Compacted soil and patchy grass

[Whyohwhydoesthishappen]

Hi

I would appreciate some advice and guidance as I am completely inexperienced in this field and really want to fix the lawn situation

There is no grass growing in the front garden as the soil is completely compacted and full of rocks/rubbish etc

The back garden has grass but very patchy/dead areas, and also has stones etc

I know I need to remove the rubbish but after that, do I just need to turn the soil + add topsoil + grass seeds? Do I need to wait till winter to do it? Desperate to sort it asap

Tia

Anyone?

Aeration! Clear the rubbish, go over it with a (big) fork to make some holes and loosen the compaction, sprinkle grass seed in, water it ( if no rain). Then stay off it for a few weeks to avoid compacting it again.

But there is an expert I can ask about this - I'll post later if he has anything to add.

I’d get rid of large weeds and stones now. Wait till September to scarify, aerate and top up with compost.

Remove as much of the rubbish as you can. Add as much top soil as you can - preferably stuff made for lawns that has a good amount of sand in it.

That'll take some time - which is good, because Autumn is a better time to seed grass (more rain about).

Get a grass seed that matches your location (eg. one for shady areas, if it's shady). Then wait until the forecast is for regular rain for at least a week off and on. Alternatively, make sure you have a hose and sprinkler ready to deply.

Then rake, seed and gently rake again so the seed is well embedded in the soil.

If you have regular birds then you need to keep them off the seed - with netting or similar.

Keep the seed moist until it has goood sprouts (1-2 weeks) and then water regularly if it doesn't rain until it stop growing because the weather is too cold.

Give the lawn regular feeds next year (e.g. once in spring, summer, autumn) and be prepared to water it if rain is in short supply next year. By next winter it should be mature enough to bounce back itself from any drought.

Have you got your own car? You can hire machinery - rotators and so on to run over the ground and loosen it all up. It's not complicated. Digging by hand is an option but heavy work.

Sort the soil out now, and if you are lucky you can get the seed now from the supermarket on offer as they are clearing out their summer gardening stuff. Also buy some clear plastic dust sheets and something to weigh it down.

A week before you want to sow your seeds (I suggest the end of August, beginning of September) put them in a strong polythene bag along with an equal amount of compost, add water, peg the bag closed and leave it in a warm place for 6 or 7 days. The seeds will sprout and when they do the birds won't eat them.

Water the soil, carefully spread the seeds, water again and put the dust sheets over the top to keep the moisture in. Leave that in place for another week or so while the grass sprouts. Feed with a solution of Miracle Gro for lawns, and hand weed out any weeds that come up.

@Whyohwhydoesthishappen I asked an expert and he said What kind of soil type is it? Sandy, clay etc. Does the water drain away or sit about? He said chucking some lime on it might help (if it's acid) - encourages worms to break up the soil. Sorry, not much help without him actually putting a spade into it!

Thank you all so much for the replies. So helpful! This will be a project for Autumn then. @Pocketfullofdogtreats that's a great question, i've had a look and it definitely looks like clay soil! Will certainly use the lime trick. Thank you for asking him for me! Huge help 😀

If its clay soil it will be worth the effort sorting that out and maybe putting in some drainage.
If you don't want to use it as lawn then maybe look at alternatives. Creeping chamomile does well if its shady, and creeping thyme can cope with full sun - but neither like clay soil.

Be wary of supermarket grass seed - try and find the label on the box that has the make up of the mixture on it.

You’re looking for lolium perens - perennial ryegrass. Some supermarkets buy seed cheaply and it can often be annual ryegrass which will look great and grow like hell for the first year but then dies off.

Avoid any grasses that say lolium westerwoldicum or lolium multiflorum.

Theres lots of good seed options on Amazon.

You’re looking for lolium perens Lolium perenne

White dutch clover seed (or any clover mix) will aerate/break up soil, fix nitrogen into the soil, provide nectar for pollinators and greens for other wildlife.

It's cheap, easy and lush.

Try Meadowmania for seed.