scarifying

damienf1 · 29-03-2020 9:06pm #1

Hi,

I just cut cut the garden for the first time this year due to weather. now i was planning to scarify the lawn i have not done this before lawn is about size of tennis court. but i now seen there is product called mo bacter so question is which is better and would results be the same?

thanks

MaxPower89 · 30-03-2020 3:45pm

I would just scarify it, its a mechanical process and works. Haven't used MoBactor but I think it is expensive enough without guaranteed results.

GreeBo · 31-03-2020 9:11am

Do you have a scarifying blade or a power raker blade?
Also is it a moss problem or a thatch problem you are trying to solve?

If its just moss then mo-bactor will eat the moss and save you having to take it up.
if its thatch then you need to remove it I'm afraid.

Either way, unfortunately the temps are still a bit low for good recovery, also I believe MoBactor needs 12* before it will work.

Be prepared for your lawn to look pretty bad for a couple of weeks after this, depending on the current state of course.

damienf1 · 31-03-2020 10:15am

GreeBo wrote: »

Do you have a scarifying blade or a power raker blade?
Also is it a moss problem or a thatch problem you are trying to solve?

If its just moss then mo-bactor will eat the moss and save you having to take it up.
if its thatch then you need to remove it I'm afraid.

Either way, unfortunately the temps are still a bit low for good recovery, also I believe MoBactor needs 12* before it will work.

Be prepared for your lawn to look pretty bad for a couple of weeks after this, depending on the current state of course.

Think might be bit both i have attached photos for you to see

damienf1 · 31-03-2020 10:17am

GreeBo wrote: »

Do you have a scarifying blade or a power raker blade?
Also is it a moss problem or a thatch problem you are trying to solve?

If its just moss then mo-bactor will eat the moss and save you having to take it up.
if its thatch then you need to remove it I'm afraid.

Either way, unfortunately the temps are still a bit low for good recovery, also I believe MoBactor needs 12* before it will work.

Be prepared for your lawn to look pretty bad for a couple of weeks after this, depending on the current state of course.

Think problem is both i have attached photo for you to see any help be great

secman · 31-03-2020 10:49am

I havent scarified for about 2 to 3 years , the amount of thatch is very noticable underfoot. Definitely on the list for this year, ground is still a bit soft to do it now, its heavy clay. Will look worse before it gets better, but definitely good for the lawn.

GreeBo · 31-03-2020 10:52am

You probably have moss as we all do really
To check for thatch you can cut out a section of the lawn (just a small one, make a triangular cut with a spade and lift out the sod.
You will see 3 distinct (ish!) areas.
Grass
Thatch
Soil

If the middle one is more than half an inch you should dethatch.

You can also tell if you have too much thatch if your lawn is springy underfoot. This can also be moss but mostly its thatch.
Finally, when you look at the section you extracted, check if the grass roots are in the soil are just in the thatch layer. Thatch acts as a water and oxygen barrier, so if its been there a long time the grass has no choice but to start rooting in the thats since thats where the water and oxygen are.
You may end up with a VERY very bare lawn if the above has happened, so be warned and maybe only do 1 pass over with the scarifier for now.

A power rake will have spring tines on a rotating drum, they are great for pulling out moss (especially when dead) but they dont really enter the thatch, especially if its thick. Also they wear out quickly and can break off if you try to go too deep.
A dethatching blade will have multiple solid metal tines. These do enter the soil and are designed to cut the thatch out. Depending on how sharp the blades are they can also act as verti-cutters, which can help to thicken up your crass but cutting the stolons and rhizomes and encouraging new growth (just like pruning a regular plant)
If your blades are dull (or not designed to be sharp) going too deeply in a single run can tip everything out, including the grass. so little and often is the way to go.

After power raking your lawn might look bare due to missing moss, after scarifying your lawn will have lots of parallel cut strips. These will fill in as the temps improve and we get some rain.
Enjoy!

GreeBo · 31-03-2020 11:26am

I've just finished mine (2 passes with a power rake and 2 with the scarifier)
i'll try to throw up some photos later.

Another warning to add is that you will have BAGS and BAGS of crap to dispose of afterwards.

To give some perspective, I can cut my lawn and only empty the bag two or 3 times..
Using the mower to collect the moss/thatch meant I had to empty it 15+ times, I was barely getting one length of the garden per bag in some places!

You should add any moss killer/weed killer a couple of weeks before you are planning to scarify as it will help to both pull up the moss and also stop you spreading weeds.

Then scarify and apply some fertilizer, assuming the weather has picked up of course.
Finally you may need to topdress and overseed any very bare areas as otherwise you have created a lovely spot for weeds!

As long as you have some grass plants left, even pretty bare areas will fill in, the hardest thing to do in Ireland is stop grass from growing really!

secman · 31-03-2020 11:32am

When i do mine i use an electric one, with the bag off and tricking machine to work without the bag. I will have volumes of thatch and will use the ride on to collect. I will cut cut grass before scarifying and will probably fill the box on ride on about 6 times doing the collection of the thatch. 3/4 acre site hence the ride on.

GreeBo · 31-03-2020 12:08pm

secman wrote: »

When i do mine i use an electric one, with the bag off and tricking machine to work without the bag. I will have volumes of thatch and will use the ride on to collect. I will cut cut grass before scarifying and will probably fill the box on ride on about 6 times doing the collection of the thatch. 3/4 acre site hence the ride on.

Yeah thats a good shout, I also use an electric and I keep the bag off and rear door slightly open with some bungee cords.

Shin pads and safety goggles are important here!

_Brian · 31-03-2020 12:11pm

Making a pull behind scarifyer here. Hope to have it done next week. Runs behind the ride on.
Just with dry bright days I’ve been off at other stuff.

damienf1 · 31-03-2020 12:32pm

GreeBo wrote: »

Do you have a scarifying blade or a power raker blade?
Also is it a moss problem or a thatch problem you are trying to solve?

If its just moss then mo-bactor will eat the moss and save you having to take it up.
if its thatch then you need to remove it I'm afraid.

Either way, unfortunately the temps are still a bit low for good recovery, also I believe MoBactor needs 12* before it will work.

Be prepared for your lawn to look pretty bad for a couple of weeks after this, depending on the current state of course.

See attachment for photo i think its both not sure what's best

GreeBo · 31-03-2020 12:41pm

^ When adding an attachment make sure you click "upload" on the right hand side after selecting the file....

secman · 31-03-2020 1:59pm

GreeBo wrote: »

Yeah thats a good shout, I also use an electric and I keep the bag off and rear door slightly open with some bungee cords.

Shin pads and safety goggles are important here!

Loose wellies and safety glasses are a must.

secman · 31-03-2020 2:00pm

_Brian wrote: »

Making a pull behind scarifyer here. Hope to have it done next week. Runs behind the ride on.
Just with dry bright days I’ve been off at other stuff.

That sounds the biz

Holy Diver · 31-03-2020 6:50pm

Just to add to Greebo’s informative posts, there is a lot of good info in the following website:
https://www.lawnsmith.co.uk/topic/scarifying-raking:

GreeBo · 31-03-2020 7:28pm

_Brian wrote: »

Making a pull behind scarifyer here. Hope to have it done next week. Runs behind the ride on.
Just with dry bright days I’ve been off at other stuff.

Is it "just" a drag behind or will the blades/tines be motorised?

_Brian · 01-04-2020 6:34am

GreeBo wrote: »

Is it "just" a drag behind or will the blades/tines be motorised?

Just drag with spring loaded tines

damienf1 · 01-04-2020 9:47am

Sorry guys dont know why posted few times it wouldn't upload at the start sondont know if photo when up. Ill try again might scarify it just not sure what tondo after its done probably need step by step guide whats the best products to buy after etc thanks for help guys

GreeBo · 01-04-2020 5:49pm

^
Yep, a good scarifying will make a difference (well, after it all fills in it will!

)

Even just removing the old, old yellow grass will green up the appearance of your lawn.
As the temps increase and we get some bloody rain, it will fill in any small gaps.

Large gaps will need to be top dressed and some seed spread, but even without this they will fill in eventually, though you will need to weed frequently.

Daisy 55 · 01-04-2020 11:37pm

I know it is not the thread But where could I buy tines to replace snapped ones On my electric rake.

_Brian · 02-04-2020 8:25am

Daisy 55 wrote: »

I know it is not the thread But where could I buy tines to replace snapped ones On my electric rake.

Amazon

GreeBo · 02-04-2020 8:44am

or ebay, I got my entire machine there.

Oh and for anyone else using an electric machine, of any time.
Always start closest to your power source and work perpendicular to it. That way you are not constantly moving the power cord out of the way!

GreeBo · 02-04-2020 8:44am

damienf1 wrote: »

Sorry guys dont know why posted few times it wouldn't upload at the start sondont know if photo when up. Ill try again might scarify it just not sure what tondo after its done probably need step by step guide whats the best products to buy after etc thanks for help guys

First step is to scarify, the follow up steps will depend on what you are left with afterwards!
There is no major rush as temps are still cold so your grass is dormant-ish.

secman · 02-04-2020 9:04am

After tonight the next 10 days are showing minimum night temps of about 7° and daytime max of about 12 to 13° so grass will be growing for sure.

GreeBo · 02-04-2020 9:08am

secman wrote: »

After tonight the next 10 days are showing minimum night temps of about 7° and daytime max of about 12 to 13° so grass will be growing for sure.

Not for me unfortunately, down below 4 degrees at night and not much above 8 during the day. It's also bone dry without any rain for the last 2+ weeks.

In any case, we have excellent growth periods in Ireland, the grass will recover no matter when you do it, its just a matter of time.

BullBauld · 02-04-2020 3:14pm

Are the electric scarifiers good or would I be better off hiring a petrol one?
There's also rakes you can attach to a ride on. Any benefit?

GreeBo · 02-04-2020 3:33pm

Depends on the size of you lawn.
Petrol are better in general, but overkill for smaller lawns.

use the ride on to collect all the crap afterwards, you will have bales of it!

damienf1 · 04-04-2020 10:42am

GreeBo wrote: »

Not for me unfortunately, down below 4 degrees at night and not much above 8 during the day. It's also bone dry without any rain for the last 2+ weeks.

In any case, we have excellent growth periods in Ireland, the grass will recover no matter when you do it, its just a matter of time.

Thanks definitely think need some lawn dressing not sure where get bags of this yet or how much i will need what best lawn fertilizer to use after i put laen dressing down? Also what about some lime would that help.thanks

Naos · 06-04-2020 12:15pm

Hello Greebo - what would be your opinion on my grass? (Asking as you brought up the photo of the thatched soil above).

We just moved in recently and there's a lot of moss in our garden and it get's very damp when it rains. I thought it was just really bad drainage / I've no clue really so I decided to do a triangular cut as you suggested and here's my findings:

https://imgur.com/a/DGZitkB

jtown · 09-04-2020 4:09pm

Ordered mine Monday on Amazon so hopefully will have it next few weeks.... Something to keep me busy for a few days

:D

aw · 09-04-2020 4:36pm

Naos wrote: »

Hello Greebo - what would be your opinion on my grass? (Asking as you brought up the photo of the thatched soil above).

We just moved in recently and there's a lot of moss in our garden and it get's very damp when it rains. I thought it was just really bad drainage / I've no clue really so I decided to do a triangular cut as you suggested and here's my findings:

https://imgur.com/a/DGZitkB

The soil looks like a fine clay and the grass is lush and healthy.

A bigger picture of the lawn would help to advise on drainage but you can see a layer of thatch/moss there so a scarifying and a feed would likely help in the short term.

Pious14 · 10-04-2020 8:58pm

Is is still ok to scarify now? Weather has been warm. Thinking of purchasing and scarifying in next two weeks

ratracer · 10-04-2020 10:11pm

I’ve read this thread with great interest this evening . Some very knowledgeable posters have given great advice. I am just after treating my lawn to Liquid Zero and then Ozmo Moss killer. It is the first time in years I have tried to treat the moss/ thatch but it had gotten out of hand.

Would this be a useful investment for me:

https://lawnmowerpartsonline.ie/product/agri-fab-40-towed-tine-dethatcher-45-02941

Even before Covid restrictions came in, I had decided to invest time in my lawns this year.
Images attached are before treatment and then 3-4 days later, earlier this week.

Zardoz · 10-04-2020 11:56pm

I have an Aldi scarifier and its good ,the raking option gets up alot of stuff.
I wouldnt recommend the blade option .
I used that on the lawn a few years back and it was far too severe ,the lawn never recovered.

I scarified the front lawn over the last few days ,bloody hard work .
Mountains of stuff to collect as the bag on the scarifier is rubbish.
Did 2 runs ,3 in places .
Used the mower to collect the grass but may have cut it a bit too low in hindsight.

Think I might have overdone it as it looks very yellow now ,its infested with moss as I didnt use enough iron sulphate last year and the moss increased after scarifying.
I'd almost no moss the year before but it comes back quickly.

Going to use 5g of ferrous sulphate per square metre tomorrow ,hard to apply in as it constantly clogs the watering can.
Cant use a sprayer as it clogs that even worse.

uck51js9zml2yt · 11-04-2020 12:37am

Zardoz wrote: »

I have an Aldi scarifier and its good ,the raking option gets up alot of stuff.
I wouldnt recommend the blade option .
I used that on the lawn a few years back and it was far too severe ,the lawn never recovered.

I scarified the front lawn over the last few days ,bloody hard work .
Mountains of stuff to collect as the bag on the scarifier is rubbish.
Did 2 runs ,3 in places .
Used the mower to collect the grass but may have cut it a bit too low in hindsight.

Think I might have overdone it as it looks very yellow now ,its infested with moss as I didnt use enough iron sulphate last year and the moss increased after scarifying.
I'd almost no moss the year before but it comes back quickly.

Going to use 5g of ferrous sulphate per square metre tomorrow ,hard to apply in as it constantly clogs the watering can.
Cant use a sprayer as it clogs that even worse.

Would a very light dusting work before rain?

Zardoz · 11-04-2020 2:44am

Keira Wrong Pirate wrote: »

Would a very light dusting work before rain?

You mean applying as a powder?
I never tried that, I always mixed with water and applied as a liquid.

Nigzcurran · 11-04-2020 12:04pm

I picked up an aldi scarifier and did my small back garden about 3 weeks ago, threw a load of seed down in the really bare patches and its finally starting to sprout now, hopefully the weather over the nest week will get it going properly

Nigzcurran · 11-04-2020 12:08pm

Another one

Nigzcurran · 11-04-2020 12:10pm

Another one

Nigzcurran · 11-04-2020 12:12pm

Another one

Nigzcurran · 11-04-2020 12:12pm

Sorry they are all in mixed order!

GreeBo · 11-04-2020 2:36pm

Keep watering that seed daily, it's bone dry these days and seed will die quickly when it's young

GreeBo · 11-04-2020 2:40pm

damienf1 wrote: »

Thanks definitely think need some lawn dressing not sure where get bags of this yet or how much i will need what best lawn fertilizer to use after i put laen dressing down? Also what about some lime would that help.thanks

Aldi and Lidl have bags of compost at the moment
You might get feed and weed from woodies online if you are lucky

Zardoz wrote: »

I have an Aldi scarifier and its good ,the raking option gets up alot of stuff.
I wouldnt recommend the blade option .
I used that on the lawn a few years back and it was far too severe ,the lawn never recovered.

I scarified the front lawn over the last few days ,bloody hard work .
Mountains of stuff to collect as the bag on the scarifier is rubbish.
Did 2 runs ,3 in places .
Used the mower to collect the grass but may have cut it a bit too low in hindsight.

Think I might have overdone it as it looks very yellow now ,its infested with moss as I didnt use enough iron sulphate last year and the moss increased after scarifying.
I'd almost no moss the year before but it comes back quickly.

Going to use 5g of ferrous sulphate per square metre tomorrow ,hard to apply in as it constantly clogs the watering can.
Cant use a sprayer as it clogs that even worse.

Don't worry about it looking yellow and bare, that just means you had a lot of moss and thatch to remove. Leaving it there is s band aid.

Use the blade for thatch and the tale for moss.
Apply moss killer afterwards, to get what's left behind.

Hebe you considered hiring an aerator? Persistent moss sings like a drainage issue... This is your garden for shade?

Zardoz · 11-04-2020 3:15pm

GreeBo wrote: »

Don't worry about it looking yellow and bare, that just means you had a lot of moss and thatch to remove. Leaving it there is s band aid.

Use the blade for thatch and the tale for moss.
Apply moss killer afterwards, to get what's left behind.

Hebe you considered hiring an aerator? Persistent moss sings like a drainage issue... This is your garden for shade?

Thanks Greebo.
It looks a bit better this morning ,the rain tomorrow will help and I will get the iron sulphate and fertiliser on then and it should come on.

I tried to hire an aerator a number of time in the past but I couldn't find any locally ,nearest place was 25 miles and they wouldn't deliver.
I think thats what I badly need ,maybe I can borrow one from the golf club nearby .:D

I've alot of trees on my site ,some huge ones out the front ,beech and pine.
Drainage is good ,the soil is heavy though and heavily compacted .

The funny thing is the area under the trees has hardly any moss ,I overseeded that a numbr of years back and its nice green grass.

Its the middle of the lawn thats all moss ,I think I didnt use a high enough dosage of iron sulphate in previous treatments ,only 2g/ square metre .
Plus anytime I scarify it signals the start of a dry spell that lasts for 3-4 weeks ,I'm kind of cursed in that regard ,it stresses the grass too much .
I probably did more harm than good some years.

Pious14 · 13-04-2020 8:36pm

Is it too late to scarify

Daisy 55 · 13-04-2020 9:44pm

No. Ground is nice condition to do it. Not too dry or too wet. From the weather today looks dry till third a day at the earliest. Would need rain soon after finishing it. If the garden not too big you could give it a good watering at dusk a couple of times to help growing. I did mine 2 weeks ago and it’s only now starting to come back green.

Pious14 · 13-04-2020 10:05pm

Thanks. It’s about 1/2 - 3/4 acre lawn. Will be using ride on tow scarifier. Probably won’t have it until next week. I assume any time I’m April should be ok?

GreeBo · 13-04-2020 11:22pm

Pious14 wrote: »

Thanks. It’s about 1/2 - 3/4 acre lawn. Will be using ride on tow scarifier. Probably won’t have it until next week. I assume any time I’m April should be ok?

Other than it taking longer to recover, you won't really do any lasting damage regardless of when you scarify in Ireland.

Obviously if you tear it back to bare earth then you are in trouble, but same is true any time of the year!

Pious14 · 13-04-2020 11:28pm

GreeBo wrote: »

Other than it taking longer to recover, you won't really do any lasting damage regardless of when you scarify in Ireland.

Obviously if you tear it back to bare earth then you are in trouble, but same is true any time of the year!

Great thanks very much

secman · 13-04-2020 11:30pm

Cut the grass on Friday and collected approx 1.25 bin loads of grass. Scarified on Sat and with the ride on at same setting collected 8 bin loads of thatch. Ready for a feed and weed dressing now but can't get any

with the lockdown. Need 3 sacks of it.

scarifying

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