Question
I've been renovating my friend's new garden and all I have left to do is THE LAWN. However, it is in VERY poor condition (infested with moss, creeping buttercup, couch grass and other vociferous weeds); it is also patchy, bald and has very little decent grass left in it. Added to this, the lawn is quite sloped and on very bad clay soil so the drainage is almost non-existent onward from half-way down the slope. On top of this, half the lawn doesn't get much light because the fences shade it.

Last autumn I did try to quick fix it and give it a chance by weeding and feeding and using an electric moss remover; however the ground was so poor that the grass just came away in mossy saturated chunks! I realised then that I would have to do major work to sort it out. My friend is on a low income so I need a low budget option to fix this problem. I am prepared to do any amount of physical work to help her lawn (digging, tilling, sowing, weeding, raking, aerating etc.) Ideally it should be re-turfed but seed is cheaper - I'll be looking into prices soon. I have about 2 weeks to do the work and get the 'lawn' up and running bar watering, growing and feeding etc.

My question is: How do I do this??? Should I try to improve the clay soil and drainage and would this fix things? Should I consider leveling the slope somewhat? Which grass seed/turf is best to use? Could I patch up the existing lawn with seed and much initial hand weeding, aerating and digging? Would sharp sand dug in prevent the lawn getting like this again?

Please help me if you can - I'm a good gardener and have lawn experience but I've never had so many problems at the start all at once with one lawn!

Many thanks,
Gill


Answer
The first paragraph of your correspondence contains all the reasons to eliminate grass as a viable crop on the area.
My best suggestion is to find another use for the area or start fixing the problems in order of priority. Drainage seems to be at the top of the list. It is baffling for me to reconcile the slope and the waterlogged condition of the area. You might need knowledgeable assistance on that one.