Operation 'Lawn' is in full swing!

Quick update. I resisted temptation to mow the grass today, thought it best to let it get properly settled and to let the seed germinate (must be soon, surely, as its been 7 days?);

All things being equal, I will hopefully be giving it a mow next weekend, followed by a scarifying, followed by aerating it with the blade cylinder of the machine. So far (excuse the washing on the line, but too nice a day not to!)

 

Would the mower not chuck up the compost covering the new seeds though @Sheal?

I have made the past two cuts that wee bit higher already, in an attempt to not stress the grass too much. It is going to piddle down tonight and tomorrow so it will be Monday at the earliest that I get out there with the mower.

 

I've got wheels, so it should be fine then

With regard to the scarifying (obviously only the 'old' lawn) is my theory right that I start with the tines then go over again with the blades? I assume that this will be best left a week or three yet?

 

Its got three height settings, so I will start off on the highest when I get to that point. Thanks for your help

 

You know what I am like when I get the bit between my teeth....

 

Eventually got round to mowing the grass today, and then got the scarifier going. I decided that I would go with the tines first as I was worried the blades might be too harsh. I set it to mid height (after trying it on its highest setting first), and got cracking - 40 mins later it was all done including using the mower to collect the thatch; 6 whole mower boxes full!

Here is one side done:



And here is the finished article, with the sprinklers running on lazy mode for a couple of hours afterwards


I am very happy with the scarifier - very easy to use, and SO much easier than doing it by hand. The ground is still pretty solid, so I will need to break out the blades next time round, but I am going to let the lawn recover for a week or two before doing that.

Once it has recovered following the next session, I am going to endeavour to sprinkle compost all over the lawn on a fairly regular basis (light sprinkle only) just for some organic material to help condition the soil a bit.

 

Nice work FC. Which scarifier are you using? I am thinking about buying one.

 

This one - cheaper than hiring a scarifier and aerator for the day, and seems to be a sturdy bit of kit.