For many of the people, giving the grass a semi-regular cut is the limit of the lawn care regime. However, if you want your garden to look healthy, enlisting the help of a scarifier is worth to consider! However big or small your garden is, a lawn scarifier can revitalise your lawn and transform it into the most appealing area of your home.
Further, if you have been raking the lawn manually that requires a lot of pressure; you’ll find rolling a scarifier many times easier. If you haven’t used a grass scarifier before, here is everything you need to know about using it-
What Are Lawn Scarifiers Used For?
A lawn or garden suffering from a buildup of moss or covered in dead grass clippings can benefit from a lawn scarifier run across it. There is a hidden layer of thatch beneath the green blades of grass, which is made of flattened stems, moss, grass clippings, shots, or weeds. Though thatch is a normal part of the grass turf, however, too much of it will lead your lawn feeling spongy.
Further, a soft lawn may feel good to walk on, but it impedes drainage and prevents air from reaching the roots of the grass. A grass scarifier can pull thatch and moss from the ground, enabling the lawn to breathe again. It also helps cut the stolons of grass, encouraging the growth of new grass, thus making the lawn lusher and thicker.
Scarifying lawn gives a cleaner cut to the grass stolons. The scarifiers cut into the soil, and create slices that helps reduce compaction.
How To Use A Scarifier For Scarifying a Lawn
Regular scarifying, mowing and fertilizing helps keep your lawn healthy. Here are some of the steps on how to scarify a lawn using a lawn scarifier-
Remove the debris from the lawn, apply a moss killer, and rake out the dead moss before you start scarifying. It is an essential step as you don’t want to spread the airborne spores of moss all over the garden with a scarifier.
Now that the moss is dead, it’s time to mow your lawn using a mower on a dry day. Many of the lawn owners struggle to find the answer for a common question concerning the best time to mow the lawn. Well, late afternoon of a dry day is an optimal time to do so. You can look for a professional lawn mowing service to do this job if you are a newbie.
Scarify your lawn on a higher setting and go over the surface. Repeat the process at different angles, while reducing the severity of the settings on each pass.
You can choose to add some grass at the end of the process and cover the seeds with a mixture of fine compost and sharp sand to protect them during the germination process.
When To Use A Lawn Scarifier
Some of the DIY lawn owners juggle with the same question when to scarify the lawn. Well, the ideal time scarify the lawn varies depending upon the location and weather. However, the best optimal time is when the turf growth is at its peak. It usually happens in the autumn or late spring. As far as frequency is concerned, scarifying once a year sufficient, or more often if your lawn is a bad condition. Always be cautious while scarifying the lawn, as a little error can take a toll on the grass and roots.
In dry conditions, make sure to water the lawn after scarifying. Further, if you are going to scarify in the autumn, rake together the fallen leaves first. It will provide previous leaf humus which is ideal for fertilization and soil improvement.
Conclusion
There are several other tools you can use to scarify your lawn to get similar, if not the same results. A traditional rake is the most common alternative. However, scarifiers offer a clean cut to the lateral shoots of the grass that tend to rip or tear them apart.
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