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Hiring a lawn scarifier

Has anyone ever hired a scarifier? It seems to cost about £100 for 1 or 2 days and I wondered if it was worth the effort. I am becoming a bit desperate about what was my lawn. It is smothered in moss and weeds. I am happy to dig up the weeds but the moss is defeating me - already spent several days last autumn on hands and knees with a claw. Didn't seem to do much good. Any advice gratefully received!

Posts

  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    If it's that bad improve the drainage, that's your best chance of ridding yourself of the moss.

    Perfect lawns are hard work, scarify spike, brush in sharp sand, reseed. It can take a year or two or more depending on what sort of ground you have. It's a labour of love or hate depending on your point of view.

    Moss loves moisture and shade, so solve those problems before hiring a machine.

  • Thanks for a quick response. I am not too fussed about a perfect lawn but the mounds of moss look very unsightly. The front garden is in full sunlight and I have just gone over it with a garden fork, wiggling the tines to create bigger holes. We have had two very wet winters and as the garden is in full sun, I suppose the top must be baked hard.

    Feeling glum.

  • Dave MorganDave Morgan Posts: 3,123

    If the soil is baked hard, then get your fork and push it in at an angle of 45 degrees and lift the turf till the soil cracks. This is about an inch or two. It allows air into the soil and improves drainage. Combine that with the sharp sand treatment and it will improve.

  • I have a Flymo lawnraker which I bought 3 or 4 years ago and which only costs about £80 online. It does remove the moss very effectively but even if I then apply moss killer it still all seems to grow back by the following spring. I do only get round to using it in spring though so should probably do it in autumn as well.

    Oh, and I also spent ages aerating last year and the grass gets plenty of sun. I suspect the drainage just isn't good because the clay goes down too deep for aerating to be effective but it would be a major exercise to tackle that problem so I'm just going to continue to regard using the lawnraker as a regular gardening task.

  • It might be worth buying one you can get a good scarifier for about ??100.00



    The bosh one is good
  • Edd that looks fantastic! It looks like the sort of heavy duty thing that the moss needs! And not as back breaking as hand scarifying. Thank you so much - probably better value than hiring a machine because there is so much to do - a 2 day hire would scarcely touch the rest of the garden. 

  • YviestevieYviestevie Posts: 7,066

    I bought one off ebay, it had hardly been used and has made a massive difference to my lawn.  I use it every autumn before the lawn gets treated and I also aerate using a garden fork (I only aerate the patches that catch the shade). 

    Hi from Kingswinford in the West Midlands
  • As Dave suggested just scarify regularly and aerate. Top dress and brush in some sand or soil conditioner which over time will improve the soil structure and help drainage issues. You can also dress lightly with compost later in the year and add some grass seed to the mix. Is this just an open lawn or is it shaded by shrubs or the worst culprits pines or conifers?

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