When scarifying your lawn you need to do it in 2 different directions. Either vertically and horizontally (up and down and across) or diagonally. As well as scarifying you also need to aerate your lawn which will aid with compaction. If you want to do it properly you then need to overseed. (Go on youtube there are loads of videos showing you how). As someone said said lawns need some thatch but too much will stop water and air getting to the roots so therefore you will have an unhealthy lawn. You also need to feed your lawn, I’d wait until spring, and I would avoid those 4 in 1 weed and feeds you can buy.
Where abouts are you, Kenny? Could it be that your lawn has just not had much rain and is feeling dried out at the moment? A good, hard scratch and aeration with a fork, and see what happens in the spring. Many UK lawns have been very battered by drought, sun and high temps. If we get the soddden winter we need, the picture might look very different. Hold off the feeding and you'll get a clearer picture of what's really going on.
Does your lawn every have standing water through a wet winter?
Does it squelch when you walk across it in the winter?
How much sun does it get through the summer? What is shading it?
It looks a lot like mine. Just the effects of the really dry summer and not enough autumn rain yet to green it up again, I think. It needs good wet weather and time.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
If your soil tends toward acid I would apply lime....in fact I'd even apply it in neutral pH soils - but not as often.
calcium bonds with nitrogen .
Lime (calcium ions) will help the structure of clay soils.
There is little evidence that is a benefit to garden plants apart from brassicas. For some plants (moss and ericaceous eg) it can be a real disadvantage.
There is evidence than high pH and overfertilising encouages weeds (aka wild flowers) to out-compete grasses. On my acid soil, I struggle to intoduce exciting plants into a small area of flower meadow, but have resisted adding lime. I do though have a flourishing patch of cowslips that are well-known as chalk lovers.
The common forms of Nitrogen are ammonium and nitrate. Calcium does not bond especially strongly with either.
location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand. "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
Where abouts are you, Kenny? Could it be that your lawn has just not had much rain and is feeling dried out at the moment? A good, hard scratch and aeration with a fork, and see what happens in the spring. Many UK lawns have been very battered by drought, sun and high temps. If we get the soddden winter we need, the picture might look very different. Hold off the feeding and you'll get a clearer picture of what's really going on.
Does your lawn every have standing water through a wet winter?
Does it squelch when you walk across it in the winter?
How much sun does it get through the summer? What is shading it?
Other than a small period several months ago of peak heat, we’ve been relatively fine in the North West. Had plenty of rain for quite a while now.
No puddles but there is a squelch when there is a heavy and sustained rainfall
Posts
1. Order a ph test kit (done - will reprt back tomorrow)
2. Cancel the lawn guy
I’m not looking for a fairway at St Andrews, just a healthy/healthier looking lawn that stands up to a closer scrutiny than the one I’ve got.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
There is little evidence that is a benefit to garden plants apart from brassicas. For some plants (moss and ericaceous eg) it can be a real disadvantage.
There is evidence than high pH and overfertilising encouages weeds (aka wild flowers) to out-compete grasses. On my acid soil, I struggle to intoduce exciting plants into a small area of flower meadow, but have resisted adding lime. I do though have a flourishing patch of cowslips that are well-known as chalk lovers.
The common forms of Nitrogen are ammonium and nitrate. Calcium does not bond especially strongly with either.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
The two pics look quite different. Were they taken with and without sun?
PS. I've now looked again. Your latest post I now see as 3 pics, 2 new and one old.
"Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."