New Lawn or Seeds??

Richmc

Again Glyphosate will kill the weeds that are growing now and allow you to get a lawn established this year, you will need to get busy with a rake whatever you do. Over seeding will just leave you with seeds on the surface so not many will germinate.

Have you looked at the lawnsmith site yet? loads of info there.

The only real shortcut you have is turf and that can be expensive. And in the long term you know what you are getting when you seed it yourself, you won't know what type of grass is in the turfs.

Maxson

Honestly the cheapest way to make it a lawn, assuming the levels are OK, is just to mow it regularly. You might need to hire a big rotary mower for the first cut that can cope with all the big weeds and long grass or even a strimmer or brushcutter first if it's very overgrown. If you mow it, it will end up looking like a lawn.

For a better job but not too expensive, weedkill the lot, rotavate it and rake it level and rake off the big stones, spread some grassseed and fertiliser and then rake that in. Don't worry about a few seeds getting eaten. This is best done in early autumn or in spring when it's not too cold or dry for the seed. In a few weeks you will have a lawn.

Richmc

You are missing the Point Maxson the OP doesn't have a lawn just weeds, grass wont magically appear if you cut the weeds.

I have had a few homes where I had to establish lawns, if he doesn't want to listen to my advice fair enough, but I've done it all from seed and turf, and renovated the poorest of lawns to perfection.

Maxson

Richmc wrote: »

You are missing the Point Maxson the OP doesn't have a lawn just weeds, grass wont magically appear if you cut the weeds.

Actually it does. Grass seed is blown everywhere on the wind and grass roots exist in most weedpatches so if you keep mowing an area that's not too shady, too wet or too dry for grass, you will end up with a lawn. A lawn with weeds in it like most lawns but still a lawn.

The bottom of my own garden was just a mess of weeds and holes and lumps so I used weedkiller on the worst weeds, raked it level and raked off the big stones and then mowed it every week. Now it's a low cost lawn. I did use 'weed and feed' on it once but that's not really necessary.

Grenage

Maxson wrote: »

Actually it does. Grass seed is blown everywhere on the wind and grass roots exist in most weedpatches so if you keep mowing an area that's not too shady, too wet or too dry for grass, you will end up with a lawn. A lawn with weeds in it like most lawns but still a lawn..

True, but it would take years. Seed is cheap, and takes weeks.