How do I fix this overgrown grass?

oliviacraig3

I recently moved in to a new rental and was faced with some very overgrown lawn (coming from never having had to deal with grass before). At first I thought it was about 1m high and nice and healthy (green on top) however after starting whipper-snipping and pulling some up by hand, I discovered it was actually over 3m and growing very entangled horizontally. Not sure what type of grass it is but it was basically like a vine with sprouts every few cm. I also discovered it was brown and yuck underneath. With that initial snipping I got it down to about 1m but I couldn't even rake up the clippings as it was like raking spaghetti!

Please help, how do I fix this from here to get nice healthy lawn?!

Thank you

EricL

Hello @oliviacraig3 

It appears that the former owner has left the lawn to overgrow. I suggest cutting the lawn in sections using a rake to pull the long grass and using garden shears. Your goal is to remove all the long lengths of lawn roots so that you can use your lawn mower. At the moment any attempt to use your garden power tools will result in the roots tangling around your tool.

 Once you have the lawn down to a reasonable height, you'll be able to cut it down with your lawn mower or line trimmer. Once the area has been levelled please post another photo so that we can assess the lawn and provide you with recommendations on how to get it back into shape.

If you need further assistance, please let us know.

Eric