I think I've read here that scarifying should be an annual procedure, but being a new gardener who has discovered a bona fide gardening technique, my enthusiasm has rather got the better of me. I've done it several times, perhaps putting rather too much oomph into the raking, and the surfeit of elbow grease perhaps accounts for those bare patches. Maybe I need to put down grass seed as suggested and let Nature do the rest, at least till next year.
Don't panic, if you are scarifying with a rake you shouldn't be able to do too much damage - if you are using a proper blade scarifier that cuts in below the surface, then getting too enthusiastic could be dangerous!
Over seed bare patches as you have already decided, but take care feeding for the next couple of months - combined weed and feed is usually (always?) not suitable for new sown grass, you will be better off with a soluble feed only which you can apply with a watering can.
When the new grass is established towards the autumn you could weed and feed, and if the moss is still significant scarify/rake it again then (apparently it's best to do it at the end of the season, unless you have a serious problem).
The company I use here in Scotland charge £12 for a weed and feed and £36 for a scarify. Seems to be a bargain compared to the rest of the country. I would class my lawn as medium sized (the borders have blatantly edged themselves into the lawns over the years!).
'Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement' - Helen Keller
Thanks for the advice, and thanks for the reassurance. I've been using a lawn rake, but on closer inspection this afternoon it seems that despite scarifying several times, I haven't quite got down deep enough to remove all the thatch and dead moss. So there's more work to do before I can reseed.
Technically you want a thin layer of thatch, but I have found that to remove the moss I end up ripping it all out. A few mowings without collecting clippings should re-establish healthy thatch - fingers crossed, I have yet to mow mine and have partly re-seeded some still bare patches.
Thanks again. The most seriously affected bare patches are on a slope, and poking around with a fork in an attempt to provide a home for fresh seed revealed an alarming tendency for the turf to part company with the subsoil (which is clay). I'm now wondering whether to dig out the worst bits of the sloped section and put down new turf, with a view to avoiding a repeat of the situation by scarifying a little less enthusiastically in future. Might that be (and forgive the pun) a slippery slope?
I used the Aftercut 4 in 1 feed, weed and mosskiller by Westlands and as predicted it killed the moss but also quite a lot of other areas took a hit too. Now its started to grow back I will go back to using the normal Aftercut lawn conditioner which is fantastic and always makes my lawn thick and lush. Its in granular form but I swear by this product.
Hi Des, just seen your update post. Again Aftercut patchfix; amazing stuff. I put this on any bare patches and it takes well. Honestly I don't work for Westlands, I just love their products
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Thanks for that.
I think I've read here that scarifying should be an annual procedure, but being a new gardener who has discovered a bona fide gardening technique, my enthusiasm has rather got the better of me. I've done it several times, perhaps putting rather too much oomph into the raking, and the surfeit of elbow grease perhaps accounts for those bare patches. Maybe I need to put down grass seed as suggested and let Nature do the rest, at least till next year.
Don't panic, if you are scarifying with a rake you shouldn't be able to do too much damage - if you are using a proper blade scarifier that cuts in below the surface, then getting too enthusiastic could be dangerous!
Over seed bare patches as you have already decided, but take care feeding for the next couple of months - combined weed and feed is usually (always?) not suitable for new sown grass, you will be better off with a soluble feed only which you can apply with a watering can.
When the new grass is established towards the autumn you could weed and feed, and if the moss is still significant scarify/rake it again then (apparently it's best to do it at the end of the season, unless you have a serious problem).
The company I use here in Scotland charge £12 for a weed and feed and £36 for a scarify. Seems to be a bargain compared to the rest of the country. I would class my lawn as medium sized (the borders have blatantly edged themselves into the lawns over the years!).
Thanks for the advice, and thanks for the reassurance. I've been using a lawn rake, but on closer inspection this afternoon it seems that despite scarifying several times, I haven't quite got down deep enough to remove all the thatch and dead moss. So there's more work to do before I can reseed.
Technically you want a thin layer of thatch, but I have found that to remove the moss I end up ripping it all out. A few mowings without collecting clippings should re-establish healthy thatch - fingers crossed, I have yet to mow mine and have partly re-seeded some still bare patches.
Thanks again. The most seriously affected bare patches are on a slope, and poking around with a fork in an attempt to provide a home for fresh seed revealed an alarming tendency for the turf to part company with the subsoil (which is clay). I'm now wondering whether to dig out the worst bits of the sloped section and put down new turf, with a view to avoiding a repeat of the situation by scarifying a little less enthusiastically in future. Might that be (and forgive the pun) a slippery slope?
I used the Aftercut 4 in 1 feed, weed and mosskiller by Westlands and as predicted it killed the moss but also quite a lot of other areas took a hit too. Now its started to grow back I will go back to using the normal Aftercut lawn conditioner which is fantastic and always makes my lawn thick and lush. Its in granular form but I swear by this product.
Hi Des, just seen your update post. Again Aftercut patchfix; amazing stuff. I put this on any bare patches and it takes well. Honestly I don't work for Westlands, I just love their products