If you have been struggling for nothing with a poor lawn, you might just as well do slightly drastic with it, such as spade it up and revive it. If you do, still, be careful not to build in the same mistakes twice. If there are puddles or pools on your lawn for a long time following the rain, you may want to lay drain tile or create a good layer of gravel under the topsoil.

If your case is due to a hard-baked soil and the grass is thin and anaemic, spading up or ploughing followed by soil arrangement and re-seeding, is very likely the best method. If limited areas (such as paths or low spots or areas below the trees) get too packed, they can be loosened and cultivated, or opened up by aerating to a deepness of 6 or 8 inches. You can do this with an regular spading fork, driven deep and worked back and forth to increase the openings. Brush sharp sand or compost into the holes to reach better motion of air and humidity through the soil.

Numerous poor lawns are due to poor soil provisions and can be improving by a better feeding program. Employ 4 pounds of plant food for each 100 square feet of lawn. If the grass is very thin, try out plant food along with another seed.

If your old lawn is bumpy, position it down, raking top-dressing into the hollows, or peel back the sod, filling in the hollow with fine soil and replacing the sod.

A mossy grass is typically due to poor drainage, not to acidity in the soil, as is extensively believed. A mossy lawn may require an adjustment in grading for improved drainage, or raking and liberal fertilization.

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