What order to do things in?

Just moved and the front lawn is as thus;



Sooo, what do I do first; cut it, weed it, feed it.......?

 

You could start by digging out the worst of the weeds. But with dandelions the chances are some roots would be left in the ground and they will re-grow. So it's probably best to use a weed and feed.

I'd be inclined to mow it first then scarify it (rake out any dead grass etc) with a lawn rake. Put down weed and feed. Instructions are on the container/packaging. Use granular during wet weather or liquid during dry. If you use granular and it doesn't rain then it will have to be watered in. The weeds will take up to two weeks to die off. Aerate the lawn with a garden fork. Walking along and stabbing the lawn, this will help the grass to re-grow. Any bare patches after this can be re-seeded, but it must be watered every day until it's established.

 

Its quite far gone isn't it. I think I'd also dig out the bulk of the dandelions. I trick an old boy taught me is to take an old but sharp kitchen knife and sort of stab it into the ground almost straight down, along side a dandelion root, then cut round to cut a core out which will include most of the dandelion root. It works because dandelions usually have a single tap root so wont work so well with other weeds that aren't tap rooted. It causes the least disturbance to the soil as possible, and the small hole you leave makes a good breathing/drainage hole.

Then I'd rake it, brutally.

Then, I'd top dress with sharp sand and rake it brutally again.

Finally I'd overseed it with new lawn seed and keep it well watered (that part should be easy enough this year).

 

Possibly its just been cut "when long" a few times. If you cut it regularly that may improve it hugely (not to say that you can't help it along too though).

Try not to cut more than 1/3rd off each time, otherwise you'll get the yellow patches that look like the ones in your photo

Killing the weeds would be good, but depends a bit on your priorities. There will be weed seed landing on those bare patches, that will germinate - possibly not until next Spring.

Killing the weeds will expose bare soil. I would over-seed those in early Autumn.

I would not use Nitrogen fertilizer now - you could, but its a bit late, and you'll be encouraging sappy-growth, whereas it would be better to use low-Nitrogen lawn fertilizers from now onwards. Weed and Feed products are relatively high Nitrogen, so my preference would be to use a selective lawn herbicide (like Verdone) to kill the weeds.

So my sequence would be:

Treat the weeds. The reason I would do this first is you would otherwise have to hold off mowing for 6 days (three before, three after application), and you may not be able to treat the lawn on day-3 if it is too windy or raining ... so it will be at least a week between treatments, and that will mean the grass is getting long again.

Then start cutting the lawn. It will take a couple of weeks to get it down to the correct height, and you'll need to do it twice a week - take 1/3rd off, wait 3 days, take 1/3rd off again, until you are at the right height. Little and often better than all-in-one-go.

Rake it when you can. Do this repeatedly between now and end September, to remove the "crud".

End September "over seed" it. This is sowing grass seed at roughly half the rate for a new lawn (suggest you read up for better opinions on the amount than mine!). You need to loosen up the bare patches a bit, and if you want a smart lawn?? then it would be advisable to aerate the lawn (just sticking a fork in every few inches will do, or you can hire a machine for the day) to help any surface rain water seep in, and then spread some top-dressing over the lawn - or, if you are on heavy clay, just some sharp sand would do. "Rub" that into the grass with a stiff brush, or the back of a rake. That will give you a smoother surface, which will make mowing easier as over time it will remove any bumps.

Once you've done that you can then sow the grass. Grass sown at End September should germinate quickly, but if we get a dry spell I water mine to make sure it gets started promptly - so it can make good growth before the Winter. By Spring it will be ready for the Summer ahead

Or ... get Green Thumb to give you a quote to maintain it during the year. They'll do all the fertilizing and weed killing, and don't charge a huge amount.