"Tumbleweed" wrote in message ...
"Bob H" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,
my back garden lawn has gone into a rather sorry state this last few
months or
so.

When I was mowing it, usually in the same up/down motions everytime, I
found after a
while that the grass was going a very pale colour and growing
horizontally, in
thickish stems. I then decided to rake it regularly throughout the autumn,
in various
directions, and I pulled out a lot of what seems to have been dead grass.
This has
now left bare patches on my lawn, which I have attempted to repair.

Also, I noticed that the grass grows unevenly. That is to say, there are a
lot of
individual clumps of green grass growing, but then there is a lot of paler
areas
where it doesn't grow very well at all.

I have tried proprietry feed and weed powders each summer to get rid of
the weeds,
but I seem to have done more harm than good here.

Any advice as to what would be the best route to get it back in shape
again?

Could I suggest trying a product I have been developing... i don't
want to be all commercial but i think it might help. It is a plant
growth stimulant made from tree foliage extract and has high activity
on the root development of turf grass. You just dilute it and water it
on. It also sounds like you might have a lot of compaction, eleviate
with a good 'easing' with a fork - deep as you can allied with lawn
sand. The Product - Ausma - gives good root stimulation on
intensively grown turf where it's rolled weekly so might get yours to
regenerate. It is different from NPK which doesn't always help the
roots. Get it from NA kays Horticultural products - 01946
692134/692135.

I wish you luck in your endeavours!