Can you scarify your lawn too much?

I am fairly new to tending to my lawn but know that scarification and aeration are good maintenance practices, but, what i don't know is how often I should or could do them or how much. When is the best time to scarify and can you do it too much? I know it would help me immensly if someone pointed out exactly what you are doing when you scarify and when you should and should never do it. My understanding of it so far is that the process is to remove dead grass from the lawn in a similar manner to deadheading a flower, that you remove the dead stuff so the plant doesn't waste it's energy.

Any tips here would be great

 

Hi Paterson

Yes, you can scarify a lawn too much or rather at the wrong time, but that's easily avoided.

You're right about the general principle of scarifying but it's not just to remove dead grass. Done well, it should remove most of your moss and damage those lawn weeds which are creeping in habit.

I use a spring rake which I've adapted slightly by bending over the tips to make them more like a hook. I experimented with the angle of the tip and found that 90 degrees was a good compromise. I rake an area of about 1 sqm at time, first one way and then at right angles. You need to pick up the debris very frequently. It's hard work, the only consolation is that it's good for the stomach muscles!

I give my whole lawn its main rake over in the spring and then maybe a light once-over in late summer if necessary e.g. if an area is looking a bit tired. The key thing is you only scarify when the grass is growing actively. I would not scarify in late autumn or winter because moss would re-invade the areas you clear quicker than the grass could. Not would I scarify during a very hot dry spell because the grass could not recover quickly.

As for aerating, the best time for this is in the spring, just as the lawn is beginning to wake up. Again, you would not do it during a hot dry spell because it would only make matters worse.

 

Excellent answer, pretty much the info I was looking for.
I already have a sprung type rake which seems to do the job well and currently gives me alot of dead grass, so much so that I thought I may be doing something wrong, hence the question. It hadn't occured to me to do it both directions, thanks.

I'm looking forward to learning by mistakes about taking out the dips with topdressing next.

 

I do it in several directions, at least 4, if not more. Depends on how bad it is. If you want to give it a good blitz with the scarifying, either invest in a small electric scarifyer, or hire one for a day/weekend, and then you'd only need to keep on top of it.

For top dressing, have a look here at a website I came across while doing some research into lawns etc. It looks pretty good advice.

Hope this Helps!