Resurrecting Lawn

[smidsy]

I've just moved in to a rental, the previous tenant has killed some of the lawn by parking on it and I'd like to earn some brownie points with the agent by resurrecting it.
Digging is not an option due to my health and hiring a machine is not an option due to my finances - I do however have free water
The ground is quite hard, only 732mm of rain a year here but every other house in the street has nice green lawn.
Would grass seeds spread on top take if I well watered it, is there a reasonably priced chemical that would help?
I am not a gardener so any advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Smidsy

527442

[john2b]

Hard to tell but it looks like kikuyu. Seed is expensive and unlikely to be successful without ground preparation. When growing many grasses spread by putting out runners so water, sunlight, nitrogen and a couple of months should do it. Allow six months for it to cover perfectly.

If you buy a fancy name fertiliser you're paying a lot of the branding. Try "blood and bone" for a good combination of fast and slow release nitrogen and other nutrients and minerals. Instructions will be on the bag, but a handful per square meter should be around about right. Repeat in a few weeks, then again in spring.

Where's it's shady will take a bit longer. It would help to break up the soil compaction by poking a fork into it every 10cm or so, once it's thoroughly wet. Don't overwater to the point of run-off though or you'll waste nutrients, but keep the ground moist so it stays soft to encourage root growth. Mowing will encourage growth but don't set the blades too low while the lawn is recovering - keep the mower quite high.

[Bushmiller]

Smidsy

If that grass is Kikuyu as John has suggested (does look like it) it will grow towards wherever the ground is wet as it is a water loving, runner grass. You could also "harvest" some grass from where it is more lush. Dig up small sections and replant them in the bare patches. You are looking for the white stolons, which are present just under the ground. To prevent Kikuyu becoming straggly it needs to be mown constantly (to keep it flat against the ground) but don't mow too low. I would suggest around 50mm.

Kikuyu goes dormant in the winter months our way, but on the Sunny Coast maybe it keeps growing. If it goes dormant, it won't come out of hibernation until a number of sufficiently warm days trigger it into action again.

Regards
Paul

[Uncle Bob]

Looks like it's quite compacted where the cars driven over it. I think you need to get a pitchfork and break up the top few inches before sowing any seed.