while they were here, they've done the front a couple of times for free, our front grass was awful, full of weeds, clover, ants nests etc, i am amazed how much the grass improved just after 2 treatments.

[anotherplace]

Don't ever use Green Thumb. I used to work as a gardener.The formula they use is too high in nitrogen resulting in lush grass but will weaken the root system, this will result in the lawn dying in the hot sun; I know I've seen it many times!
Never cut more than 40 % of the lawn height either. Get the blades sharpened on your mower if need be.
Use a 4 in one for spring and summer and an Autumn one in the autumn. It will look worse for a time, there will be bald patches and black spots where the moss is dying off. Follow the instructions to the letter. Never over feed it will make things worse.
Rake it regularly and your lawn will come back in time.

[Geoff0409]

Absolutely right, keep it mowed and eventually all the weeds will be gone. Grass is the hardiest of weeds and will eventually overcome most of anything else. Same here - we moved in and the previous owner had done the absolute bare minimum and it was a bit of a mess. We got it short, and sprinkled some very basic grass seed sparingly on any bald patches (if only they did this for my own bald patch, boom boom). The first year it wasn't great but after that much better. It is amazing how different it will be once a small amount of maintenance goes into it. Lots of luck .

[Onesieone]

I'm delighted with the response. Thank you so much. I have been online and booked an electric taker for hire with HSS. Only to save time. Will do that in WednesdY then do a weed and feed. Then I will see how bald it looks after that. See if I can sow it and fill in the gaps. I'd prefer to do it myself. My very impatient DP wants me to book a gardener to level it properly and returf it. I want to do the work myself. Have planted up some lovely borders and I'm enjoying the gardening.

[anotherplace]

Remember to leave the lawn for about 4 days after mowing before applying 4 in one. Aerate the lawn using a garden fork, this will help the root system. Any dips in the lawn can be solved by cutting out turves using a sharp spade and filling in with soil before putting the turves back in place.