Steps to take for rejuvenating my lawn in Spring?

Patience GnOme. Just be ready when the weather is suitable

 

I never said it was a problem with long grass, I’ll let you continue.
I would love to know how you can see the thatch level though?

 

Morning Liz, when I say "long grass" I refer to a high mowing cut not an uncut wild area of grass. Agree with you that trying to sow seed among very long grass would be pointless.

Will be patching a small area of lawn at my niece's new build today where we put in another riser. Hopefully wont see the join in a couple of weeks

 

GnOmne, Dan has suggested a light scarify, dress and seed and Wee has suggested iron to harden up your turf.
What you are seeing is not thatch and to be honest I would not expect to see a thatch issue with a newish lawn. You need thatch as well as it contains micro organisms that break down the debris created. Different grass types create thatch at different rates. The more you feed the more the thatch level increases.
What I can see is either a lawn disease or the top soil depth is shallow and a combination of the 2.
If you follow dans suggestion then you don’t need to feed as the soil contains enough nutrients and as a rough guide will produce around 3 to 5 N which is perfect to not only stimulate the new seed but will promote growth at a nice steady rate for the established grass.
Seed germinates depending on grass type from 5 to 14 days. The more common found grass types will show signs around 5 to 7 days.
If your top soil content is low Dans suggestion is best as it will help to build up the soil and maybe an on going process.
Seed needs good contact with the soil, in the wild hundreds of seeds are produced but only a small percentage will survive where as we create the perfect environment when you seed and dress. The seed can be covered in soil and as a general rule the larger the seed the deeper it can be covered.
Do not add a fert or herbicide if you seed and dress, its simply not needed and while you can spot weed a herbicide is harmful to grass plant that is still in its early stages of development.
If it’s a disease then it’s fairly important to discover what it is which over the net is impossible unless it’s a common type. If for example it’s red thread you can address this by adding a grass type that’s more resilient to this.
Personally I would want to know what’s under your soil, depth of top soil and then go from there so the problem is either eliminated or you know it maybe an on going issue.

 

Not a problem, hope the weather holds up for you.

 

Thanks liz

 

Well, it's still wet.
I had one chance during the week in the evening but blew it!

As advised, I think now I will get some topsoil for when I over seed because I have a feeling the installers didn't put enough top soil down or some other lack of preparation, which could be why it seems to always struggle?

I have to wait for when it does become dryer, then (as advised again) give it a light rake before I begin. In the meantime I'll tackle any weeds individually and hold off the 4in1 until September. Does that sound like a decent plan?


Thanks again.

 

Yep, makes good sense GnOme