Lawn rescue

shinytop

Hi gardening gurus,

any advice on how to rescue our inherited 'lawn'?  It was long when we moved in and has probably been neglected for a couple of years.  It looked more like a cow field than a garden.  As well as being brown/patchy now, it's also very lumpy. I can see green shoots appearing but I think it needs some help. I'm not looking for bowling green perfection, just a bit greener would be nice.

It gets plenty of sun and there are no big trees nearby.

thanks
 

wort

It looks pretty dry and will possibly perk up when we get rain , you could reseed the bald bits, do you mean lumpy as in tufts of grass or the ground is undulating?

twopenny

Both probably.
Regular mowing will restore it. Just keep the blades so they leave a good inch or more.

Looks compacted. Hire or borrow a dethatcher or spiker  if it's big. Called a lawn aerator I think.
If you have someone fit drop a garden fork every few inches when it's softer so it lets moisture and air in.

You can add some lawn food when we get rain.

But regular mowing will work just takes longer.

shinytop

Thanks.  Yes lumpy ground and tufts.  I'll see how it goes with mowing.  The previous owner left a spiky roller; a bit flimsy but I'll try it. I can also give the fork a go. 

twopenny

Yes, raking out the debris in it makes it look a bit worse to start with but it will grow back better.
Perhaps try a corner at a time because it's darn hard work.