Investing in a scarifier

My lawns are about your size Chris and I have been using a Mountfield electric model with the rotating tines for a few years and it does the job for me. Not sure of the model number but they always have a current model sub £100 and with the amount of thatch and moss it kicks out I know it is definitely doing something for me

 

yes I believe that was an older problem. I read reviews and I think Amazon suspended their sales until they rectified it, certainly did for me anyway hah.

Enjoy it if you buy it, worked very well for me and is a study bit of kit.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. I have ordered the Einhell ready for the weekend. What conditions will it needy I be? Dry?

Re the machine, which setting (aerator or scarifier) and at what height (I think it has 3 settings). I need to go up and down the lawn and then diagonal across it I hear. Best to leave the collector box off and the run over it with mower first and then rake the rest by hand?

What do I do after? I've bought a decent Scott spreader so was wondering whether to overseed and water or apply top soil etc?

Thanks again for your help as it's been really good to read.

 

Dry weather dry ground but with moisture present.
The direction of each pass should be in different directions and while I was taught not to do right angle passes it's fairly common to see this.
Don't jump into overseeing yet until you have done the job. None of the pics I've shown where I have scarified needed it, in fact it's only ever done on very poor lawns that I've had to do where as a good lawn that's been scarified correctly rarely needs it.
You are limited by the machine but just go at the highest setting to see what happens.

 

Would highly recommend doing the lawn on the highest setting to begin with.

Those blades are truly menacing. Any lower for me and I think it would be chucking soil about.

 

Physical effort? I'm waiting for a little gardening robot to be developed. I sit on my tail drinking coffee, while the little guy scurries around my garden making it look nice. Then I take all the credit.

In the mean time, this Wolfgarten contraption may suffice. Can it be used across the entire lawn, or only areas with dense moss coverage? What I mean is, will it rip out the grass as well as moss?

 

So I've used the electric scarifier and and thought I'd post some before and after pics:









What do you think? Anything else need doing now?

 

Front lawn could have had another pass but it's fine and you have removed a fair bit of rubbish.
Now it's time to add the Autumn Fert which we chatted about on the other thread.

 

Thanks for that Liz. I've ordered some of the Autumn Fert and chosen this one... Greenmaster Pro-Lite Autumn 6-5-10+6Fe. Should be delivered next week and ready to apply. Can I ask your advice on it please? I've bought a Scotts EvenGreen Drop Spreader. What setting would you put it on and are there any tips when applying it? When I put my sprinkler on it should I leave it running a long time? Short time etc?

As for the scarifier... I have now scarified the back lawn too and I am left with it looking like this...

Back lawn...



Shaded (all day) side...



Sunny side...



Can I be honest and say that I'm getting to the point of giving up on my lawn as I can't seem to get it looking nice. I don't know what I'm doing wrong but it's looking awful and most of the neighbors in the street have better lawns now and this was not the case a few months ago.

What else does it need?

Thanks for your help and advice.

 

Chris is the spreader the one I recommended with the trigger release?
If it is then a setting of 6 to 6.5 depending on walking speed will apply at near max recommended amount.
Should really calibrate them but that's what I use as a setting, I have a fairly quick walk so I tend to stick to 6.50.
Remember to do 2 lines each side then run across the lawn. The 2 lines either side means you can push the spreader and then pull in the trigger as you are about to leave the lines.
Remember to over lap as well, you will see some arrows on the container that show the width of the spread. If you don't over lap you will have light coloured lines where no feed was put down.
Just a light water, this gets the process started and remember this fert contains iron which stains so try to keep off the lawn for a few days.
When it arrives read through the instructions, and always fill it away from the lawn on a sheet or an area that can be cleaned in case of spillage.
The shaded area looks like it's had a bit too much, let's see how it goes.
The grass will show a change in colour in about 4 to 7 days depending on weather.