Wow Kimmq thank you so much, you are a wonder, a terrific start

I'm getting stuck in. I live in NW England, on Morecambe Bay, I'm at sea level & I face south east.

Kimmq is right. I would also aerate the lawn and top-dress with good quality compost and re-seed with Kentucky blue grass, and fescue. Try to keep the grass pretty tall during the season 3-4" tall, and leave the grass clippings on the lawn. Apply liquid fertilizer. You can use Neptune's harvest. That's the fastest way to increase the organic matter in the soil.

Good luck

Liquid "fertilizer" or even compost tea will do very little to increase the amount of organic matter in soil. Even applying 40 pounds of a good organic fertilizer per 1,000 square feet will do little to increase the amount of organic matter in soil. It takes a fairly large amount of organic material to increase the amount of organic matter in soil a little bit.

Compost, applied at 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness 3 or 4 times a year will, eventually, do the job. Shredded leaves an grass clippings mulch mowed back into the lawn will also help.

kimmq is kimmsr

Hi Kimmq & J Gil, thanks again,

I've been raking & aerating the patchy lawn after a mow, for years, thinking I would be reducing the chances of weeds establishing. Have I been labouring under a misapprehension?

Cheers

Yes I'm sharpening up my compost techniques. I seem to spend my life on steep learning curves. I found Dr Ingham & the Soil Food Web online, recommended viewing would you say?

I am trying to de-compact the clays which will be rich in all the NPK numbers etc I need, if, I can begin to strip the ions which are assisting the compaction. Piling on lots of heavy organic matter is not am option for me anymore, Can I thank you again, I always appreciate guidance. I'm aiming at teas because they will kick start biology & bacteria, will mineralise the ions from the clays and feed my annuals while I build humus with various crops.Would you recommend the use of tillage crops too?

This is a long term project, it is going to be sustainable and light on muscle ('cos mine have gone on permanent holiday.) Perfect for me if it works :-)

Kimmq, Your simple soil test points 1 to 5 earlier in the thread, I've started to keep a journal of these nuggets of information for later referral, may I add yours please? I think if I can weave a successful path for myself as a disabled person, throughout my gardening adventures, it may have a wider application for others who might face similar challenges to myself & wish to get green fingers but think it impossible,

Thanks

@stuart. Here is a link to a video from one of the best, if not the best in the organic lawn care industry. It is a long video, and pretty good. You can get a lot of info from it.

Enjoy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68cU0u5vsho

Stuart, you may copy and share those simple soil tests as much as you wish. I received them years ago from a soil scientist and was encouraged to share them with others which I have done.

Aerating compacted soils is only beneficial if adequate amounts of organic matter are put into the soil to help keep it open. Raking the organic matter from the soil is removing that organic matter from where it is needed most. I have not raked my lawn in around 40 years preferring to mulch mow the grass back in as well as any leaves that might accumulate.

One year a friend brought over a 4 x 8 trailer load of leaves he had raked from his yard and we emptied that load in an area that was pretty devoid of grass. I then mulch mowed those leaves and in a few weeks the now finely chopped leaves had been incorporated into the soil, a lot of worm castings around the area that you never saw there before. The next spring grass grew in that are quite thickly, an area that did not normally support much grass growth. Friend no longer brings me any leaves since he now mulch mows them into his soil.

kimq is kimmsr

J Gil, Thanks for the video, I've just finished it, taking 7 pages of notes. First thing I've learned is that much of the advice (pro & non pro), received over the years has been detrimental to the problem or does not account for underlying issues. grass stress height, for example, lawn clipping removal another, At least I have finally arrived at the party eh? Onwards

"Adding adequate amounts of organic matter should not be difficult, or it may mean hiring someone to do that."

Could you please explain one of the simple ways? I've re-read this thread several times. Do you mean leaf mulching or is there something else you're referring to?

About a month ago I also put about 2 " of my own compost over my veg
growing area, and also began the first of four suggested applications (thanks Kimmq) of
said compost on to my lawn, 1/4 " here. Putting into practice what info I have managed to retain in my brain. I have added a soil drench
treatment, in a pressure sprayer, made up of Humates, Humic, Fulvic
& organic acids (all in one). The compaction repair I'm undertaking involves altering the charge of the soil
particles from a -+, to a -- charge, thus repelling. I mixed this with
a plant additive (all ingredients are organic) which is designed to
give nutrients welcomed by the soil microbes, improving "soil health
& vitality" I put on around 15 litres on to an area of 1.5m x 3M,
over 3 hours, resting in between.

I'm intending to repeat this application at least twice a month