Question
Hi

My lawn is lying flat.  If I were to rake it, it would all come out.  It is very weak!

What can I do to thicken it up instead of sodding?  This would be too expensive.

Thanks
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Answer
You don't say what kind of grass you have.
Take a bit of it in your hand and give it a tug. If it comes up, and there are no roots, or only a few, and it feels a bit slimy, maybe you have brown patch. This is a fungus. It will kill out all your grass soon, if you don't get it protected.
It may be laying down to shade the ground from heat.
If it is brown patch (are there some round,brown, bare patches?)
You need to use a fungicide. I use baking soda disolved in water.Mix it up in a garden sprayer and spray the ground enough to get the grass and the soil wet.This works for me better than fungicides. I use it for black spot on my roses and powdery mildew, on the plants that disease affects.If there is a heavy rain, you may have to treat again.
Do you water deeply?
Shallow watering makes roots come close to the surface to get water, and this makes it more easily damages by heat and cold.
Water to a depth of at least 6 inches, and water again when the top 2 inches of soil are dry.
I don't fertilize. About 10 years ago, I read about organic gardening. Fertilizer kills beneficial microbes that enrich soil. Plain table sugar was recommended if you couldn't get dry molases. I use sugar, because I think it does better for my lawn. the smaller bags are easier for me to handle that the 40 pound bags of dry molasses.I have a thick, lush. dark green, weed free lawn.
If you do use fertilizer, you should put it down, put down the sugar (or dry molasses) and water it all in together. This will keep the microbes alive.
Concentrate on making rich soil, and almost all the problems a lawn has, will not happen anymore.
I use 1 pound sugar per 250 to 300 sq.ft.of lawn.
I'm sorry I couldn't help more.
If this doesn't answer your question well enough, or if you can think of anything else, feel free to write me anytime.
Charlotte