What can I do with this manky bit of "lawn"? (Photo)

[Dustanddebris]

Outside of my front garden wall is a small area that belongs to the council. It is a mixture of weeds, bare bits and some grass. I would like to adopt it (as other houses in the road have done) and have a nice grassy bit. I have tried killing off the weeds without success - they die and new weeds replace them - ideally I would like to kill off the weeds and re-turf it (grass seeds don't seem to take). Can any give me a plan of how to achieve this

You need to spike it with a fork. So push a garden fork all the way in then sort of lift it at an angle so you're pulling the roots a bit. Then seed it, and water the hell out of it.

The you can add some mirical grow feed on it .

Thanks poverty at the moment the soil is completely solid - should I water it first to loosen up the soil? Also should I put weedkiller on again? Sorry if these are stupid questions, but I am a gardening novice.

Watching with interest as I have a friend with a very similar patch in the garden she's trying to renovate .

Like yours the ground is compacted ,rock hard . Does anyone know if the ground would be easier to work at a different time of year ?

How does one make any impact on ground like this without recourse to power tools ?

That soil looks parched. I'd be prepared to run out after the next big rain with grass seed and miracle grow and do lots of looking after. Also it needs to be cut.letting patches grow will make it thinner. It needs sunlight over as much of it as possible. How lovely that you're adopting this patch op!

Would the roots be able to get down into that soil ?

Double dig it if you can, and work in some compost (you'll end up with some extra soil that you can spread elsewhere). Firm it bit by walking up and down on it, rake level and apply seeds and water. Probably a good idea to rope it off or something so people know there are seeds down.

If I will leave a sprinkler on overnight, will it soften the soil sufficiently to dig into? At the moment I can't get a fork into it. I've avoided watering so far as I didn't want to water the weeds.

www.wikihow.com/Double-Dig-a-Garden

I think a pickaxe,wheelbarrow for removed soil and lots of compost .
Seed and lots and daily watering .

This weeks Gardeners world had a section on fixing your lawn - all the problems you have there

Get a cuppa and watch the whole thing on BBC iPlayer (Friday night on bbc2)

moving watching Gardeners World seems more doable than sunny's suggestion that I need a pick axe although I think she may be right This is one of the few occasions that I wished I lived with a man.