Lawn struggling

Hi this is a bit similar to a few other recent posts but not sure what to do for best so hopefully someone can give me some advice
So lawn turf laid as part of garden make over Feb 2023 and was doing OK last year but since winter it hasent been growing very much and large parts of it are turning brown as in pictures below and seams to be a lot of moss / thatch stoping grass from growing.
Was thinking of raking this out with a spring time rake as suggested in previous threads but suspect that will just leave bear soil .
I have noticed were the dog has had a pee on it the grass has grown quite strong despite the moss / thatch so this got me thinking perhaps it needs a nitrogen feed
So put some westland safelawn granuals on it but this has made little difference.
Do you think the granuals are just lying on top of the thatch and perhaps a liquid feed would do the trick.

 

I would give it a good scarify then reseed any bare patches of soil.It might look terrible for a couple of weeks but it's worth the effort.

 

If your lawn contains moss (mine had a lot this year) it will be competing with your grass mainly for light and water and needs to be removed. You can do this with a spring tine rake which is hard work, or an electric scarifier, but it’s important to kill the moss first. The product you have used doesn’t seem to contain a moss killer. One of my neighbours used something similar and it sounded good but didn’t remove weeds or moss! Any bare patches after you’ve removed the moss can be reseeded. You’ll need to wait usually 8 weeks after using a herbicide before reseeding as it will inhibit germination. Grass seed will then take 5 to 10 days to germinate.

 

Thanks salar and plantminded.I suspect by how easy the grass came out with the moss or thatch that a good portion of the lawn will become a bare patch when I scarifier it.
Do you think a liquid feed would strengthen it up and make it more resilient when I rake out the moss.
(Just going by how it looks were the dogs pee,d on it .)
Or do you think I would be just wasting my time and I should just bite the bullet and kill the moss and rake it out.

 

I don't know about the feeding, but in the first (greenest) pic, the cut ends of the blades are looking brown and ragged. That suggests to me that your mower blades aren't sharp and it's ripping the grass instead of cutting cleanly.

 

Thanks Jenny the first pic is were the dog has pee,d on it and the grass has grown really well there and looks healthy but I see what you mean about the blade ends
Looks like I'll have to get the blade sharpened or a new mower.

 

There does seem to be evidence of moss in your fourth photo @Dropmore. I would try a combination weed and feed product designed to remove weeds, moss and feed the lawn and then rake or scarify. Do you know whether the ground was prepared well before laying your lawn? Poor drainage and compaction will prevent the lawn from establishing well and will encourage moss growth.

 

I'm always a bit weary of useing weed killer incase it drifts into my boarders or harms the wildlife or my dog but that sounds like a good plan.

Don't think the contractor was the type to do much prep to be honest. I saw him put a few inches of top soil down and roll it with a roller then laid the turf on top.

Most of it gets some sun and some shade through out the day as the sun moves round and even after the heaviest rain you don't get standing water.

I suspect it is badly compacted. because its hard to stick a screw driver into it and when you do it feels gravely.

Before the lawn half the garden was plastic grass and half flags so possibly the contractor has put the top soil over a mish mash of sand soil and gravely hardcore and the roller and turf has compacted it into the mish mash underneath .

 

Thanks to the weather a large part of my lawn was mostly moss a couple of months ago.
My neighbour tried Mo-Bacter last year and said it worked well for him.
I got a bag and applied by hand.
Within about 1 week the moss had turned yellow.
A couple of weeks later there was barely any visible dead moss.
Now the lawn is lush and green with no sign of moss.
I am truly impressed that not only did it work, but it worked fast.

The Bacter bit refers to bacteria in the product that eats the dead moss and converts it to grass feed.
And no need to scarify first or rake out the dead moss after!

 

That sounds like a suitable alternative @Pete8. I think I’ll give it a try next year!

 

Thanks Pete8 Mo-Bacter sounds just the job I'll give that a go .