How to rescue my lawn?

[MyNameIsInigoMontoya]

Our front lawn is at a rough estimate - 60% moss, 20% weeds (including huuuge dandelions!) and 20% grass. Also the moss is not nice green moss but more orangey-yellow, like half-dead grass, so it is NOT looking very lush at the moment.

In previous years I've sometimes put weed/feed/moss killer stuff on, but there are 2 problems with that - one is DH always throws a fit about the "chemicals" so I have to put up with his moaning for ages, and then he refuses to help with the mowing for the however many weeks you have to separate the treated mowings.

The other thing is that the moss killer turns the moss black and then kills it, so in the short term we first have a black lawn and then it's full of holes until the grass can grow back a bit. Normally I would put up with that in the hope of a nicer-looking lawn later, but as we're about to put the house up for sale I need it to look nicer now, not all black and manky for the next few weeks!

So - anybody got any good ideas to help the grass fight back? Thank you!

Looked at this and saw you had no replies. My lawn is 100% daisies. anyone got any advice for us?

I haven't a clue about lawns, but wanted to boast that I saw the Princess Bride at the cinema yesterday afternoon, and it's still utterly wonderful

I think if you're going to be selling the house in a few weeks, there's no time to do anything much about it, but you could try a "weed & feed" which doesn't contain any moss killer, to at least reduce the other weeds and encourage the grass to grow a bit more!

Sherbert - again, a "weed&feed" treatment will get rid of them, but if there's realy little grass there you may then need to scatter more grass seed once they'rs gone.

Mm maybe I will try that, thanks AMIS - will just have to not tell DH, and volunteer to do the mowing for a while!

You will need to get a spring tined rake (the kind that you rake leaves up with, not the straight sort) and give the lawn a good going over to lift all the moss out. This will bring up all the thatch as well (dead stuff). The lawn will look trashed for a bit, don't worry.
Throw all this stuff on the compost.

Now go over the lawn with a garden fork, pricking deep holes in it. Like a great big baked potato. Then get a stiff broom and brush sand into the holes (you can get lawn sand from garden centres).

If you've got big bald patches, then sprinkle some sieved soil on to these areas and reseed with grass seed.

Wait two weeks. If it doesn't rain in this time, water it.

Hey presto, improved lawn.

Well you did ask.

Truly (RHS).

Oh and you can spot weed the dandelions with a glyphosate based weedkiller. Just a few drops on each leaf will do it.

Wow thanks TS that sounds manageable.