Talk to me the basics of lawns!

Purpleandpinks

Hello everyone,

Firstly I hope you are all staying safe in these very strange times.

My lawn is looking in need of some help. We have some thinning and it looks a bit tired, like it's been through a hot summer not April!

I know nothing at all about lawns past mowing. The lawn is about 18 months old. I've been doing some research and I'm a bit confused. Scarifying, overseeding, ahh!

Can anyone who has a bit more understanding than me explain it in layman's terms please? I've watched a lot of videos but they are all trying to sell you their product which gets in the way of it a bit.

I've attached some pics. Thank you so much for reading. 

JoeX

“ Can anyone who has a bit more understanding than me explain it in layman's terms please? ”

Lawns gather crap hidden below the grass.

Scrape out the crap in early spring and autumn.

Scraping our the crap damages the lawn, so seed and feed it afterwards, avoid a lot of traffic on it for a while if you can.

Nanny Beach

We had it seems about 10 years of rain from October onwards, been dry a couple of weeks, plus wind ours looks dry around the edges.  We are on clay, its got a lot of cracks.  I dont think yours looks bad, grass managed to bounce back in 2018.  I dont feed or weed mine.  Its full of celandines.  I mow, thats all we have 2 dogs, the bith=ches urine makes brown patches, (normally) I have my grandkids in the school holidays, so I dont worry about it.

Fairygirl

I'd say @Tin pot has pretty much covered it 
Although - if you seed it - don't feed it afterwards. Feed first, after scraping out crap, then wait a couple of weeks to sow seed. If you use a granular feed, make sure it's going to get well watered in.
Assuming you have feed of course....
The smaller the lawn is - the more traffic it'll get, so the more compacted it becomes too. If you have a fork, then you can also spike it with  that to help the compaction. 
Any small weeds can be hand removed, or done with a spot weedkiller depending on how you feel about that. 

Purpleandpinks

Thank you everyone! 

Have I got this right:
1. Scrape rubbish out using rake (is this the same as scarify?)
2. Feed the lawn - does anyone have any recommendations for a good feed, I was looking at miracle grow?
3. Wait a couple of weeks
4. Spike the lawn and add seed

Is this right? Do I just add seed on top? I saw some videos of people putting top soil/compost over the top?

How long should I wait to mow, can I walk on it, do I need to water it?

Thank you so much everyone who has replied already. Really helpful. @Fairygirl @Nanny Beach @Tin pot

JoeX

Yeah you’ll be fine with that. Try not to worry too much about precision in the garden, you can do everything “right” and still plants die

I think you’d be seeing soil over the top for new lawns, you wouldn’t do it as annual maintenance, if at all.

Dont have a garden party on it, and look after it by your judgement; if it looks dry, add water, if the soil has been exposed, don’t walk on it etc. 

You’ll be fine 👍

Ive just been burning the thatch and moss from a second round of scarification (raking).

Purpleandpinks

Thank you @Tin pot you've given me some confidence!

Fairygirl

There are loads of feeds alone, as well as the weed and feed ones, but due to the current problems, you might be restricted to what you can get at a supermarket. In theory, Miracle Gro would do, but it's really for flowering plants etc.
If you use a dry/granular feed, give it a really thorough watering - for an hour or two afterwards.

I use seaweed sometimes-  it's ideal for any greenery. I got a liquid lawn feed at my local Asda a year or two ago. It's basically seaweed. 

GemmaJF

Miracle grow do a specific lawn liquid feed I think. It's not the blue stuff we use on flowers.