Revamp An Old Lawn

[dieseldick]

following my previous question last week about trying to revamp this space. i want to ask the experts , if i went and bought a load of compost and spread it over the area would that be a good idea ? mixing the grass seed into the compost before hand ?

is there another way to stop birds from eating the seed instead of putting a large net over garden ?

i do still have a few old photos of the x wife , maybe scatter few of them around :)

[murraymints]

you need to remove old turf...dig and heel in a few times..seed..consider what type of lawn you want, will kids be runningaround on it etc ? a rye mix for a more hard wearing lawn, I have ornamental rye free which gives you a fine lawn , but then it is not subject to a lot of traffic. Don't net as all you do is catch birds etc.. string out with newspaper bows and/or old cd's....water well before seeding and thereafter in arid times...a seed dispenser is a good idea as it helps with even distribution, these can be hired or simply go for a cheaper version...by simply top spreading you will still get regrowth of previous lawn coming through...if a job is worth doing etc. it may seem a lot of work but well worth it in the end.

[Ratty2E]

This is how I renovated a patchy part of my lawn.
Firstly after mowing existing grass short I raked out any dead grass/moss with a lawn rake and scratched up the soil a bit. Then spread and raked over a thin layer of top soil, adding more where I needed to level out some dips. After that I sprinkled over the seed which I covered with a fine layer of top soil again. This helps by hiding it from the birds and keeping the seed moist while it germinates. I then lightly trod it down as this makes sure the seed has good contact with the soil. You can then net it to keep it safe from birds or in my case cats. The most important thing is to keep it watered especially in this hot spell, it shouldn't dry out completely. I did all this in April and you can't tell as it's just a lovely thick green lawn. Spring and autumn are traditionally the best time to renovate your lawn but you can do it now you just have to keep on top of the watering or all your efforts will be in vain.