Lawn replacement

Hello everyone
I am new to the forum, please bear with me while I try to find my way around. I have a very small garden in Essex which causes me no problems at the moment. In France however, (Normandy) I have a tiny house (32 square metres) but a big garden, of which around a space 30 x 20 metres was laid to lawn 15 years ago, with brought in turf. Much as I love them, the French are not that good with lawns and this one was not properly prepared. The soil is heavy clay, it wasnt rolled, no sand put down, no aeration done.... but because I was still working full time I couldnt do it myself. It was great for around 8 years and I did scarify and dress every year but slowly, bad weeds have came up (thistles, mares tail, almost everything as well as the usual clover, dandelions, plantains and moss and it has become very lumpy. It is now completely and utterly shot - I would say less than 30% is grass. I am now working part time and can get over there every two months or so for a couple of weeks each time but suffer from arthritis and cant really do heavy duty stuff on my own. At 25 euros an hour for a gardener there it is not feasible for me to take on a gardening company. I would like to get rid of the existing lawn and replace with new. Difficult to dig it all up (alone), expensive (probably £3000) to get it dug up and carted away (the top 6 inches needs to be removed, I am thinking). So I am forced to consider getting rid of all the weeds and existing grass and starting from scratch. French law forbids the use of glyphosate now. Have considered 20% white vinegar which is allowed but that may well create a very acidic soil, would newly seeded grass root in that? Could cover with polythene sheeting for a few months, lift, aerate, add sand and roll but my guess is that when I lift it the weeds will come back. Can anyone suggest any other options? Very grateful for any feedback, thanks so much, at my wits end!

 

Hello and welcome to the forum @Battynatty it takes a lot to have a good lawn, in these times it's good for the insects to have natural grass.

 

I think the biggest problem is that its not getting mowed, even a lot of weeds, if mowed is still a green space.
I think you will be wasting your time doing much to it if you can only get over there every couple of months or so.

 

Hi folks and many thanks so far. It has been mowed twice a month in the summer since it was put down and for a very reasonable price, or by me when Ive been there. I am hoping to retire permanently out there in about 3 years so am trying to get the ground work for a new lawn done before my arthritis gets much worse. But yes, doing remote gardening is very tricky.
What about alternatives to grass, like clover or low creeping ground cover. Might those be worth thinking about? I just hate seeing all the weeds really.

 

If it were mine( oh I wish!), I would continue the mowing regime including the fortnightly, cut to 30mm and let the clippings remain.On a bi-monthly visit, I should spot weed, concentrating on preventing any going to seed. This could be by chemical/vinegar or daisy grubber*.Concentrate upon a strip at a time.
In autumn/spring a good raking with a Springbok type rake** will remove thatch and level ant hills.This could enable a lawnfeed/weedkiller treatment for daisies etc if not acceptable. If you are within a rural commune area, where many patches have wind sown plants, you are on a hiding to nothing!
*www.ebay.co.uk/itm/404438127690?mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338723872&toolid=20006&customid=IqzCPy4ZAAAAGSvINJKM8FwGNBU9AAAAAA
**www.toolstation.com/bulldog-springbok-rake/p30383?utm_source=googleshopping&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=googleshoppingfeed&mkwid=_dc&pcrid=&pkw=&pmt=&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIusGc1MCRgQMVpoBQBh1qSQCLEAQYASABEgLibPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds