Lobster wrote:
Just bought a house whose garden has been left to its own devices
for
a good length of time. I want to bring the lawn vaguely back under
control this coming season - how best to go about this? The grass
has
grown out and has collapsed under its own weight into a fairly
flat,
soggy mess. Feels like it needs raking and blow-drying, then it
could
be attacked with a strimmer or mower maybe!

I'm aware that for a proper job I have no option but to start from
scratch with seed or turf, but that ain't going to happen any time
soon as there are other priorities!

Any advice as to how I can get the jungle back to some semblance of
a
lawn this year would be much appreciated!

David

I'd start right now. If possible, rake it over to see if you can get
a lot of last year's dead stuff out. Then go over it with the mower
at the highest setting, even if it involves a lot of shoving and
cursing, before it really starts back into growth. Collect the
mowings if possible. If there are serious patches of bare earth, rake
in some grass-seed. Then just keep going at it, lowering the cut as
it becomes possible, at least once a week and preferably more, until
to your great surprise you suddenly realise that you have a lawn.

I'd only bother with a strimmer if it really did turn out impossible
to get a high-set mower over it; and even then I'd first ask the hire
shop if they had a mower suitable for clearing (I think I remember
the brand "Victa"), as strimming a large area is a pain. (Could be
cheaper to grab the bloke working for the Council next time you see
him and offer him the job, one-off.)

It sounds as though there will be clumps of very coarse grass such as
Yorkshire Fog. Sometimes close mowing kills these off, and sometimes
you have to dig them out and reseed the patch.

Safety: if you _do_ have to do a lot of shoving and cursing, don't
run the mower over your foot; and whatever you do, don't trip over. I
can't bear to think about it.

Mike.