Over seeding a lawn

I need to get some grass back into my 'lawn' which is very patchy and sparse so I intend to purchase some lawn seed, can anyone advise on the best procedure to use once I have the seed please? tia.

 

Do you want to know how to overseed an existing lawn ?

Scarify - overseed usually 35g per square metre if I remember right its not that important as long as its not piled up - top dress considering your location I'll assume you've got a dried out lawn you could top dress with just compost or a mix of top soil /compost it may help retain some moister but also just using compost is the cheapest option . You don't haven't to top dress but you'll get better results , seeds must be have good contact with soil .

 

You can mix the seed into topsoil or compost and spread that. That way some will still germinate from lower down . If you put it all on top the birds may eat it all. As mentioned on another thread, fleece on top will help if it's only a patch and not the whole lawn.

 

Thank you @Perki and @Allotment Boy for your replies.

 

purchased white clover from just seed, massive 90g packet for a few £. hopefully its not ancient. over sowed the dry areas of the lawn under our giant horse chestnut tree. hopefully it makes it greener and helps the soil.

there is already a lot of wierd stuff in our lawn, violets, ground ivy, some other wierd plants. hopefully the clover doesnt out compete them if it does germinate