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OK that sounds sensible. Question Time:
- when you say 'get rid of the crap grass'...dig it out or weedkiller or ???
- 'levelling the earth' - what's best to use? topsoil? just in the low spots to bring them up to the same level as the high points or a layer across the whole lawn (covering the ok grass too)?
Thanks for the tips!
- when you say 'get rid of the crap grass'...dig it out or weedkiller or ???
Quincy-
Definitely digging. It should come off as a layer, as the roots don’t go deep. You can find the level underneath by pushing horizontally with a spade, as it will suddenly get easier when you’re beneath the roots. It’s like cutting turf, but you don’t care about actually preserving the turf in one piece.
You’ll probably want topsoil across the whole thing to give the turf something to take to, unless the soil underneath your grass is ok.
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As @c00ps says, digging the turf out would be highly preferable to using weedkiller.
Once you're back to bare earth, you should be able to loosen it all with a garden fork, then rake it to an approximate level. Leave it for a few weeks, then turn it all over again, and level again. Repeat this process until the autumn and you'll end up with a very level, very fine layer of soil, which will be ideal for laying grass seed.
This method is going to be pretty time-consuming, but potentially very rewarding.
I'm a total lawn bore, so I'm probably recommending a process that's a bit more involved than strictly necessary.
c00ps
Diamond_Supercool
@spindrift In my previous garden, I levelled and then laid turf. In my new garden, I've scarified and overseeded - twice already this year.
The more level lawn came by levelling and turfing, obviously. But the better grass came by scarifying and overseeding.
The best results will probably come from: getting rid of all the crap grass now, levelling the earth and letting it settle over the rest of the summer, seeding it in early autumn (water for three days BEFORE seeding, then for two weeks after), then scarifying and overseeding in early spring next year. Will look boss by summer 2020...