On 27 Jul, 19:58, lee5768 wrote:
long story short its very uneven seems very compact and solid with
bumps, i would say there is more weeds than grass to be honest
and alot of patches with nothing other than solid soil

any way to get some of the bumps out so its more mower friendly

the two traditional methods of levelling lawns are to add sand in the
low bits, or to lift a turf and dig away subsoil below a high bit.

Compacting can be broken up just by aerating with a fork, or if you
want to get clever with a hollow tine aerator . Brushing sand into
the holes is said to improve drainage.

Regular mowing (every week, twice a week if you can manage) will
change the balance toward grass and away from broad leaf weeds without
any other input - Grass has evolved to survive grazing, which is why
we use it to survive mowing.

Bare patches can be greened up by sieving in some compost, sand, and
grass seeds, and watering if the weather turns dry. Large weeds, like
dock and dandelion can have the roots lifted out whole with a suitable
tool. They will sell you a docking iron down the shops. My dad used
a bayonet, I use a screwdriver.

If you still want to tackle the weeds then go and have a look round
any garden centre. There are various "weed and feed" products. The
oldest is lawn sand, a mixture of sand and fairly gentle fertiliser
that will favour just the grass. Others are more and more complex -
some are herbicides sprayed on and the broad leaf plants take up
proportionately more and suffer more. Pet safety is usually discussed
on the packet.

If you find a proper independent garden centre, rather than some
discount DIY shed, there will be skilled and intelligent people who
can answer your questions and will have some knowledge of local
conditions and peculiarities.