Help with the front lawn

FlorayG

I moved in here two years ago and clearly the lawn had just been cut endlessly in summer and nothing else ever done with it, so it was sparse, yellow and full of moss and weeds
I have fed the grass regularly and scarified it half to death in autumn. Moss is gone but the weeds are proliferating and now it's about 50:50 grass:weeds although what grass there is now is green.
I have been trying to avoid weedkiller but now I can't think of anything else to try. Are there any that are less destructive to the environment? I can't 'spot weed', there are just too many and every type you can think of. I've pulled up the biggest ones with a weed puller. I don't mind the odd dandelion but I draw the line at ragwort - of which I have a lot. On the front I just want grass.
(Please do not talk to me about all grass lawns being a desert, weeds are good for the wildlife etc,. my front lawn is quite small and I have 1/6 of an acre out the back most of which is cut once a year in August, so I'm doing my 'bit' for nature)

Lorian

Weedol lawn weedkiller applied as per the instructions. It's what used to be called verdone plus. Maybe leave it another 2 weeks before applying. It kills the roots they will turn black over 4 weeks or so. Might need another treatment in a few months. Use a watering can with a watering bar to apply. Only works in weed growing season.

FlorayG

Lorian said:

Weedol lawn weedkiller applied as per the instructions. It's what used to be called verdone plus. Maybe leave it another 2 weeks before applying. It kills the roots they will turn black over 4 weeks or so. Might need another treatment in a few months. Use a watering can with a watering bar to apply. Only works in weed growing season.

Clopyralid is one of the nastier weedkillers, stays in the grass and even persists in the manure after animals have eaten the grass. I'm looking for something less persistent

FlorayG

"I think the heavy scarification last autumn may have created those bare patches of earth which then became a great seed bed for those weeds you see now."
No they are almost all perennials, you just couldn't see them so easily under the moss   

-taff

Returf it. Or get rid of it and do something else there instead, like a gravel garden or something..

lib21by

If you do use lawn weedkiller, the brand supermarkets seem to  be pushing is 'Resolva' spray -  watch the price, it varies from £3.97 up to £6