After removing all the stones and other rubbish from the lawn area prepare the ground. The better prepared the seedbed the better the lawn will be. Good drainage is important and deep digging or aeration with a fork will help.
For lawns on heavy soil add more sand. Drainage will be improved. If the soil is light or sandy work in a good amount of peat to give body to the soil and prevent drying out and loss of nutrients. At this stage any levelling should be done and care must be taken not to remove too much topsoil from any one area. Subsoil does not make for a good seedbed! It is low in nutrients and will give variations in growing habit and colour.
The initial digging of the ground should be done during autumn if possible and the soil left “as dug” in large lumps during the winter. This will enable rain and frost to break down the soil and make it crumbly. Prepare the seedbed in the spring when the soil is starting to dry out. Roll or rake the ground or tread it down and rake it. First go one way across the area rake it over then firm and rake it again until a firm seedbed is achieved. Finally a pre-seeding fertilizer should be raked into the soil. This will stimulate root growth and provide the essential early feed to get the lawn off to a good start.