Scarifying and patch magic.

I'm hoping the bloke who does the job should know his game, he's been doing it for almost 20 years, lawn maintenance being his bread and butter, but he also cuts hedges and does a bit of landscaping.

I do have high hopes for the lawn as it should be perfect ground for a good result. The lawn has a slight slope and doesn't suffer from water logging, no matter how hard it rains. It gets decent sun and no heavy traffic from animals or children.

I've invested in a good mower, I bought it second hand, but it's a thousand pound machine when new.

My only worry is my busy time at work is when the weather is good, so when the lawn needs me most, so will my customers. I do plan on making the time though, even if I have to be out mowing at 9PM.

 

The bloke who's meant to be scarifying my lawn is dragging his feet. Probably too busy with his regular customers.

I'm beginning to wonder if I should just take it on myself. So I watched the lawnsmith video on scarifying and he recommends a hand pushed greenkey scarifier. Will this do a good enough job? Will it be alright for an 80m2 lawn?

 

Yes hoofy, that scarifier will do the trick and save you money. It really isnt a skilled job.
A lawn rake does just as good a job but it is harder....good exercise though and a task I will be undertaking soon.

 

You could save your back and buy an Einhell for about £100. I have had one for about 3 years - works fine. Possibly cheaper than hiring some one ?
Einhell GC-SA 1231 1200 W Electric Dual Purpose Scarifier and Lawn Rake/Aerat... 691199647772 | eBay

 

I have decided to save my back but after looking at online reviews I've decided to buy a bosch 1100 verticutter.

Owning one yourself means you can plan other jobs with one eye on the weather. Relying on someone else means I could be waiting for ages and then sowing new seed might not be possible.

So the plan in now to scarify next weekend and then sow the new seed as per the instructions in the lawnsmith video posted earlier in the thread.

Could I sow the new seed as soon as I've scarified? Same day, next day?

 

That looks like a good bit of kit Hoofy Just start off on a low setting first to get used to it . Go up and down the lawn once , then across at 90 degrees . You will produce a mind boggling amount of grass debris, the grass box fills every run ! A little concerning at first go .
You can reseed directly after you have cleared the lawn of debris ( I run the lawnmower over it after scarifying ) I would also give a light top soil dressing over the seed

 

I was just reading up about top dressing.

I really have got the bug. From no interest a few months ago to scarifying, over seeding and top dressing.

With the scarifying, do I keep at it until no more is coming out, or just do a couple of runs over the lawn?

 

No to scarifying "until no more comes out"......as with everything its moderation.
The "bug" about top dressing etc........yep, it is certainly addctive to maintain a nice lawn. Top dressing helps maintain levels and protects roots against extreme heat and cold. Lawns always look better a couple of weeks after top dressing.
Yes, reseed after scarifying

 

Up and down once , then possibly across at 90 degrees to the first cuts . Just go easy at first . Photo below shows typical amount of debris after one pass.

 

Looks great fun Harry. I love a job where you can see instant results.

 

Ha ha, the "instant" result will disturb you hoofy.
Looks like a bombsite at first

 

I'm ready for the bombsite. Reading the posts and watching videos has prepared me for it.

I think I'd be more disturbed if it looks no different than when I started.

 

I'm looking to do all the scarifying, over seeding etc next weekend but I still need to buy the top dressing. Where should I buy it from? I have transport and I have most of the big retailers fairly close to where I live.

 

Sorry to hear your chap is not on the ball.
Have you purchased the Bosch one already?
There’s a bit more skill needed that some think as it’s common to see lawns ripped up and needing to be seeded where it should have been a nice easy job.
There are several layers of thatch but you don’t want to try and remove it all, thatch is important to the lawn.
The idea is to remove a percentage, open the soil up to allow air movement and to promote growth.
If your lawns in good shape I normally take several plugs to check on thatch but commonly it’s no harm to run a scarifier over the area.
I’m going to guess they are fixed blades on the Bosch so you don’t want to hit any objects under the lawn and you don’t want to go deep as it simply does not have the power to maintain blade speed due to the friction.
If you have not purchased it you could hire one, they normally come with free floating blades so no cutting in I’m afraid.
Here’s a lawn I scarified a while back and one from my companions lawn when I first met her.





Notice how clean they are, both are in fairly good shape and recovered very quickly from the mechanical process.
I do have an advantage of having a good machine but also it’s knowing not to push hard and thus creating issues that were not there.

If you have gone for the Bosch set it up so the first run has the blades just rubbing the surface, it’s important the machine have a variable height adjustment so you can adjust to the best for the job.
If you need to cut in you would be best not to try any deeper than 5mm or else you will find the machine will struggle and it then churns the soil and rips out rather than a clean slice.

Don’t forget your lawn needs thatch but it also needs to be removed so it’s a balancing act. Add the fact that different grass produces thatch at different rates and add fertilisers into it, it’s why the best kept lawns require constant care to keep them nice.